Wakeboarder.com had the opportunity to attend the Malibu Just Ride Clinic in Portland, OR to see what the tour of Just Ride Clinics was all about.
The Malibu Just Ride Clinic is a day long clinic put on by Malibu Boats and a Malibu Boats dealer at various locations throughout the country. The idea of the clinic is for people to come out and get to ride behind a new Malibu Wakesetter while getting instruction from one of Malibu's pro team riders.
Wakeboarder.com attended the Portland, Oregon Malibu Just Ride Clinic on July 17th before the Portland Pro Tour Stop. The clinic was put on by the local Malibu dealer, Hayden Island Yacht Center, who provided two 2001 Malibu Wakesetter VLXs for the day's entertainment on the Willamette River. The setup was great, as there were only five riders per boat, per session, so everyone got a good half hour of riding time and instruction from the pros. One boat was used unweighted for beginning riders, while one boat was weighed down with extra weight to give more advanced riders a feel for what the VLX is like with weight.
The two pros providing instruction for the clinic were CWB Pro Team rider and last year's Jr. Men's Champion Joel Cahill, and Canadian pro rider Aaron Lepin. (Other pros appearing at clinics this year include Gerry Nunn, Mike Weddington, Dallas Friday, Marie Botved-Studd, Ricky Gonzales, and more).
We rode in the "Advanced" boat with Joel Cahill. Basically, each rider got a chance to warm up, and then Joel would provide some instructions on some basic things they could improve about their riding. Examples include handle position, improving their progressive edge, timing their pop, adding grabs to tricks, etc. After their warmup, Joel would ask the rider if they had any specific new trick they were trying to learn. He'd then have the rider try the trick, and give specific advice on what they could do to improve it. On this specific day, Joel helped a rider learn his first Toeside Front Roll, another landed his first Tantrum, and other riders all came away with specific ideas and advice for what they could do to improve. Joel was very personable and was more then willing to shoot the breeze, talk about his experiences pro riding, riding at home, and how he learned various tricks.
After doing some instructing, it was time for Joel to do some riding. We packed up the boat with even more people and Joel put on a show landing such tricks as an Indy Tantrum to Blind, Nose Grab Crow Mobe, Moby Dick, Whirlybird, Back Roll to Blind, Handle Pass KGB, Heelside and Off-Axis 540s, Toeside Off-axis 720, Backside (blind) 540, Batwing, all kinds of grabbed inverts, and a huge Heelside Off-Axis 720 off the double up.
Overall the event was a great experience. Everyone came away with a Just Ride Clinic t-shirt, some new things to work on with their riding, a ride behind a new wakeboard boat, and got treated to watching some top-notch wakeboarding. We highly recommend you attend a Malibu Just Ride Clinic if it comes to your neck of the woods this year or in the future.
Remaining Just Ride Clinics
Aug. 21 - Orlando, FL
Contact: Rick Schmeltzer
Boat Tree - 407-422-8141
Sept. 6 - West Palm Beach, FL
Contact: Scott Carroll
Florida Ski Boats - 561-684-1871