The last stop of the Blackpool Wake Series took place over the weekend and was followed up by a rather messy fancy dress party for Anna Woodheads 30th birthday! All in all it was a top day and apparently the night was great too, but I have no memory of that part other than paying my drinks tab the next day, which certainly explained why I didnā€™t remember too much from the evening prior.

This was the final stop of a 3-event series all held at Blackpool Wake Park. The series is run by the crew at Industry Wake Parks and is designed to bring together all the local riders and help them progress and meet each other. Without doubt this has been achieved, new friends have been made and even more new tricks landed. People who only started riding in March and April now look like seasoned shredders with tons of board skills, style and tricks. Riders like Rik Baird, Richard Appleyard, Alex Thompson should all be noted for serious improvements in their riding. It was Rik who ended up taking the most prestigious prize of all, the most improved rider, so big congratulations goes out to him.

One thing that has remained a constant throughout the series is a high number of riders in the wakeskate division. The final stop was the turn of Callum Warren to take victory and some reward for his 140 mile trip from Haverigg for each stop! His wakeskate skills are growing as fast as he is. The team from Aesthetic Wakeskates came down and showed off their new all British skate brand too.

In the open men division it was good to see some riders travelling from a far to ride, like Charlie Marshall who was pressing and tapping everything and JJ Mowbray who travelled down from Windermere. It was James Hackney who took the top spot at the final stop with Toby Yeo in a very close second.

The ladies were again a very tough division with so many riders at a similar level making life hard for the judges. In the final stop Sez Hughes edged out Glasfryn rider Sarah Killip into second place with some good varied riding. Next year the ladies had better watch out because weā€™ve got our money on a wee Jess Knight coming up and dominating!

Big congratulations go out to all the rookies because most of them have only just started riding and they stepped up and had fun and entered the comps. This time it was the turn of Richard Appleyard to take the win.

Next year the series will be back again with more divisions, more prizes and tons more fun and progression to be had! See you then.

Thanks to Mystic, Relentless, Skullycandy, Oakley, Reef, Hyperlite and Jacksy for supporting the series.