Austin, TX - Female wakeboarders from many parts of Texas and as far away as Seattle, Washington and Boise, Idaho came together in Austin, Texas September 7-8, 2001 to share in the sport they all enjoy and to introduce new girls to wakeboarding.
Friday, September 7 consisted of a wakeboarding clinic for girls, sponsored by Tigé Boats and The Ski Dock of Austin, featuring professional wakeboarders Cathy Williams (fresh off her European Championship) and Austin native Evelyn Zerr. Our pros instructed the girls to help them improve their riding skills, as well as in topics ranging from general boat etiquette to many of the "little things" like how to tie the rope off or to create a link shorter than those provided on a standard rope.
Friday night's kickoff party started at Hula Hut on Lake Austin, with great food and good fun overlooking the lake.
The free ride event was Saturday, September 8th, when 88 girls participated in Girls Day Out 2001. The second-annual event was organized to promote women and girls in the sport of wakeboarding by providing an intimidation-free day on the water. Boats from Malibu, MasterCraft, Nautique, and Tigé, driven by women, were filled with girls and gear to hit the water for all day free riding fun on beautiful Lake Austin.
Lunch was provided for participants, and during lunch a raffle drawing was held for fantastic gear such as t-shirts, a gallon of Newt Juice, Lokz binding bolts, three wakeboards from Origin and O'Brien, and much, much more! No girl left empty-handed, as sponsors contributed enough t-shirts that each girl received one at check-in.
After lunch, girls were re-assigned for the opportunity to ride in and behind a different manufacturer's boat and it was back to the water. It was hard to tell who had the most fun – the girls who made new friends to ride with, those who just got up for the first time that day, or the drivers and veteran riders who marveled at the huge smiles displayed by girls who had never been on a wakeboard before.
In addition to wakeboarding, several of the girls went out for a bit of surfing behind the boat, our new favorite rough-water pastime.
Early in the afternoon, a couple of wakeboard boats appeared anchored not far from the event pier. Across the towers were banners reading "Girls Night Out Starts Here". After dinner at the Pier Restaurant on Lake Austin, the real party could be found at these boats' headquarters, where several more boats tied up for a float, complete with mirrored disco balls, black lights, glow sticks and dance music.
The event was organized by Wakechicks, a group of girls whose mission is to promote women and girls in wakeboarding and to introduce the sport to new girls. The event committee was Michelle Chapman, Heather Lowe, Kimberly Petras, Bevin Ramsey, Susan Wilson and Julie Zeller.
The Wakechicks would like to thank all of our generous sponsors, without whom this event could not have been such a success. These include The Ski Dock, Central Texas Watersports, Sail & Ski, Boat Town, Y2Kp Wakeboard Gear, Origin Wakeboards, Wake Designs, O’Brien Wakeboards, The Pier Restaurant, Liquid Force, Reef Brazil, Glass and Powder Boardshop, Ambush Board Company, Buywake.com, Wakeboarder.com, Wakeworld.com, Board-Central.com, WAKEtv, Noflex, Inc., Jet Pilot, 3-Thirteen Clothing, Push Clothing, Wakerider Foundation, 360 Wakeboard Club, Action Shirts, McElhinney Wakeboard School, Ride The Spot.com, #1 Affordable Auto Sales and Rental, Ladyboarder.com, Newt Juice, Dawls Clothing, Oklahoma Wakeboard Association, White Trash Wakeboard Team, Windsurfing Sports Houston, Alliance Wakeboard Magazine, Legend Eyewear, and O'Neill.
We'd also like to extend a special thanks to all of our drivers and volunteers who worked hard to make it all happen, and to Debbi Kruse for providing her boat at the last minute to ensure that everyone got adequate water time.
This event was so successful that there was extra money left afterward, which will be donated to charity, dividing the proceeds between the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and the Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Plans are in effect for next year's big event, so girls, mark your calendars for early September 2002 in Austin, Texas. It’s an event you won't want to miss! For more information about the Wakechicks organization, pictures from the event, and news about next year’s event, visit our website at www.wakechicks.com.
