It is important to understand that the athletes in such competitions around Asia ought to be deeply respected for what they do, as some would say that they are even more dedicated than the typical Western athlete. First and foremost, Asian wakeboarders simply don’t have as many opportunities offered to them compared to athletes from the US and Australia. Hence, Asia’s top wakeboarders have not only made a name

for themselves as professional athletes but also defeated many of the obstacles that Western riders often don’t have.We are lucky to live in a society that encourages outdoor activity as part of healthy living. There is relatively equal access for all public to embrace such a lifestyle. However, in places such as Singapore, to choose an extreme sports lifestyle in a society that priorities quality education is practically unheard

of. Therefore, most wakeboarders who ride for pleasure are likely to do so at their own leisure, rather than sacrifice much time training and becoming a professional athlete.Another valid issue to address is the future career of a professional rider in Asia. In Australia and the US, riders are pretty much guaranteed a career related to the wakeboarding field upon retiring from professional riding. This

may take the form of a board technology developer in a manufacturing company or perhaps a marketing-related role for a boat or apparel company. With the lack of wakeboard related industries in Asia, there is no hope for a retired wakeboarder. The idea of having to start from the bottom in middle-age after the end of a professional riding career is enough to chase most potential trophy winners out of the spotlight.

In addition to this, less developed countries such as Thailand and Indonesia pose financial restrictions which confine most people to outdoor activities they can actually afford, such as plucking the wings off flying beetles and attaching them to a piece of string to make a kite. And those who are talented enough to make a name for themselves often just don’t have the money to keep their habit going. Furthermore, with a weaker currency, it is near impossible to finance travel to national and international competitions in order to build their reputation.

Adam Bruce, our own beloved Aussie thunder from Down Under, has spent much of his career working with schools in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. According to Brucey, “Wakeboarding in Asia compared to Australia is very different because private ownership of boats is rare. Boat rental is expensive, but the only way to ride. Other than that, cable parks are the only cheap alternative. There are some awesome riders, and the people involved are great. The scene is definitely gaining great momentum, however its one and only restriction is the riders’ level of opportunity.”

It was only in 1998, eight years after Jimmy Redmon established the World Wakeboard Association, that Asia had the chance to burst into the US dominated wakeboard scene. This is when people began to take notice. Riders from all over the world competed for two spots available in the Summer X Games with our own Josh Sanders taking one of

them, and Toon, a relatively unheard of name from Thailand, taking the other. Since then Thailand has been blessed with an emergence of talented wakeboarders slowly but steadily entering the scene. However, as the scene is still growing, it is very difficult to get a sponsor to help riders out.

The tropical heats sears through blue skies, as Singapore puts on a showcase of Asian wakeboard talent. 45 competitors have come to partake in the West Side Jam at Raffles Marina from Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan, as well as the US, UK and France. Thanks to Maxout Hydrosports, my first major introduction to the Asian wakeboard scene took me by surprise. Upon arriving at the competition, I am amazed that in a country that has no rivers, or any lakes, there is flat water (albeit salt), proper wakeboarding boats, and as well as fun boxes being schooled by riders I don’t recognise. Even my Asian heritage didn’t prepare my skeptical preconceptions for this. The quality of riding and the quality of the event combined with its set-up blew me away. I wondered why more of the Western world hasn’t stood up and taken note of this progress that’s been proliferating right underneath our noses.

WHERE HAS EVERYONE BEEN HIDING?

THE CONSTRAINTS OF FINANCIAL LIMITATIONS DISADVANTAGES GIVE BIRTH TO A NEW LEVEL OF DEDICATION

Given the chance, the Asian wakeboard scene is spreading into

our sights. Stand up and take notice, you will be hearing more and more about these riders in

years to come.

By Nat Khoo

ASIAN INVASION / 85

Let’s take Lota for example. Lota is perhaps one of Asia’s most renowned riders from Thailand, having been in the wakeboard scene since last millennium and winning first place at the Asian X-Games in 2003. His sponsors are Liquid Force, DC Shoes and Von Zipper. There are little riders in Asia who have such a reputation, yet there are tons of riders in Australia and the US that have far more sponsors. The price of equipment is one of the biggest financial problems for any Asian rider. Consequently, given the fact that such riders from Thailand mostly own low-end model boards they can afford, if more Asian wakeboarders were given financial assistance through board-based sponsorship, their talent could potentially develop at a much faster rate.Currently, the Thai rider hotter than raw chilli and lemon juice is Padiwat Jaemjan, more commonly known as “Bomb”. 20 years old, he has managed to rise towards the top of podiums including a faultless 1st place overall in the Japan Wake Series Pro Tour last year. Bomb even flew Down Under and competed in the Australian Pro Tour last summer coming 9th place overall. Yet, other than his own home-grown wakeboard school in Thailand (Total

Entertainment Wake and Ski), he only has one sponsor, Ten 80 (the apparel company is one of the biggest names in the Asian wakeboard scene). However, the sunny flip-side to this is that the quality of riding is booming, with Asian riders having to work so much harder for their recognition. Bomb, a pioneer spokesperson tries his best to make sure “Asia doesn’t get left behind,” and advocates that they should get far more recognition in sponsorship and events. When asked about his future, Bomb says, “I just want to represent Asia and show the rest of the world what we can do. We just don’t get given the same chances as everyone else and I want people to know we exist”.

“I just want to represent Asia and show the rest of the world what we can do. We just don’t get given the same chances as everyone else and I want people to know we exist”

11 year old Daniel Grant (who strangely loves cheese) is definitely doing his part in representing Asia. This little big-eyed cartoon-faced kid beholds a talent you would never guess behind his cheeky smile. Less than half my size, Daniel

pulled the carpet out from under my feet, schooling a 360 over a fun box twice his height and four times his length. Watch out for this one; combined with his showmanship he is going to take the world by storm. Didi Anwar is another highly respectable and well-known Thai rider, and happens to be Daniel’s coach and mentor. He says, “Thai wakeboarding has always been cursed with association problems, so riders never have any sort of support. Unfortunately this has heavily affected the progression of the sport in the country”.

“Thai wakeboarding has always been cursed with association problems, so riders never have any sort of support. Unfortunately this has heavily affected the progression of the sport in the country”

HANDS UP WHO OWNS A BOAT?

In Australia, we might be lucky enough to be able to embrace a wake, but as Jayne Goh tells me, “the boating culture in Asia just isn’t as strong as it is in the US or Australia.” Jayne is an avid wakeboarder and the brains behind

Wake Jam Singapore; “The largest difference is the lack of private ownership of wakeboard watercraft. Therefore, we don’t have the wakeboarding communities found in Australia or the US where people tend to hitch rides with one another and pay for gas and drinks. This is very much a result of the costs of owning and maintaining a boat in the sea-water environment of Singapore. In addition to this, there are limited designated water sports areas in Singapore as most water spaces were designated as shipping channels to support the Port of Singapore as the world’s busiest port for transshipment traffic and the world’s biggest ship refuelling centre. All of Singapore’s lakes and waterways have been preserved and treated as reservoirs and hence locals are restricted from conducting motorized watersports activities in them.” Jayne says sadly, “There are, however, nine wakeboarding centres in Singapore that offer one-hour sessions for anyone interested in wakeboarding. But this is very different to the wakeboard schools of the US where people tend to stay for several days for wakeboard clinics and work primarily on their fundamentals or new tricks.”

86 / ASIAN INVASION

MAKING THE MOST OF IT – LET’S GO CABLE

The Thais, along with numerous other Asian countries, have persevered taking advantage of cable wakeboarding which is much more accessible than boat. Didi Anwar says, “For over 15 years, Thailand has had a lot of cable parks including TACO Lake in Bangkok, Lakeland in Pattaya, Lakepoint in Ratchaburi, Cableway Phuket, and the newest ThaiWakePark, open to the public on the 21st March 2009. So a large amount of people have tried the sport or been a rider for a couple of years. Riding cable in here is cheap compared to the rest of the world, and the weather is always good. So within one year, you would get the on-water time of someone in the US riding for about two and a half. This is how Thai riders develop so fast” (Daniel has only been riding 3 years!). Adam Bruce is adamant that cable wakeboarding is the best avenue for Asian riders to blossom and earn the respect they deserve. He says “The opening of ThaiWakePark is helping really push things along, and I believe Thailand will keep producing quality riders in times to come.” Needless to say, since

the completion of the famous Cam Sur Watersports Complex in the Philippines, talent is being spawned giving so many people the chance to give professional wakeboarding a go, whether from a Western or Eastern background. However, the restriction to only cable wakeboarding does pose problems for Asian competitors who hope to ride the world stage. As Jayne Goh reports, “One of the most difficult challenges I faced in organizing Wake Side Jam 09 was recruiting competitors based on our unusual choice of competition pass. With a 50-50 judging criteria on wake tricks and obstacles respectively, many local wakeboarders are only used to riding either wake tricks behind the boat or obstacles at the cable park. There are hardly any riders that are experienced in both. Maxout Hydrosports is the only wakeboarding school in Singapore that has an obstacle course besides Cable-ski.” Nonetheless, she remains positive in her outlook, “With increasing exposure and availability of such setups in the Asian wakeboard scene, I believe the community will catch on in no time.”

“Riding cable in here is cheap compared to the rest of

the world, and the weather is always good. So within one year, you would get the on-water time of someone in the US riding for about two and a half. This is how Thai riders develop so fast” Welcoming Asian riders into another world...

During his visit to Australia, Bomb stayed with Dean Smith, and was taken care of by Australia’s favourite riders, travelling around and riding places such as Lake Conjola. When asked about Australia, he was lost for words beaming with a smile from ear to ear. However Bomb did mention that when he ate at a Thai restaurant, he thought. “Hmm, this is a little different; it tastes a little wierd... They call this the spiciest thing on the menu?” But he says with a hearty chuckle, “Maybe I just went to the wrong Thai restaurant or something!” His favourite aspect to coming to Australia was seeing so many different riders, each with their own individual styles, “It was like I stepped into another world, and everyone else seemed to be one step ahead”. He considers himself so fortunate to be able to experience wakeboarding Down

Under. This is a privilege Eastern riders don’t get to experience much. Their exposure is often limited to what they see in the media, rather than living the dream overseas for themselves. Bomb believes that, along with all other Asian wakeboarders, they can learn so much from witnessing first-hand how people from other countries ride. By opening their eyes to the styles of others, they can try to catch up and compete with the best. Perhaps as Australians and New Zealanders, we can take a page out of Bomb’s book. By opening our eyes to them, we might be able to learn more about our beloved sport, and diversity riding worldwide. Thanks to Maxout Hydrosports for being one of the Asian companies pushing the sport keeping it alive, and everyone who has offered their insight into making our wakeboard community a better place for everyone.www.maxouthydrosports.comwww.ten-80.comwww.wakeboard.com.sgwww.thaiwakepark.comwww.totalentertainment.co.thwww.camsurwatersportscomplex.com

ASIAN INVASION / 87