Wakeboarders hit the lake
Malibu Boats event draws Canada’s top wakeboarders to Peterborough this weekend
Peterborough’s Cameron Spalding, 12, flies through the air as he competes in the junior pro men’s division during the Malibu Rider Experience Free Ride Wakeboard event on Friday on Little Lake.
Wakeboard competition returns to Little Lake for the first time since 2014 this weekend with a new event called the Malibu Rider Experience.
Local insurance agent Todd Spalding, who has three wakeboarding children, convinced Malibu Boats to bring their third annual Canadian event, held in Quebec the past two summers, to Del Crary Park.
FreeRide Friday was an opportunity for the public to try wakeboarding.
On Saturday, a regional wakeboard championship sanctioned by the World Wakeboard Association and Ontario Wake Series will take place from 9 a.m. to about 4 p.m.
Up to 70 competitors from as young as five and at beginner levels up to a pro/open class are expected to participate. On Sunday, starting at 10 a.m., is Surfgate Sunday where the public is able to try wakesurfing. Three of the world’s top wakeboarders – Raph Derome, Oli Derome and Chad Sharpe – are on hand all weekend to do demonstrations and guide riders.
“They are affiliated with Malibu boats,” Spalding said. “Malibu puts on five of these events across the U.S. and one in Canada and they bring the top pros in the industry. On Friday, the kids got a chance to ride the boat with the pros who drive the boats, do the spotting and coaching. They’ll do it again all day Sunday for surfing and Saturday is the actual wakeboard competition.”
Spalding said it’s not too late to get involved in the competition.
“Divisions begin at seven and under with boys and girls who may be competing for the first time or 10th time depending on how savvy they are and ranging all the way up to pro or open men. They would be the very best wakeboarders that compete in Ontario or Canada.
“There is also a pro card qualifier where some aspiring pros from anywhere in the world could attend these events. There is a qualification process and by meeting certain standards here they could get a chance to compete on the pro tour next year.”
There was a former Wakefest and Wolfstock event, which combined wakeboarding with music concerts, at Beavermead Park, and for one year at Del Crary Park, for several years, but that ended in 2014.
This is a completely different event, says Spalding, and it fills a void.
“Wakefest was a good event, a local event, that was never part of the Ontario Wake Series,” Spalding said.
“It never got the Ontario wakeboarding community involved because it was always held on a date when there was another event going in Ontario. It struggled to get the appropriate number of riders. It was called Wolfstock for a while and the Canadian Wakeboard Championships and Wakefest, there were a few different names for it.
“Wakeboarding is a very popular activity in all of our lakes that surround Peterborough,” Spalding said.
“We’ve worked hard to bring another wake event to the waterfront here in Peterborough. It’s wakeboarding only. We don’t have a bar. We don’t have bands. We don’t have all that stuff. It’s really meant to showcase the sport and give some grassroots kids in the area a chance to hang out with some of the top pros in the world and wakeboard behind some special boats.”
The event is also sponsored by Buckhorn’s Town & Country Marine.
Wakefest was a good event, a local event, that was never part of the Ontario Wake Series.” Local insurance agent Todd Spalding