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A new event for 2013, the Liquid Force Summer Jam event was staged at GoWake Cable Park last weekend under clear skies and sunny weather. The event attracted a large number of riders from all ability levels as well as many internationals who stayed on after the Boardstock event 2 weeks prior.

After it was all settled and done Canadian Raph Derome showed why he is the current Transworld Rider of the Year with an impressive clean sweep of all the Pro Mens events that he entered – Jet Pilot King of the Kicker, Liquid Force Rail Jam and the Double Up 2 Tower Challenge. In the Rail Jam section Raph was a clear cut winner but the next 5 places were tightly contested with only 12 points separating 2nd place Mitch Langfield from 6th place Jamie Neville. James Windsor, Daniel Grant and Aaron Gunn filled the spots in between in what was a high quality final round that had all the spectators on the edge of their seats. Raph’s clean heel 10 was a winner in the King of Kicker backed up by his double half cab roll which we saw him stomp at will all weekend. Daniels grabbed 900 was huge and clean and gave him a clear 2nd place behind Raph. Raph also showed a few secret water tricks in the 2 Tower Challenge – enough to put him ahead of the field again with a bag of huge kicker tricks and rail maneuvers. The Pro Mens Triple 1 Cable event was the only event Raph did not enter and this was taken out by Daniel Grant ahead of Matty Hasler and James Windsor

Daniel Grant continued to amaze everyone at these events with his uncanny and unequalled ability to compete at the top of the world level in both skate and wakeboarding sections. Whilst he is undoubtedly a great wakeboarder we pose the question that he is actually an even better skater. Daniel won every skate section on the weekend from a strong field that included Australia’s best as well as USA riders Danny Hampson and Andrew Fortenberry. Australian Mayce Dipple climbed the podium also in many of the skate events which is reward for the countless hours he has been putting in for the last 12 months.

A quality Pro Womens field saw a number of different winners grace the top position across the contest events. Sophie Hogben had a great weekend with the win in both the Rail Jam and the King of Kicker sections. Courtney Angus took out the 2 Tower Challenge and Angie Schriber delivered what was necessary to win the Triple 1 Cable section. It was also great to see 2 women from overseas competing here, Melissa Marquadt and Tor Young.

Raph Derome commented many times during his trip about the quality and the number of groms competing here at these events and they didn’t let anyone down again at Summer Jam. Amongst a huge range of talent, there were some notable outstanding events and performances. Sam Golledge won every Under 17 Girls event on the weekend and continues to improve almost daily. Patty Ryan stepped it up from Under 13 to Under 17 boys in the 2 Tower and King of Kicker events and had podium finishes, whilst the Under 17 Boys Rail Jam produced an exceptionally high standard of riding with 900s off the kickers, some tech rail riding and ollying onto the highest rails directly to backlip. In the end only 1 point seperated the top  3 finishes Busty Dunn, Zac Neville and Jacob Vinall in one of the tightest finishes we have ever seen.

Whilst all the kids continued to amaze and whilst the pros threw down everything they had we still had time for all the Amateur sections, skate, Women and Men, as well as the Open section and the new Social class. These divisions often form the backbone of these events and continue to attract many competitors who enjoy the “mate vs mate” nature of these contests with up to 10 riders on the water at any one time. These events underline the nature and the “fun” atmosphere of these contests and are the reason for the events and success of the Liquid Force Summer Series.

Summer Jam 2013 also saw the instigation of a completely new event and contest format – the Cable Cup.  This took place on the Saturday afternoon and was a team contest between all the Cable Parks to crown the “Best Cable” park for that year. Each park nominated a 5 man team that consisted of a Pro Man and Women, an Under 17 boy and girl and 1 skater. It certainly created a lot of interest and friendly rivalry and was an entertaining event that saw Bli Bli take out the Cup from Cairns and Penrith. The winning members all received an individual trophy as well as prizemoney and Bli Bli gets to hold to perpetual trophy for a full season until the next Cable Cup contest is staged.

The Summer Jam was part of the Liquid Force Summer Series of wakeboarding that consists of 7 events throughout the summer and has 2 more rounds to go. Liquid Force would like to thank all supporting sponsors who made the event possible and included Jet Pilot, Double Up, ML, Jobe, LKI, Wake, Obrien, Red Bull, Malibu, GoWake and Gimmie Pop.

For more information, full results, pictures and video roundup please refer directly to the Liquid Force Australia Facebook page.