Related Items:
Cable Wakeboarding Photo Gallery
David Cornwall
|
David Cornwall is one of the driving forces in helping to promote the sport of cable wakeboarding in the U.S., and the western hemisphere for that matter. Even at 44, Cornwall is still a competitive wakeboarder, both on cable and behind the boat. He's a two-time WWA Veterans Division National champ and the 2001 World Champion. Throw in his 2001 title as the AWA Cable Wakeboard Masters Division champion, numerous podium finishes on the USA Cable Wakeboard Tour and a bronze medal in the Masters Division at the World Cable Wakeboard Championships in Australia last year, and you begin to see the fire that continues to burn in his soul for wakeboarding.
Over the last three years, his passion for the sport has led him to create the USA Cable Wakeboard Tour, become president of the American Wakeboard Association, a member of the World Wakeboard Council and the PanAm region representative of the World Cable Wakeboard Commission. All of this on top of a regular full-time job and a non-existent social life, so he says.
Whether he's on the cable, behind the boat, traveling to wakeboard events worldwide or just hanging out with friends, David Cornwall fervently believes that cable wakeboarding has a terrific future. We sat down to chat with David and get his take on how cable is beginning to affect the world of wakeboarding.
(pic: Bess Marine)
|
WW: How did you get started wakeboarding?
DC: Well, water skiing had always been my main sport most of my life. I started when I was five, began three-event competition in college, barefooted during most of the eighties, was a show skier at Sea World in San Antonio for two seasons, then put my first wakeboard on in 1993. Of course, I fell in love with it immediately and, like a lot of people, I've been wakeboarding exclusively ever since.
WW: How did you get involved in cable wakeboarding?
DC: I discovered the cable at the Orlando Watersports Complex in 1999 when I came to compete in the WWA Worlds (boat) in Orlando that year. I moved to Orlando a year later, rode the cable often and fell in love with it.
In 2001, the USA sent a six-man team to compete at the Cable Wakeboard World Championships in Germany and I competed in the Masters division. It was a massive event with thousands of spectators and media everywhere. We were blown away by what we saw. What was so crazy was that Germany, Australia, Great Britain, France and others all had huge teams of 20 riders or more, while we had only 6. They were all asking why we only had a measly three cables in the USA and so few cable riders, being such a large country and the epicenter of wakeboarding. I kept asking myself that same question over and over on the flight home and decided it was time to change that.
Boys winners (pic: Bok)
|
WW: What is the cable scene like in Europe and the rest of the world compared to here?
DC: The cable scene in Europe is huge simply because cable parks are everywhere over there and have been for a long time. Since they were first invented in Germany in the 1960's, cableways have been used primarily for recreational and 3-event skiing, but in the last decade seem to be overtaken by the wakeboarding community.
There are over 135 cable parks all over the world right now, but only five are in the U.S. and Canada. There are over 100 cableways in Europe and Africa (50 of which are in Germany alone) and many others in Asia and Australia. In Germany, cable clearly dominates the country's wakeboard and waterski industry. Australia has twice as many cableways as we do, and cable is just as much a part of the wakeboard culture there as boat is. It's the norm.
There's also the European Cable Wakeboard Tour that's been in existence for a long time, on top of cable wakeboard national championships in most every country - Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, France, Holland, Croatia, Bulgaria, South Africa, even Israel, just to name a few. There are national cable wakeboard tours in France, Hungary, Great Britain and even down under in Australia. They also have the European Cable Wakeboard Championships, which this year will be held in Linz, Austria.
Sponsorship and media coverage over there is pretty significant too. Cable events especially in Germany routinely draw large crowds and a lot of public interest in local and international media. At the 2001 Cable Worlds in Germany and at the
Danny Molina (pic: Bok)
|
one Wakeboard Masters in Austria last year, we saw thousands of spectators jamming the shoreline at the cableway, lots of parties, bands, and TV cameras everywhere. It was incredible!
WW: What about the riders?
DC: All the riders over there are incredibly cool. We've made so many great friends with other cable riders all over the world. There's an awesome kind of camaraderie in the cable world that you just can't describe. Everybody knows everybody and the tournaments are like fun reunions that are a total blast! If you want to have cool friends all over the world, get into cable wakeboarding!
WW: So why is cable wakeboarding becoming more and more popular?
DC: Basically, cable is ideal for riders who have limited or no access to a boat. It's drastically less expensive compared to all the costs involved with boat wakeboarding, with a lot less hassle. It's efficient, clean and environmentally friendly. You can ride many more sets in a day than you ever could behind the boat. Riding on the cable actually helps your riding behind the boat. And it's more forgiving on your body than boat wakeboarding. But the best part is, you can do every trick on the cable that can be done behind the boat, and more. And, thanks to all the above, it's the perfect gateway for anyone who wants to get into the world of wakeboarding.
Let's look at that again. No expensive boat, no gasoline, no maintenance, no air or water pollution, no traffic-clogged lake, no set up or cleanup necessary, less risk on your body and you can still become one of the top wakeboarders in the world, all while having a great time with your friends. Nice concept, wouldn't you think?
Thing is, Europe and the rest of the world have known this for a long time. Here in the U.S., we're just only now beginning to get a clue.
Jeff Pollack (pic: Bok)
|
WW: Where are the cable parks in the U.S. now, and are others being built?
DC: Currently there are only four cableways in the U.S. Most everyone by now knows about OWC, Ski Rixen and Texas Ski Ranch, but now there's also the brand new KC Watersports cable park that just opened in Kansas City. Two more are rumored to be on the verge of construction (I can't say where), and several more are in the planning stages in various locations across the country. There's also one in Montreal, Canada, known as the Beach Club, and several more being planned in other Canadian provinces.
Since we started pushing the sport over here three years ago, it's astounding the number of emails and calls we get from people on a weekly basis wanting to know how to build a cable park. What does that tell you about what's beginning to happen? It's just a matter of time before you start seeing these things popping up all over the continent.
WW: Riders are throwing a lot of new tricks using the cable. How and why is that possible?
DC: Since the angle of the rope is higher on the cable than behind the boat, you get more lift and, potentially, more hang time. This is one reason you see such awesome tricks like double S-bends on the cable, a rare occurrence if ever behind the boat.
Also, with the move and flex of the cable itself, you find it much less stiff and more forgiving. Therefore, learning new tricks comes much easier and faster. Mike Ferraro, one of the top wakeboard coaches in the U.S., regularly advises his students and elite athletes to cross-train on the cable whenever possible. It's a terrific teaching tool.
Difficult as it may be to believe, the simple fact is that virtually every trick that can be performed behind the boat can also be done on the cable. Period. Regular or switch, inside or out, you see plenty of spins, 313s, roll to blinds, KGB's and every mobe or Raley trick you can think of. You name it, it's been done on the cable, either in the flats or off the obstacles. Take your pick. There are other incredible tricks that have been done only on a cable, such as the "Suicide Slide" Raley to boardslide, S-mobe, double S-bend to blind, even a double heart attack (double S-bend to blind 360).
|
