Fremont man flies high in professional wakeboarding

James Hindes of Fremont has had an eventful year as a rookie professional wakeboarder.

At the start of this year's season, Hindes was one of only two rookies worldwide to qualify for one of the open spots on the professional men's wakeboard tour.

The season has taken him all over the country, with stops in Orlando, Acworth, Georgia, Fort Worth, the Twin Cities in Minnesota, Portland, Oregon, Phoenix, Reno and Kenosha, Wise.

He finished the regular season ranked 30th in the world. He said that his goal as a rookie was to place in the top 25, but the level of competition makes 30th a pretty good accomplishment.

So how does a guy from the north, who grew-up with a relatively short wakeboarding season on Long Lake, become a world class competitor in a sport that requires vast amounts of practice being towed behind a boat in warm water?

Last January, James Hindes, the son of Craig and Ann Hindes, moved to Winter-haven, Florida to train with respected wake board coach Dave Briscoe and perfect the moves he needs to perform in competition.

The tricks, such as whirly-birds, crowmobes, moby dicks, and other oddly named moves require flips, both frontward and back, while spinning both frontward and reverse, and of course landing upright on his board and riding away. Another part of competition is sliding on rails over the water, doing tricks off ramps, and doing both at the same time over an obstacle that combines both, affectionately known as "the slaughter box." Hindes said that he learned why the transfer box earned its nickname in his last competition as a junior pro at the end of the '07 season, when he tore a knee ligament and was on crutches for quite some time. So far, the '08 season has been injury free.

At the wakeboard U.S. nationals Aug. 6 through 10 in Kenosha, Hindes placed 25th in the field of 60 professionals, earning a spot in the world championships. The top 30 wakeboarders from the United States will compete in the WWA World Wakeboard Championships to be held Sept. 4 through 7 in Oklahoma City.

Craig Hindes said that his son will compete in the pro men's division, which will start at 1 p.m. on Saturday. He said that the competition will be webcast live and that a link to the webcast can be found online at www.kingofwake.com.

James Hindes said that he is grateful for the support of his parents and his sisters Madison, Sydney and Kailey. He has also enjoyed the support of Action Watersports of Hudsonville, Hyperlite wake-boards, Mastercraft boats, Quicksilver clothing, Spy Optics and Freestyle Watches.