Alliance Wake Articles http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:04:34 +0000 http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/wakestock-abu-dhabi Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 The last weekend was without doubt one of the best and most surreal contest's i've ever been to, as 20 of the worlds best wakeboarders descended upon the United Arab Emirates for the first ever Wakestock Abu Dhabi. The setting for the event on the Al Sahil beach was stunning, with elaborate sky scrapers, a huge domed mosque and the worlds biggest flagpole lining surrounding the lagoon where the contest would take place. http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/wakestock-abu-dhabi http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/new-issue-2010-1 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 The first issue of 2010 is available now in the shops, and in usual fashion we kick off with the 2009 Rider Of The Year Award, which this year goes to the insanely stylish Aussie, Chris O'Shea. Fresh off the back of this award, Garrett Cortese talk to him about his year which included filming for ReWritten, and helping make wrapped tricks 'cool' again. http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/new-issue-2010-1 http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/abu-dhabi-part-3 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 The main reason we had all been flown from every corner of the globe to meet in this very precise spot was to gather media content and promote for the Wakestock Abu Dhabi contest in March. So on the Wednesday we had a bit of a lay-in before heading to the beach to ride some cable, throw some high-fives and generally schmooze with the world’s media. http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/abu-dhabi-part-3 http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/abu-dhabi-part-2 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 Day two of our trip to the Persian Gulf was a bit more fitting for one of the glitziest cities in the world, as we were off to Yas Island where Flash had arranged a visit to the brand new Formula 1 circuit. After a hearty breakfast of turkey bacon and turkey sausages (there’s no pork in the UAE) and staying well clear of anything that Garrett ate the previous morning, we boarded the Tige and Epic from the British Marine Club (One of the few places in the world we didn’t obtain using cannons). The water was so glassy that the guys and Amber, who arrived in the early hours of that morning, got some riding in on the way to Yas. Our guide/pro-chase-boat-driver Rudi knew all the best spots for private untouched water and we were definitely getting spoilt with the perfect conditions. After everyone had taken a set we were soon pulling up to Yas Island, and to say the view was staggering is a drastic understatement. http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/abu-dhabi-part-2 http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/abu-dhabi-part-1 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 Last weekend myself and a few others boarded five different planes from all corners of the globe to converge on the dust-filled streets and crystal clear waters of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. We had been invited out by the organizers of Wakestock Abu Dhabi which is taking place in a few weeks on March 4-6th, in order to get a taste of the area where the contest would take place, and to capture some promotional images for publicizing the event. Now as you may already know, this town isn’t shy of spending some cash in order to boost tourism, and when they call you wanting to promote wakeboarding in the UAE by paying us to hang out in the sun for a week and shoot some photos, you grab some sunscreen and run to your nearest airport with a beaming smile! http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/abu-dhabi-part-1 http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/ave-win-at-x-dance Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 On Tuesday night January 26th The Parks Documentary received the award for “Best Biography” and was nominated for “Best Editing” and “Best Film” at the X-Dance film festival in Salt Lake City. As you should know, X-Dance is an annual film festival for all movies created in and around action and outdoor sports. This accolade from the action sports film community is huge recognition for wakeboarding and particularly for Parks and Alliance Visual Experiences. http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/ave-win-at-x-dance http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/iwake Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 In this day and age it’s all about technology, getting things faster and sharing them further. We’re almost at the stage whereby if you’re not tweeting about your facebook page from your iPhone, then frankly you may as well quit life altogether. So to feed your hunger for all things geek-chic, we’ve compiled a list of the top iPhone applications that allow you to take wakeboarding and wakeskating with you wherever you go.  (Yes, it’s winter and there’s not much actual wakeboarding to write about, so this will have to do!) http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/iwake http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/a-decade-of-wakeskating Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 I can’t believe the last decade in over and I still don’t know how to refer to it. The 00’s? The singles? Whatever. But one thing I do know is the the years from 2000-2009 will go down in history as the most influential decade in the sport of wakeskating. We saw it go from something else to do when you got bored wakeboarding, to a legit activity with it’s own brands, pros, and subculture within a subculture. So seeing as it’s now 2010, and a decade I will be calling the “teens,” I figured it would be a good time to look back. http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/a-decade-of-wakeskating http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/find-a-spot-contest Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000 It has come to that time of year where things are a bit boring, it’s too cold to have a great day on the water, and you still can’t stop thinking of what you would rather be doing while sat inside leaning up against the radiator. So much like last year we have thought up a little contest to keep your brain occupied while also helping you prepare for next summer, as today we launch the ‘Find A Spot’ contest for 2010.   Just like the Design A Rail contest, the title really does give it away. You guessed it, we want you to nominate your favourite riding spot in Great Britain, be it a winch spot, cable park, boat lake, saltwater lagoon; if you think it’s a truly fantastic place to get your slaysh on then we want to know about it. http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/find-a-spot-contest http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/orlando-tourist-part-2 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000 In part 2 of our guide to wakeboarding spots in Orlando we take a look at the oldest and most famous wakeboard camp in the sports history, the Wakeboard Camp, and then we visit the newest cable park, McCormicks in Tampa. The Wakeboard CampThe Wakeboard Camp as been there from the start, it was the first ‘camp’ being promoted in the wake industry and everyone wanted to go. Just walking into that famous blue building is like entering a wakeboard museum. There are hundreds of old magazine pages stuck on the walls and framed pictures of the instructors who have worked at the camp getting covers and framed shots in the magazines. In the TV area is a copy of every wakeboard and wakeskate video that has ever been made and there are old boards fixed to the roof and walls. It really is like a museum and you can get lost for hours just walking around the rooms. http://www.alliancewake.co.uk/articles/orlando-tourist-part-2