Nor Cal Hyperlite representing in the Philippines
Philippines, CWC. –The 2009 WWA World Championships of wakeboarding took place at CWC wakeboarding complex, just outside of Naga City in the Philippines. Two NorCal Hyperlite team riders traveled to the other side of the world to enjoy and compete. Riley Bangerter & me Al Marchiniak took the long journey (almost 15 hours in plane rides) to find out just what this whole "CWC" thing was all about. We were accompanied by Riley's wife, Cassie, and our good friend Dr. Phil Caruso (also know as DP or Doctor Phil).
CWC (Camarines Sur Wakeboard Complex) is the ultimate wakeboarders paradise, especially if you like to jib, bonk, slide or hit obstacles. The complex is immense, and comprised of the worlds largest cable system, an ultimate boat wake lake, and a never seen before winch park. Accommodations,, entertainment and dining were all on site as well. The Philippine people were very friendly, the surrounding landscapes were beautiful, and the food pretty much sucked.
I spoke with a few cable riders from around the world to get an idea of how much bigger this cable is than other cables and was told that the average lap time at OWC's famous cable is 45 seconds, where the CWC cable lap time was 1 minute 45 seconds. CWC had more obstacles in one straight away than all of TSR's obstacles put together. Topping off the sheer size of the complex is the variety, enormity, and skillfully designed rails. They had flat boxes, c-rails, up-downs, a-frames, kickers, transfers, and wall rides. All of which were huge, and also had the perfect angles.
Yes, the cable was AWESOME, but the wake lake was equally as impressive. One side of the lake had three MASSIVE rails. The other side of the lake was lined with about 10 rails from 25 feet to 50 feet long, of all shapes. The weighted down x-star made a huge wake in the 15 foot deep lake.
"Winch park". Sounds like a horror movie title, but the winch park at CWC did not have masked knifers jumping from shadows to get you. The sesitec 2.0 system was used for its purpose, and used excessively! There were five of these systems set up side to side. Each one having something different. The first had all the down rails, and you would transfer from an elevated pool to a lower pool via any of 4 different rails. All the pools and rail set-ups were different and SICK! The visionary behind the sesitec 2.0 system and this winch park did it right.
As a vacationer first, competitor second I tried to approach the trip from a laid back, no pressure perspective. We rode when we wanted to, and there was no brainstorming for "the perfect run" to try to win. We woke up every morning and went wakeboarding. It was the way it should be. Competitors from around the world were, for the most part, easy going and fun loving. However, this was a competition, and if I said I didn’t get butterflies before the rope yanked me off the dock during my competitions runs I'd be a liar. I still just had fun out there and made it to the finals in my division, men's 2. Albeit not the most challenging of divisions, and I didn’t do spectacular, but I had a great time! Riley snapped of a ton of great photos of different riders from all over the world, and even got a few of me (super stoked!).
Top riders from all over the world flocked to this event. The wake riders, cable riders and wakeskaters all took to the water to compete for a "world championship" title. Sweet maneuvers were being performed all over the place. Not too many riders had used the sesitec system, and it was a treat to see top riders transfer, ollie and jib on such a unique and quality set-up.
Now to the best part: the massages. Ahh, the massages. Competitively priced at just 300 philippino pesos (just over $6) these one hour delights were a glorious way to "pass the time". Every day we would "need to relax" and would end up getting at least one massage by at least one masseuse. The massage tables were very close to the water which meant that while being kneaded and rubbed down you would hear the fantastic sounds of wakeboard rail sliding. As stated before CWC is an ultimate wakeboarding paradise.
To catch all the high-flying, rail-sliding, water-sports action of the King of Wake series, tune in to FUEL TV – the official television partner of the King of Wake. WakeBoarding, published by Bonnier Corp., is the official magazine of the King of Wake series. Read about all things wakeboarding, with expert coverage of professional instruction, gear, boats and news.
Advise I would give is to not get hurt while in the Philippines, or if you plan on it, bring a doctor. Be careful what you eat and drink; it might be best to stick to beer. I did, and I never got sick!
Al Marchiniak
<< back to news