The TXMC Wake Park is now open and ready to ride! The new cable system, the Sesitec System 2.0, was first displayed to the public at the 2008 Surf Expo in Orlando for the Red Bull Wake Lab and is now at Texas MasterCraft’s private lake. Unlike a regular cable system that goes in either a clockwise or counterclockwise circle around a lake, the Sesitec System 2.0 is connected between two towers 700′ apart and goes down and back the same line. When the rider gets to either end of the cable system, he or she simply cuts out on edge and and makes a large arc and then the cable pulls the rider back the opposite direction. If you have never seen the Sesitec System 2.0 in action, click here for to learn all about it.
But what makes the TXMC Wake Park an actual wake park are the new obstacles for wakeboarding and wakeskating. Pat Panakos from The Projects Camp and The Wake Park Project in Orlando, Florida, has built both of the current features and is currently building a new box that is sure to be the talk of the town. Each of the features are completely boxed in so that riders cannot get hung up on them if they fall, greatly reducing the risk of injury. Currently, there is an incline box with each side of the box making a 45° angle with the water and a kicker that is perfect for learning to spin.
Every rider at the TXMC Wake Park is required to wear both a Coast Guard Approved (CGA) life jacket and a helmet. If you do not have your own CGA life jacket or helmet, both are available to rent or buy through the TXMC Pro Shop.
Each session on the TXMC Wake Park cable will be purchased and scheduled online through www.TXMCwakepark.com, much like the lessons for Sasser Wakeboard School. Each session lasts 15 minutes, so make sure you get to the TXMC Wake Park lake at least 15 minutes early so that you have time to put on your board, bindings, helmet, and CGA life jacket! Reserve your time call TXMC proshop at 817.589.7547 to schedule a session.
For commercial installations, Red Bull chooses Sesitec System 2.0 to power their ground-breaking events. The Wake Park Project provided two Sesitec System 2.0′s to power the Red Bull Wake Lab, the most innovative event in wakeboarding. Running side-by-side, the System 2.0′s pulled the world’s top riders over a massive wake park obstacle with rails and ramps designed and built by Pat Panakos of The Wake Park Project. Check out the video recap below…
Red Bull Wake Lab, the biggest and most innovative wakeboarding event ever devised, splashed down in Tempe Town Lake during the Circle K Tempe Music Festival on April 3rd and 4th.Over two days, more than 25,000 spectators experienced some of the nation’s top wakeboarders showing off their best tricks on the “Wake Lab,” a one-of-a-kind floating cable wake park designed by Pat Panakos and towed by two Sesitec System 2.0′s setup side-by-side.
The first day of competition got off to a rocky start as 50 mph gusts of wind caused two of the qualifying rounds to be postponed.But Saturday brought clear skies and calm winds, and an early start allowed the event to get right back on track.At the end of a day of tight competition, four riders walked away with awards – Aaron Rathy (Most Progressive), Adam Errington (Best Trick), Parks Bonifay (Best Line) and JD Webb (Best Overall).
“Red Bull Wake Lab Tempe was hands-down the best wakeboarding event I’ve ever participated in,” said wakeboarding pro JD Webb. “From the perfect weather to the huge, supportive crowd and the amazing, challenging structure, I was happy to just be involved, let alone win ‘Best Overall.’”
The 36 competing athletes were a combination of pros hand-selected by Parks Bonifay, X Games Gold medalist and event co-creator, along with up-and-coming riders from across the country who competed in regional qualifiers to earn their spot in the event.
Red Bull Wake Lab made its debut in Orlando, FL in September 2008, and was an instant success with riders and fans alike.Created as an experiment to see how far the boundaries of the sport of wakeboarding could be pushed, the groundbreaking event seeks to “evolve” the sport of wakeboarding. Influenced by the design of the modern skateboarding skate park and snowboarding snow park, a massive cable wake park was specially designed with the goal of taking wakeboarding somewhere it had never been before. The result, dubbed “The Wake Lab,” allows riders to perform sets of tricks that were once impossible, raising the sport to new levels.
In order to evolve the sport and create new experiences for riders, a new technology needed to be introduced to take full advantage of the revolutionary wake park structure.This came to fruition when the “The Wake Lab” was coupled with the Sesitec System 2.0 overhead cable system courtesy of The Wake Park Project.No boats are needed to tow the wakeboarders, as this revolutionary cable system allows athletes to take two full runs (back and forth) across the wake park’s various rails, pools, sliders and 15-foot wall.The system made its US competition debut at Red Bull Wake Lab in Orlando.
Best Trick – Adam Errington – Backside Lipslide, backside 270 out on the quarter pipe
Best Line – Parks Bonifay – Switch boardslide backslide 450 to front board, 90 out on the M gap, backside lipslide over nose slide on the angled hubba ledge
