Wakestock UK Rocks!

Nick Davies Intensity. Pic: Ali Nevill

[Press Release: 13/07/2009 Abersoch, Wales - Alliance UK, Sim Bradley]

The 10th anniversary of Wakestock was a true reflection of all the things that people think about the festival from years passed. We had gorgeous sunshine and clear skies, 40mph winds and driving rain, some of the best live music ever seen in Wales, a standard of wakeboarding that blew away the 5000 strong crowd of spectators, and all in all one of the best social gatherings the wakeboard scene will ever have.

The Pro contest at Pwllheli Marina was fantastic, with the women all raising their game hoping for the title, but it was the newly crowned National Champion, 16 year old Charlotte Bryant who took out Robbie Rendo (2nd) and Kath Moore (3rd) to take her first Wakestock title. The style and height of her tricks tipped the balance on what was a tight battle, and it’s great to have another British rider on top. In the Pro Men’s contest the sun came out but so did the wind. A lot of riders suffered from the choppy sea water mixed with a little too much partying the night before, but the wonder kid that is Nick Davies showed why he is on top of the world right now, making his pass look like a fun freeride session rather than a stressful contest final. The sheer amount of tricks he threw down, and all to the flats, was unbelievable. Capped off with a perfect heelside 720 off the double up, it was clear to everyone that the new Pro Men’s Wakestock Champion had just been chosen.

While Nick did kill it, Aussie Mitch Langfield held his own & destroyed the rails, backside lipsliding the Relentless Leviathan box and then transferring from the wallride to the top rail going back the other way. He came in second place while 3-times Wakestock champion Dan Nott rounded out the podium with a techy run finishing with a perfect wake to wake 720 in front of the bandstand.

Back on the festival site the Rococo Rail Jam finals were something special. We’ve been running these rail jams for a while now and the riders have really got used to the format which makes the tricks thrown down that much better. You’ll have to wait for the next issue of Alliance for a full run down, but CK Koester took the head to head Rococo finals while Liam Smith won the Wakeskate Best Trick jam with a super stylish backside noseslide locked into the 50ft flatbar. In the first ever Chicks Session on the Rococo pools, Steph Caller proved she could have won the Mens event with an amazing 270 to front board on the C-rail with a 270 out. All the girls did great and it’s a good sign of the astonishing rate of progression within womens wakeboarding in the UK.

On the Friday Night’s Big Air classic on Abersoch Beach, NickyD did it once again with an amazing heelside 720 first try. He was sweating a bit when Matt Crowhurst just dropped the rope on a heelside backside 720, which Matt was rightly bummed about. It would have been great to see Matty awarding himself the cheque on stage!

This was without doubt the best Wakestock to date. It's fantastic to see how the festival has evolved from that car park on the headland ten years ago, and the professionalism of the whole event was exceptional. The rain didn’t spoil anything and the 15,000 people embraced the weather and had fun in the mud. The music went off and my particular favorites were The Zutons, N*E*R*D, Kid British, Carolina Liar, Joy Formidable and The Haunts. Others enjoyed the likes of Calvin Harris, Moby, Just Jack and then Dizzee Rascal played an amazing set to close another year of the coolest collaboration between sport and music in Europe.

There will be video and much more to come over the next few weeks, but in the meantime check out the

Wakestock gallery to reminisce on this amazing weekend. In the legendary words of Matty Crowhurst… Wakestock ROCKS!

Pro Womens:
1. Charlotte Bryant
2. Robbie Rendo
3. Kath Moore
4. Elke Vanken
5. Sam Filsell
6. Jules Haley

Pro Mens:
1. Nick Davies
2. Mitch Langfield
3. Dan Nott
4. James Young
5. Sam Carne
6. Sam Weinstein
7. Freddie Carter
8. Steve Dyer
9. Johnny Carne
10. Sean O’Brien
11. Ed Williams
12. Tim Woodhead
13. Ben Morgan
14. James Hooper
15. Scotty Broome
16. Dan Jordan
17. Matt Crowhurst
18. Devon Massif
19. Marc Rossiter
20. Jonty Green
21. Paul McGuire