Lizzie Gets First in Pro Wakeskate Nationals

Starting my trip to OKC would turn out to be a journey. Andrew (my boyfriend) woke up early to make the 45 minute drive from Santa Clara to San Francisco with me. We arrived at the huge terminal and said our quick goodbyes. Now previously I had called the airlines and asked what the length limit was for carry on packages. It was 45 inches, I thought I was in the clear to go ahead and carry on my wakeskate, not quite. A security checkpoint man stopped me and asked me to go ahead and check my bag in. We got into a small argument and in the end I checked my bag in. I got to my terminal and found out it was delayed an hour. I had made sure to get on the plane with the most layover time in San Diego so I could get a lunch date with my Dad who works in downtown where the airport is located. I got onto my plane and headed out for my first layover in good ‘ol San Diego. 

When I arrived back home I called up my Dad and he came and picked me up. Instead of having a sit down lunch we were pressed for time because of the hour delay that we grabbed some fast food and went back to his office. After lunch he drove me back with what I thought was 15 minutes of time before my plane took off. As I stepped into the airport I hear my name over head and I sprinted toward my terminal. I had no time to even put my sandals back on after getting through the security point. I made it to my terminal just as the door was shutting and I screamed while running closer. I made it! I lost my seat but I was on my way to Denver! In Denver my layover was short and I finally made it to Oklahoma City. The Bricktown Hotel which I was staying at was suppose to have a shuttle come and pick me up and since it was busy the lady at the front desk said to go ahead and take a taxi and the hotel will pay anything over the $15 I would have paid their shuttle. At this time I was flustered. I got in a taxi and got checked into the hotel. The next morning I woke up bright and early to capitalize on the free breakfast and I made sure to grab some for the rest of the day because my roommates and fellow competitors: Jenny GilanFarr and Britt Fletcher wouldn’t be arriving until nighttime. I kept myself busy watching trash TV and catching up on the cooking channel.

For dinner I met up with Jenny’s roommate and WWA Tour employee Meg and we ate at this quaint Mexican restaurant on top a man made river that winds through the downtown of Oklahoma. After dinner I went back to Meg’s hotel which was the Host hotel for the event and I checked in and got my riding jersey for the event. I called my shuttle and we hitched a ride to the airport to pick up Britt and Jen. The next day Britt, Jen, and I made our way to the free breakfast and had some waffles and biscuits and gravy for breakfast. (Country style huh? WELL WE WERE IN THE COUNTRY!!!) When we got to the river, we saw that our worst fears came true: the water was more than blown out, it was 20-25 mph winds shooting straight down our canal and they still were forcing us to ride. The girls all pumped themselves up with a little stretching, skateboarding, and music. The first day’s line up was this: I was first off the dock, then Miss Fletcher, then Bethany, and lastly Jenny. The water was ridiculous. Anyone who crossed out into the “flats” was knocked off their skate. Me being competitive I gave all three of my falls the first day trying to make my first pass. I was doing my tricks INTO the wind when I should’ve held on for the second pass and been patient. After the heat was over the three roomies went back to the hotel to see what our day would bring us.

We found the location of the OKC cable and called them up. Since we had no ride the owner sent one of his cable operators to drive the 30 mins out and pick us up! We were so excited. When we got there we were greeted with a massive discount and free helmets. We spent the rest of the day there chatting with the owner and playing on the set ups. Jenny had a shuv off, Britt was going big off the kickers and boxes, and I was acid droppin off the cable. I was so excited to be at a cable, we don’t have any on the west coast so it was really different than anything I’ve ever ridden. The second day was much worst: 35mph winds shooting straight down our canal again PLUS 3 feet, white capped, I don’t know WHAT you would called them rollers that looked at us and basically screamed, ”Ya right” at us. Once again the riding order was the same.

Based on the day before’s performance I was up first. I held on handle crooked in my elbow and turned my face away from the direction I was riding in, because the rooster from the boat was hitting me so hard it stung, and waited for the turn around. Once the boat planed off from the turn around the game was on. I attempted an I/O 180 and fell, so I went smaller. My next trick was an I/O Ollie, and then I did a FS 180 and quickly went back to my riding position before I could get taken out. I then fell out where the flats were supposed to be because well it wasn’t flat. I had one more fall and maybe ¼ course let to do something in. I went for my shuv again. I pulled and I/O massive Ollie and almost fell because of the wind I caught myself and I saw my silver lining; there was probably a four foot section that had smaller ripples in the water than everywhere else, I edged out to it set up and threw the biggest shuv I’ve ever done and landed clean. On my way back in to the center of the wake I fell because of the uneven lip. The jet ski came to pick me up and we chatted our way back to the starting dock. When I got to the dock I was greet by the ladies and they were all excited; if one of us can land a shuv there was hope for all of us! Inside I was a little down because I REALLY wanted out of 4th place. I prayed inside to the Big Man and hoped that I could somehow pull second or third. I and pretty much everyone else had in mind that Jenny would grab first.

After the comp we made it back in time for another round of waffles and we went back to the room to relax. We found that the room had been cleaned and all three of us were so embarrassed. Every time you would walk in the room you were greeted with the foul stench of wet carpet. All three of us had hung our wet gear for the past couple of days in the same spot. It was gross to say the least. When it was time we got a shuttle which happened this time to be the pimped out, candy red, super hummer we showed up with style. Everyone in the announcers booth and everyone on shore stared as three cute pro women’s wakeskaters got out. We hung out and watched the junior men’s wakeboarding and once all of the rider’s rode it was time for the ceremony. It turns out that I managed to steal first place and Jenny got second and Bethany third and Britt fourth. Great turn out. After the ceremony we all went back to our hotel and got ready for a night out on the town. We went out for sushi and drinks. The next day would be the one to say our goodbyes. Sadly the trip ended and Britt and I got onto a shuttle together and said our last goodbyes to our new friends at the Bricktown Hotel and to our rommie Jenny. Britt and I shared a last meal and we went our separate ways. Lugging my trophy around caught a lot of attention. This trip home I would only have one layover in Denver. I found out our plane needed to be downsized and they needed to buy 15 of us off. The payment would be a free trip anywhere in the US. I took it, right there would be my flight for worlds.