Superman that board.
Texas Tech's 40-member wakeboarding team is full of talent, team effort and tricks - tricks like the superman, a maneuver in which a wakeboarder inverts his or her body, bringing the board up over their head.
"It's a great environment to just come and have a good time," said John Marshall, a graduate student from Richardson and the team's boat driver. "It doesn't matter what skill level you are or if you even compete. You just need to have the desire to wakeboard."
Members of the team are required to pay a base fee of $200 per semester and $40 in insurance fees. Additionally, the members must pay $10 for each trip to Buffalo Springs Lake to cover the costs of gas.
Marshall said $10 gives each member approximately a set's worth of wakeboarding time, said Marshall.
"A set is about 30 to 40 minutes of wakeboarding," he said. "It all depends on how many people are on the boat and how long we can stay at the lake."
Though the fees seem costly, the group's members said they are manageable.
"You really get your money's worth," Dayne Barton, a junior mechanical engineer from Cisco said. "With discounts and reduced fees from Riptank, all of the money you put into this club, you really get back."
Riptank Boardshop, a local wakeboarding and waterskiing store, made a deal with the wakeboarding club, offering all members as much as 40 percent off boards and 15 to 20 percent off all merchandise, Marshall said.
"Besides the great deals, it's a really great environment to just go out and have fun," said Michelle Reed, a freshman from Katy. "They're all really great to be around. It's a really relaxing and fun atmosphere."
With music ranging from a remake of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" to Buckcherry's "Next to You" blaring through the speakers of the boat, the members laughed and joked while encouraging each other and giving helpful pointers for each rider.
"Everyone's so supportive," Barton said. "They'll cheer you on and they don't hesitate to help you improve."
Because Lubbock is such a dry area, the team does not have many opportunities to compete other than two tournaments hosted at the beginning and end of each school year.
The Riptank tournament, which is open for all competitors - not just Tech's team - was hosted a few weeks ago, said Tab Rucker, a freshman business major from Austin. The next tournament will be hosted in the spring.
"We don't really have the opportunity to go to tournaments around the state," Marshall said, "since most of them are so far away, and the (Robert H. Ewalt Recreation Center) only provides the club with so much money. We can't really make most of them."
Though these members do not have the chance to compete often, they said they are confident about their talent and skill level.
"We have really talented members," Marshall said. "There's a lot of potential in everyone, I'm really looking forward to seeing what this team has in store."
Tricks range from cuts and edges to jumps and front rolls - and the "fan favorite", the raley, also known as the superman - which are all common tricks among the members.
"It takes a few weeks to really get a trick down, if that's one you really want," Rucker said. "In just a couple of sets, if you work constantly on it, you should be able to nail a trick easily."
But with big tricks come big risks and big busts.
Though the team is in good hands with a designated team driver, every member must wear a life vest while in the water, Marshall said. Along with precautionary measures, the boat is weighed down with water-filled tubes to evenly distribute its weight.
"The boat can hold about 11 people, but only up to 3,000 pounds," Marshall said. "We have to make sure to position everyone carefully and have the right amount of weight on the boat, since the equipment certainly weighs enough on its own."
If interested in joining the team, a student can access the club's information by going to Tech's Web site and search for the university's wakeboarding and waterskiing team.
"We're up at the lake anywhere between four to six times a week." Marshall said. "Anyone is welcome to come and practice with us. Just bring a board and a good attitude, and we'll have a good time."
Be the first to comment on this article!