Charlotte Bryant makes waves on the other side of the pond
Last year, GB rider Charlotte Bryant was branded ‘the comeback kid’ returning from major knee surgery, she didn’t just come back, she came back stronger. This year, she seems set to continue her rise as she impresses the world pro’s at the Nautique Wake Games 2011 winning the Junior Women title and riding for Team Austin Hair no less.
Out in Florida, Charlotte has been training since the beginning of March and enjoying some good old fashioned family time ahead of her busy UK competition schedule. With the Boat Worlds in Italy, Wakestock, Nationals, Pro Tour and ‘some cable comps’ as well as the WWA Boat Worlds, she’s says she’s determined to build on her successes now that she’s fully fit. Entering the Wake Games Amateur competition at Orlando Watersports Complex seemed the perfect opportunity to test the competition waters and get a taste of riding with the best in the world.
The Wake Games is part of the King of Wake series. Over the course of a season, athletes compete for the ultimate wakeboarding crown in a series points race of eight events throughout the United States to see who rules the wake. The beauty of the Wake Games is that it offers the opportunity for amateur riders to ride alongside the pros, the best in the world, in the team events through the Wake Games Draft. Any amateur qualifying to the next round, whether it be semis, quarters or finals, is up for selection by the top 10 pro riders from last year making up the team captains, to join them in the team event. The team captains watch the amateur event and check the scores to make their choice. They then announce who they have selected and the amateurs join their pro team mates in front of the crowds for team photos. The amateurs ride for their own titles, but their scores count towards the overall team performance.
“I was super stoked to get through to the finals of wake games, which meant that I was going to be picked by one of the top riders in the US to join their team. When I got called out for Austin’s team I was happy as we had a pretty solid team with good riders.”
Charlotte Bryant
Team Hair: Austin Hair, Steel Lafferty, Danny Thollander, Grant Roberts, Charlotte Bryant, Raimi Merritt, Jaren Nilson, Tracy Baynham, Massi Piffaretti, Justin Gratzfeld.
Right up until the pro events, Team Hair were out in front and hot favourites to win, but missed out to Team Malinoski, finishing fourth. Quite an experience for the GB rider and great preparation for 2011.
Charlotte then went on to get another competition under her belt, riding at the Performance Gravel Tour, a grass roots boat event. Gaining more experience of riding behind a Nautique in challenging thunderstorms is all part of the training! Of course, our Charlotte won 1st place in the Womens division, how will she get all the trophies back home?
Charlotte is sponsored by Liquid Force, UltraSport Europe, Billabong, Snowake Bulgaria
By Sarah Kingdom
Photos:
Gravel Tour – James McKeown
Nautique Wake Games – John Lipscom
John Lipscomb very kindly allowed us to use his pictures from the Nautique Wake Games. John works closely with a wonderful project UcanSki2.com. It’s an organization that teaches individuals who are paraplegics, amputees, autistic and many other people confined to a life in a wheel chair how to water ski and wakeboard. The organisation is now able to teach other organisations how to provide adaptive waterskiing and wakeboarding, but is reliant on public support and donations. If you believe that wakeboarding’s been a good friend to you, please help this organisation help others with disabilities have a taste of it too. You can easily donate via PayPal on their website. Many Thanks
Friday 20 May 2011 | Permalink
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