TAG | wakeboard
Two Seasons sponsored wakeboard Lex Balladon had a podium finish at stop 3 of the Ten Feet High tour at the weekend. First of all the rookies were out in force on the flat lake although it had been raining, conditions were great and it was actually quite warm. After the rookies came the ladies! All of the girls were throwing down their inverts and going big! Lex placed 3rd behind Chloe Goudie who came 2nd and Sophie Cordery who got the top spot. Great result!
The girls with their goodies!
A world champion freestyle jet-skier was on hand to provide some pretty gnarly interval entertainment before it was time for the guys to take to the water. Gary Stelfox came in first for the pro men with ‘Wee Man’ 2nd and Damon Bull 3rd.
A great day was had by all.
Lex · wakeboard · Wakeboarding
23
Catching up with 2S Wakeboarder Lex Balladon
No comments · Posted by Lauren in Wakeboarding
It’s a new wakeboard season so we thought we’d catch up with Two Seasons Wakeboarder Lex Balladon to see what she likes and dislikes at the moment…
Killing it on the sliders...
Travel?
Likes: Anywhere hot with a good cable or good waves. Like Philippines or Bali.
Dislikes: Detroit – that was scary!
Weekends?
Likes: Wakeboarding, seeing friends and family.
Dislikes: Driving ages to competitions with a hangover.
Food?
Likes: Mexican. And a corona to wash it down, with lime.
Dislikes: Yogurt, is it food, is it gone off milk? Who knows! Strongly dislike.
Music?
Likes: Rock, pop, I like a bit of country here and there.. Only when line dancing or travelling in an RV though!
Dislikes: Heavy metal.
And the kickers!
Wakeboarding?
Likes: Landing a new trick, or just having a sick session with friends.
Dislikes: Busy cables and winter riding. Putting on a wet wetsuit!
Trick?
Likes: Any kind of slider.
Dislikes: Toe side kicker spins scare me!
Surfing?
Likes: Catching a good wave – only a surfer knows the feeling! 
Dislikes: Getting worked and held under. Getting dropped in on.
Drink?
Likes: Champagne.
Dislikes: Shots, I’m rubbish at taking them!
Life?
Likes: LOVES life. And having fun shredding, yeah!
Dislikes: Rude people. Its just not nice is it.
Shoutouts?
Likes: Two Seasons! Thanks for all my gear
Dislikes: The cold wind that has been blowing over the UK for the past month.
Its time for the girls to have some fun! Chicks Shred Sesh is on at WakeMK this Sunday and then every third Sunday of the month. If you want to learn how to wakeboard, get involved. Come down if you can already ride, you want to learn to hit sliders and kickers, or you want to learn inverts! It’s a fun time, girls only and goodies to win!
2011 WakeMK Chicks Sessions (with double ups)
Reckon you could do this?
Sunday 8th May
Sunday 19th June
Sunday 17th July
Sunday 21st August
Sunday 18th September
Sunday 16th October
Each season will be running from 9am – 11am and they are free for members and £20 (including all kit) for non-members. WakeMK Pro Women Lex Balladon and Chloe Goudie will be on the dock to help out and double up with the riders. There will also be some guest coaching from Sarah Kingdom and Charlotte Hemming.
Contact www.wakemk.com for more info.
The London Boat Show will be running from the 7th – 16th January at Excel House.
Billabong's Jonty Green
People from all over will be gathering to check out some serious marine action. There will be big boats, small boats, wakeboard boats and yachts, and some boats that most could only dream of…
There is an indoor action pool set up to hold different watersports throughout the show. One of them will be wakeboarding! There are two floating obstacles set up and the riders will be using a 2.0 system to hit the toys and do water tricks. The main riders invited are Dan Nott, CK, Lee Debuse and Jonty green with Matt Crowhurst on the mic.
Check out http://www.londonboatshow.com/2011/home.aspx for more information.
(Words by Two Seasons wakeboarder Lex Balladon)
17
Billabong re-sign Wakeboarder Raphael Derome
No comments · Posted by Lauren in Billabong, Brands, Wakeboarding
Winning his Tranworld award
Billabong have announced that they have re-signed Canadian wakeboarder Raphael Derome for another three years. At just the start of his career he has recently taken the wakeboard world by storm winning various competitions in the past year including Wake The Line in Cologne, Germany and he went on to earn himself the coveted Rail Rider of the Year award at the 2010 Transworld Wakeboarding Wake Awards that took place in Orlando towards the end of last year. See more at http://www.billabong.com/us/blog-post/2066/2010-09-21
Billabong see Derome as an excellent young role model within the sport of wakeboarding and also as an excellent asset to the sport in the future. Here’s to seeing more of him in 2011!
Surf inspired Nalu beads are an interesting addition to any girl’s wardrobe. Two Seasons have a range of the beads in store and you will hopefully soon be able to buy online too.
The Nalu brand has a surfy, relaxed and dare we say ‘hippy’ vibe and the beads reflect the brands passion for all things ocean. Inspiration is taken from the ever changing sea and the nature around it. Colours of ocean and everything in and around it are brought together in the Nalu beads collection. Effetre Murano glass is used to make these wonderfully different beads. The glass originates on the island of Murano, Italy and has been manufactured for centuries. It is proven to hold its finish, lustre and colour with no special storage requirements, if you look after them then they are likely to last for hundreds if not thousands of years, just like a piece of glass in the sea!
The girls from Nalu Beads including 2S sponsored wakeboarder Alexis Balladon
Each bead is handmade and there’s a story behind every one. The Retro Betty collection for example, is a tribute to the great female surfing pioneers. Nalu beads tell us about the Gidget (which is a bead that is part of the Retro Betty collection), “Kathy Kohner was born in 1941 and spent much of her childhood on the beaches at Malibu. She hung out with such influential surfers as Miki Dora, Mickey Munoz, Dewey Weber, Tom Morey, Nat Young, Terry “Tubesteak” Tracy and Bill “Moondoggie” Jensen, who became the inspiration for the eponymous character in her father’s novel.” Other collections include The North Devon Breaks and the Islands collections, full of beautifully patterned little delights!
Create your own bracelets and necklaces, if you’re not the imaginative DIY type, then go to http://www.nalubeads.com/ for some help with braiding your own.
Coaches Sarah (left) and Lex!
On Sunday 17th October – it was a beautiful day at WakeMK Cable Park. It was chilly but the sun was shining and the water was flaaaaaaat. Perfect for a double-up coaching session. Myself and Sarah Kingdom were coaching the ladies morning, which ran from 10am – 1pm. We were getting the girls out the water and warming up, ready to try their new tricks. The great thing about the morning was that Sarah and I were able to double-up with the girls and coach from on the water. They feel more confident when hitting a new kicker or slider because someone is there supporting them. We had some prizes to give out as usual: the Nalu Beads and Wide-A-Wake prize went to Vanessa, she made it all the way round on a kneeboard for the first time even though she took a nasty bump to the head! The Two Seasons Vouchers went to Jasmine because she has put in so much effort this summer and really improved, she is only 13 but she was macking at the new rainbow rail at MK and nearly getting the whole way along!! Well done girls!
Sarah, Jasmine, Vanessa and Lex with prizes!
The rest of the day was fun as people were testing out the 2011 kit. I managed to get on the board I’ll be riding next year, the Pearl, which put a smile on my face. We had the Slingshot Team down, myself, Sarah, Angelo Couchman, Rich Underwood and Dan Jordan. We even had a couple of the Slingshot Kiters down, Lewis and Adam Walker. We also had 5 times World Champion Kitesurfer Aaron Hadlow tearing up the cable.
It was a great day, keep your eyes open for the 2011 Ladies Mornings and Slingshot Demo days!!
(Words by 2S Team Rider Lex Balladon)
Lex · wakeboard · Wakeboarding
Lex and Sharm brave the cold, it looks freezing!
It was the last ladies morning of the season for Box End Park. It was cold, it was windy, but it was flat and a few brave women came along and showed their commitment to the sport. Throughout the sessions we have been giving away prizes for the most improved, best stack or best trick etc.
This week the the Two Seasons Gift Vouchers went to Sharm! Sharm rides at Box End and at WakeMK, she had also just returned from Bulgaria from a week behind boat – lucky lady! This week, Sharm landed a switch heelside 180 off the kicker!! Well done Sharm!!
(Words written by Two Seasons rider Lex)
cable jam · Competition · Lex · wakeboard · Wakeboarding
28
Wakeboarder Marc Rossiter joins forces with Billabong
No comments · Posted by Lauren in Billabong
Marc Rossiter styling on the quarter pipe at the Projects Wake Park
Billabong sponsor some of the best athletes in the world across a huge range of sports. Their latest catch is Brit Marc Rossiter who you may have seen gracing the July/August 2010 cover of Alliance Wakeboarding UK magazine. It’s been quite a year for the rail rider who also took 2nd place at the Wakestock Abu Dhabiin March, beating the wakeboarding legend Parks Bonifay. JD Webb eventually won the competition beating Rossiter in the final.
Now regarded as one of the best rail riders in wakeboarding Marc has being travelling the world recently, competing and filming parts for up-coming movies. Sponsorship from Billabong we guess is the icing on the cake at the end of what has been a great contest season. When asked about his new sponsorship Rossiter responded, ”Wakeboarding’s been my passion for years. To be recognized by such a big brand that has so much credibility is an incredible feeling. I’m looking forward to working with everyone and I’m stoked to be part of the program!”
Lex with her winning board! (Photo by Dan Jordan)
The Summer Jam was here! Finally!!
It is always a sick event with a Jam format to qualify for the finals which is always fun as you can try all your hardest tricks, fall, and then try again if there’s time.
Registration was at 8:30am, way too early for most of the riders likings but it had to be done to get it all underway so we would finish before darkness set in. It was a sunny but windy day, the DJ was pumping out some good sounds and the bank was filling up with spectators nicely for the finals.
I did well and came 1st in my category! It was a fun day all round and everyone is looking forward to the Spring Jam in April to kick start the season of 2011!!
(Words by Two Seasons rider Lex)
