Riding the Waves Athletes share

Passion For Watersports

The flow of the water underneath the board is freeing, and the boat leading the way is a guide to victory, but the tricks are what make wakesurfing magical.

Wakesurfing is a freshwater sport in which the surfer rides the wake of a boat and surfs while performing tricks. Sophomore Zoey Montgomery learned the art of wakesurfing from her brother at the age of five.

“I’ve been doing it for 10 or 11 years,” Montgomery said. “It’s definitely a very competitive sport, but it’s [also] very interesting [and] different.”

Ever since a young age, Montgomery has

Similarly, junior Connor Riley’s love for the beach inspired him and his family to pursue surfing and skimboarding as a hobby.

“Back when I lived in Hawaii, I [surfed with] my family whenever we went to the beach,” Riley said. “The way that you glide on top of the waves [and] just being in control is really fun. It’s like skateboarding but instead, you’re on the water.”

Additionally Riley also skimboards, which is a shallow water activity in which surfers skim the waves while performing different moves.

“Ever since I moved [here], I haven’t [surfed], but I’ve been skimboarding [during] the summer [at] Lake Bryan with my friends,” Riley said. “It’s not the same [as surfing], but it’s similar and it’s still fun.”

Water sports competitions are often intense and require a variety of moves and tricks with different levels of complexity.

“It’s pretty difficult to run and throw your tricks in front of judges,” Montgomery said. “You definitely have to have balance [and] when you fall, [you have to think if] you [want to] get back up and try to do the same trick over again, or risk not doing it.”

Been Competing In Wakesurfing Competitions

“There [are] five different divisions [for] all ages. I’m in [the] professional [division], [which is] the highest,” Montgomery said. “There [are] four to five judges on the boat and they judge you [based] on difficulty, intensity, variety and [execution of tricks] .”

Montgomery further expressed that wakesurfing has provided her an opportunity to bond with friends and family, as well as interact with like-minded people who enjoy the sport.

“It’s just like a different family [of] people from all over,” Montgomery said. “My surfing friends really help me with staying motivated and I’d rather train with another surfing friend so we can help each other.”

Even though water sports come with their own set of benefits, they can also be timeconsuming to practice regularly.

“I’m in three other varsity sports, so it’s very hard to practice,” Montgomery said. “But [the season] starts during the summer, and the world wakesurfing competition is in September, [and] ends in winter.”

Although these activities require surfers to take significant time out of their schedules, the thrill of gliding waves and the opportunity to compete in competitions around the world brings Montgomery and other surfers back to the water.

“I love traveling and competing in the U.S. [and] around the world during the summer,” Montgomery said. “I like going to contests and winning, it’s really fun.”