July Update

Hey y’all!

To all my fellow Americans I hope you had a great 4th! And for my friends across the pond… quoted by the Famous Coltman family

“HAPPY BRITISH TACTICAL RETREAT FROM the USA!” LOL!!!

On the 11th, it seems that another year has cruised on by, rolling my number ahead by one ; ) Thank God it is only a number! Cause I feel GREAT!

I would like to extend to my Frenchy counterparts on the 14th. .”Joyeux prise de la Bastille!” also to my good friend and Aussie mate AMBER WING…CONGRATS on landing the first ever Toe side 900!!!! Yes it is on film, property of Oakley at the moment. Super stoked for her…There are a lot of pro men that cant land a 9 …SO CHEERS MATE!

Just bought a camera!!! Super pumped… should be here in the next couple of days!

Looking ahead..I will be travelling to Moscow at the end of the month!!! Super stoked and you can bet Ill be giving updates while I am there : )

Other than that…I’m just working the Perf!, coaching on my days off, before and after work !!!

Life is Good…why? because I choose to make it so!!!!!

Wake surfing

Ramon!When I met Ramon at Performance Ski & Surf he told me in pretty good english “I am from Bra-zeeeel”…Now when I think of Brazil, I think of girls in tinney winney little ridiculously small bikini’s, Mardi Gras and my favorite SURFING!!!

Ramon was wanting a wakesurf board so he could have a play behind the jet ski or boat when there were no waves… I showed him all the different boards and options and then he started asking questions how to do it. Then my alter ego kicked in as “Coach Cathy” sometimes I feel it is a curse because I cant seem to keep my mouth shut..BUT please do understand I just love water sports and I want folks to have just as much fun as I do without hard times : ) Ramon

Long story short, Ramon came out to have a wakesurf sesh…he just wanted to smash the lip of the wake, link turns and do monster carves ..he didnt realize you could actually surf without the handle. After the thought was planted in his brazillian brain that man was on a mission, it didnt take long because ” Ramon GOT SKILLS!”

In a 30 minute session, Ramon was not just smashin the lip, he was enjoying being handle free just surfing, loving life behind the boat…

The pics will tell it all, revealing what makes me smile, loving what I do on a daily basis!
DSC01570Ramon

Thanks Ramon for spreading smiles!

Cathy

Women’s Health and Fitness Signature Panel

A couple weeks ago in Performance Ski and Surf I met Linda Chen, who is one of the Co-founders of L2Inc. L2 Inc. specializes in strategic marketing, business development, branding and marketing communications.

Linda and her business partner Sarah invited me to attend the Signature Panel Brunch celebrating National Women’s Health which was to conclude a series of events their company designed for Winnie Palmer Hospital. The event was hosted by two celebrities, Lauren Rowe of WKMG our local CBS affiliate and Mary Bryan, CBS Sports Golf commentator.

It was a great event giving women the opportunity to be introduced to the top surgeons/gyn doctors in Orlando…these women were awesome! The panel doctors discussed the top women issues/topics like the rise of premature births, the new anti viral drugs that our out there to protect our young women, the importance of supplemental vitamins as you age, different remedies for menopausal women besides taking drugs and the importance of being active. I left the event feeling way more knowledgeable and got on the horn ASAP to order myself some supplements…its been a couple weeks and I already feel more energetic..

There were 2 things I liked most about the event. The first was how approachable all the doctors were and willing to give there opinions BUT…the absolute best was having a rip around on the DA VINCI …SOOOoooo sick ! The Da Vinci Surgery is a robot that has been making more common surgeries minimally invasive.

The Da Vinci Surgery is better than any video game…You sit in this pod, lean into it to place your forehead against a soft gel like pad to look through what’s sorta like a binocular..At first you feel like your cross eyed but once you relax and just let the image come together your sweet as.! Place your hands on the control by inserting your pointy finger and thumb in each designated hand station and Wah-LAh !!!! Your on your way to picking up tools, making delicate incisions and making the most intricate knots.

It was a great morning and I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to Linda and Sarah for the invite and I look forward to more events like those.

winnie palmer

Well you know Im not gonna end without talking a little something about wakeboarding.. Ladies, girls, women…you know who you are! Whether you are riding for fun or more in tune with trying to compete on tour we need to be taking care of our selves…riding alone will not suffice. To be at your best fitness and give yourself the best chance to stay injury free try and incorporate some of these suggestions into your everyday routine…

1. Drink lots of water….face plants don’t count!
2. Stretch before you ride…Not too much…save it for afterwards
3. Get a Massage! You ask why? first of all it feels good because it is good, breaking up lactic acid build up and those problem areas that look like you been sitting on Gravel …Secondly you deserve it because it is the only time you can really do something for you without you having to do or think about anything else…

If your ever in Orlando try Own2Hands Massage Justin is the man! Justin has been working on me for several years as well as other top professional and aspiring athletes in other fields.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend…Be safe!!!!

L8TR!!!

Cathy

Surfing Sweet Tea!

Not too long ago I was visiting some friends at Darin Shapiro’s Ride the Spot on Lake Mary Jane! Sasha and Olja (? I am sorry if I butchered your name) are from Moscow, Russia, they come here off and on throughout the year to enjoy days like this one : ) GD8F1744

Grind Water is Shapiro’s Wake Surf creation which Performance Ski & Surf has been selling for about 6 months now and with the weather getting warmer.. I was dying to get out to try all the wake surf models in the line .. I decided to try the Slaysh/V-Star, the Makka and the Ginsu…My fave ended up being the Ginsu!

The funniest thing to get your head around in Florida, is the color of water! Some lakes like mine are crisp, clean and clear, others are this crazy sweet tea clear colored water that stains the crap out anything that is remotely white. Hey, I will take smashing some sweet tea over muddy water anyday!
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I thought I would share a couple pics from that day that Sasha forwarded on to me…….. That man was fearless sitting on the platform taking pics with NO WATER CASEING!!! while I was out surfing! Sasha is either “The Man” or “That Guy” who is lucky…I reckon the boy got some skills ; )

Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to Darin, Sasha and Grind Water for a great morning out on the water for the Surf Sesh!

The good things in life are free : )

Day at the beach with TJ and the Canadians Alex, Brayden, Riley, GregDo you believe that the good things in life are for free?

I do…

Such things as a laugh, a smile, a sunset, a breath of fresh air or having the pleasure of meeting and making new friends…

In todays ever growing social and network media outlets, all this technological advancement in communication is affecting personal interaction and communication skills. People cant seem to communicate directly to one another? they’re becoming socially awkward…this is not true all the time but, it seems more noticeable to me these days.

Like when your out on the lake which is suppose to be a “Social event” and somebodies texting the whole time ..?! What’s worse is 2 people in the boat texting each other..SERIOUSLY?!? First off its rude and secondly…well its just rude.

WAKEBOARDING is about getting away from it ALLLLLLLLLL!!!! Work, stress, life as we know it on land! Dont get me wrong take it on the boat for emergencies…Enjoy your time on the water with the friends that are there enjoying the same things as you!

The more you open yourself up and put yourself out there, getting outside your comfort zone every once in a while, I believe you have increased your chances of having a more enjoyable quality of life…!

Which leads me to ….WAKEBOARDING and how it has metamorphisized riders! (Did I make that word up?) I know its not the answer to one of life’s mysteries BUT…. I have seen it change lives!

Im not saying I am a miracle maker but I do have the opportunity to reach people through something I love …Like wakeboarding, along with the right influences, leadership, direction, care and concern can make difference in lives : )

Its sorta easy for me to write about putting yourself out there because I am a bit of an extrovert. I’m not always comfortable in certain situations either but I challenge myself to at least try to go do things…what’s the worse that can happen? have a crappy time? well then I can always leave : )

I wrote this because I am lucky enough to keep meeting quality people that like to ride : ) and there are so many of them that I’ve met along the way which definitely changed the pathway I chose to follow, giving me the best life ever and I wouldn’t change it for the world!

Let me know what things in life are free that can change your mood, make you happy or help you de-stress?

Cheers y’all!
Cathy

Wake Games!

Competitors and spectators alike from around the world came to Orlando to get their first fix of wakeboard competition season into their veins! Wake Games was hosted at the Orlando Water Sports Complex.
 Andrea!!!

The weekend was awesome with hot sun and fun all weekend long. I worked at Performance Ski& Surf most of the days but got to work our tent on Sunday. I really miss competition : (

Before the weekend, the preliminary rounds kicked off on Thursday until Friday, which lead to Saturdays finals for some of the lower divisions and elimination rounds for pro divisions. Saturday Night was filled with parties downtown at the ” Other Bar” as well as the unforgettable Body Glove video premier of “Slick City”…comments heard was ” Well done’, ‘Sick Riding’, Not your normal wakeboarding vid’ ” I think that means that Body Glove’s money was well spent ; )

Not only was the weather hot on Sunday for finals, so was the pro women riding …Training over the winter really paid off ! Top 3 spots going to Dallas, Nicola and Amber.

Yea Girl !! Thanks for coming over from across the pond!
It was great to see riders, fans and spectators come out support the sport…I would like to give a big..

THANK YOU!

Cathy

What the judges are looking for in pro riding for 2010

The question I get from a lot of competition riders is ” What are the judges looking for? How do they judge you? What tricks are they looking for?

Pan Am Games

Pan Am Games

Well the WWA has released the format for this 2010 season and if your not on their list well then I have obliged by publishing it.

Its important to know these things as you are progressing your riding because every year or so the judging seems to change. The sport is moving quickly and the judging has to keep up with the riding, so as a competitive rider so do you! THIS DOES NOT MEAN…RIDE ONLY TO PLEASE THE JUDGES!!!! It simply means ride with passion, flowing with your style of riding…be creative and innovative!

With an open format your position in a heat can help you determine what you need to do in your passes. If your first or last in a heat you’ll have the advantage of setting the pace if your first, if your last then you will have seen everyones runs to know what you need to add or decide to take it easier to save your energy for the next round ; )

If your somewhere in between you’ll have to do what you can do…at the end of the day if you accomplished that with stand up passes you cant get pissed at yourself…because you did all what you could! Get stoked on yourself! Then get focused..if you didn’t make it thru, have a look at the winners of all the heats to see what types of categories/tricks you need to focus on…

Ok ok ok !!! Blah blah blah Ill post the criteria ENJOY!!


2010 Pro Men’s and Pro Women’s Judging and Scoring Criteria

All Pro Men and Pro Women will be judged using the DRIVE system. The major change for 2010 is that judges will not be scoring riders on individual categories. Judges will now be using an Overall Impression system to evaluate/ analyze the rider’s runs.

The King of Wake has used a 5 category system for the past two years. The five category system as well as the composition system used the previous years is all based off of the DRIVE criteria. Judges will continue to look for the most versatile rider by breaking it down into difficulty, risk, intensity, variety and execution.

Scoring:
There will be three judges. Each judge’s score will be worth 33.3 percent of the overall score. The judge will give each rider a score from 1 to 10. The three judges scores will be averaged together to come up with an overall score out of 100. There will be no predetermined values for placing. Each judge will analyze the rider’s runs based off of the DRIVE criteria and score them appropriately. Judges will be able to reward as well as penalize riders according to the performance of their runs.

D difficulty
R risk in the run
I intensity
V variety
E execution

Difficulty:
Trick difficulty (Technical Difficulty) – This is simply defined as how difficult each trick is based on a number of variables. Spins, slides, rolls or flips including spins, grabbing your board, handle passes and the way a rider lands all subjectively define how difficult certain tricks are in comparison to others.
Number of rotations
Combos (combining tricks, adding spins, grabs etc)
The direction a rider spins in relation to the trick. Frontside or backside (blind)
Switch vs. regular stance
Handle pass vs. landing wrapped
Grabbed or not

Risk:
Linking difficult tricks
Trick difficulty in relation to the course.
Risk – A rider opening their run with a technically difficult trick would be considered high risk. Risk is also demonstrated by how a rider performs their tricks and whether or not they display a sense of “putting it all on the line” in order to better their opponents.

Intensity:
Here judges look for how big or high the rider is taking each of their tricks. This is typically noted on the judges sheet by a plus sign, “+”. If the trick was incredibly high, and the judge will place 2 plus signs next to it on the judges sheet, “+ +”. The same goes for tricks done small may have a minus “-“ sign.
· Wake to wake vs. out in the flats
· 270 transfer vs. boardslide

Variety:
A variety of tricks performed in a pass is what judges are looking for in order to determine the most versatile rider. Wakeboarding has categories of tricks such as: straight airs/glides, spins, inverts/flips and rails/obstacles. A good wakeboard pass should have tricks from each of these categories and be well rounded. This shows a rider is skilled at all types of maneuvers and therefore showing variety in their riding.
Were the tricks all based on the same trick? (roll, roll 2 rev, roll 2 blind, kgb = similar)
Were the grabs different?
Did the rider spin both directions?
Were the rails slid differently? (boardslide v lipslide, heelside v toeside)

Execution:
Completion of the Trick – This is essentially how the trick was performed in the air or on the rail and that the rider is in control. Control and poise during the middle of a trick shows the rider is confident in that trick and thus it is well executed. Control and completion of a trick also means that the rider is performing a trick he/she set out to complete. Example: If a rider attempts to do a 360 and bobbles halfway through the trick and only performs a 180, it shows they are not in control.
The Landing – This is simply how clean the landing was of the trick. If the rider butt checks, falls of the rail, bonks the rail, drags a hand, switches 180 to avoid falling, or looks out of control after they have landed this can negatively affect the execution category.
Perfection – Judges are looking for how “clean” or how perfect EACH trick was performed in the passes. Judges look at the approach, the body position, rotation of the trick, the axis of the body, head position, handle position, clean grabs not slaps, speed to which the trick was performed. A rider completing their routine without falling also demonstrates perfection.
FLOW: Flow is when a wakeboarder can execute their tricks together to make them look like they connect smoothly from one to another. For instance, when a rider lands a trick switch and then cuts into the wake to do the next trick in the same switch position. A rider that does not flow well would do things like constantly hopping from switch to regular or vice versa in their transition between tricks, starting the pass late, or finishing a pass early. Dead water is not showing flow or composition.
Did the rider customize or adapt tricks…make them their own?

General:
Creativity of course management and time is crucial in achieving a smooth, fluid, flowing run. Riders that take the time to plan out their run, plan the path they are going to take in and around the obstacles/rails will be rewarded in this area. Riders that can link creative tricks/maneuvers between obstacles will also be rewarded. Judges will be looking for riders that use up the full time, and length of the course. Wasted water will reflect negatively towards the rider’s score.
Judges will only score tricks successfully landed. Falls are simply a missed trick and course time is lost. You will not be judged down for falls, but this can take away from the overall look and flow of a riders run. Riders are allowed 2 falls. The run ends on 3rd fall.

The Kicker will only count for the best trick contest off the apparatus. Riders are encouraged to hit the kicker. The kicker will be placed out of the way of the actual run, but in a prime location for the crowd to view.

Scoring:
Ties will be broken by placements. The first tie breaker will go to the rider with most first places. Second tie breaker will go to the rider with most second places and so on until the tie is broken.

WHOA! That was a lot of info! There is alot more to becoming a Pro Wakeboarder than partying, dudes/chicks, traveling the world, getting insane opportunities, getting to spend all your days out on the lake ; )

Getting into the Judges head is a tiny part of the big picture BUT at the end of the day…they are the ones deciding who is going home with the ca$h, so its good for you to know on the up and up of what the trend is…

; Late y’all

Cathy

Gettin the Itch?

Spring is here soooooo come on down!!!! Get warm but most of all get wet! The water is absolutely perfect and the riding has been off the charts!

I have been loving life, just getting ready for summer organizing clinics and having the best time out on the water with folks from all over the world coming into town to get there Orlando wakeboard fix!

Sigi and Mario from Germany have been here 2 weeks riding boat and cable…Jennifer A from Michigan just came into town with her friend Cathy to ride in the Wakegirls Experience with Amber Wing, Hayley Smith, Nicola Butler and Jen Gillenfar ( I think I butchered Jen’s name Sorry!) plus Sasha and his wife are back here for a week from Russia…
Now all we need are some more Canadians to add to the mix!

If your coming into town for the first time or for a repeat…need a place to ride, want to know whats hot and whats not after hours feel free to hit me up Cathy@CathyWilliams.com

Summer’s coming come on down and get a head start on your riding!

: ) Cathy

SPRING IS HERE!!!!

How exciting! We have just had one of our classic Florida April morning showers, the birds are singing, the smell of orange blossoms fill the air and better yet the lake is absolute glass!!!! I love it!

I do hope if any of you make it down to Orlando during our spring, you’ll get to enjoy all the things that make life as a wakeboarder worth waking up early just for the sake of riding
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Oh Girl!!

I have a GF from my hometown in Murray Kentucky, who like myself , is one prone to getting out of town…ALOT! Well I caught up with her the other day to find out what is going on, as I found out… ALOT!

I knew she was very gifted in all disciplines of the art world but I am really enjoying what she is passionate about…JEWELRY ; )

If you call yourself a female or someone that loves unique one of a kind gifts then you have got to check Melissa Drakes exquisite hand made line of Jewelry called HappyGoLicky!

If you like what you see let me know better yet let her know! Browse around, bookmark it! Grab something for yourself , your Gf’,Bf’s or your BFF’s LOL!!!

Melissa also makes very unique handmade gifts that would make memorable gifts for weddings, graduation, anniversaries, any occasion that would deserve some thought, warmth  and care towards the recipient.

Be sure to check back soon, I have updated my calendar for some up and coming clinics with more on the way…Looks like its gonna be a great summer!!!!

Cheers Y’all!

Cathy