Stoked for Summer!

May 8th, 2009 | Articles

Perhaps their skin is thicker, perhaps their will is stronger, or perhaps they are just slightly stupid, but whatever the case, the Canadian Wakeboarder and Wakeskater is a rare breed. In early May, the Canadian wakeboarder can be found throwing themselves into four degree lake water in order to ease the itch to ride (which has finally come to a head after a long frozen winter). Unlike their cousins to the south and in other parts of the world, the Canadian Wakeboarder must deal with a dramatically changing climate: thirty degrees in the summer, minus twenty in the winter, and everything else in between.

The general consensus is that if you are based out of a place like Orlando, Florida, or The Philippines, you have a distinct advantage over Canadian riders when it comes to competition, and it’s true. Admittedly, if you want to be the best you can be at wakeboarding or wakeskating, you often need to relocate to a climate where you can ride all year round. However, I would argue that Canadian wakeboarders should still be considered very lucky. Anyone who has been injured can agree that time away from the the activities you enjoy makes you truly appreciate them, and you can not wait to be back at it. After a five month long snowed-in winter season, the same is true for Canadian wakeboarders and wakeskaters. They may have done some snowshoeing, perhaps they snowboard, but by spring, the Canadian wakeboarder and wakeskater is salivating at the prospect of chilling with friends by the water, sticking new tricks, sunsets, warm nights, flip flops, boardshorts, and slayshing the wake. I feel that if you are away from something you love, it may suck at the time, but we should be grateful for how stoked it makes us when we finally get to experience it again.

Speaking of experiencing things again, It’s May, and I can not help but notice that things are getting greener, the air is getting warmer, and I know for a fact male and female Canadian wakeboarders and wakeskaters local to me have already been donning their wetsuits and throwing it down. I guess what I am trying to say is, spring is a special time in Canada. It is filed with birds singing, trees budding, and wakebaorders practically peeing their pants with excitement and anticipation, but when the summer season hits, the Canadian Wakeboarder is just like any other breed…just happy to be out on the water.

Author: nee

Stephanie Thornton is a regular contributor to TID since it first began in 2007. She is a world traveller but she is from Ontario Canada. She loves wakeboarding and wakeskating and writes some very inspirational articles.