Posted: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:52 PM - 15,010 Readers

By: Pamela LeBlanc

My column today included a bit on local wakeboarder Billy Garcia, who recently won the master’s division at the Wakeboard National Championships in Oklahoma. After it ran, I heard from some other local wakeboarders, who weren’t recognized back in April, when they competed at a national wakeboard competition for college students.

We’ve got a vibrant wakeboarding scene in Austin, where we’ve got access to lots of fresh, clear water. I’m out on Lake Austin a couple of mornings a week myself, practicing slalom skiing. I love to watch the boarders, who leap and flip like they’re on a trampoline.

So here’s the catch-up info:

University of Texas student Hank Carter (that’s him, above) won the overall individual championship of the 2009 The Collegiate National Wakeboard Championships in Mission Bay, Calif., with a routine that included 540 spins, Tootsie Rolls, Whirlybirds and backside180s. (If you don’t know what that means, it’s a lot of spinning, twirling and soaring, while attached to a short, wide board that’s pulled behind a speedboat.)

The University of Texas team placed second in the competition, behind a team from Florida. They beat their rival, the top-seeded team from Texas A&M University. (Hey! That’s my alma mater!)

In all, 16 teams of seven riders competed for the team title. Each team had to qualify for the four days of elimination competition. The competition was part of the ALT games, which includes less traditional sports like snowboarding and beach volleyball.

Congrats to the UT boarders!