ExPix are in Sheffield this week as media partners and official photographers for the the BUCS Wakeboarding Nationals. The event is presented by Uniwake and hosted by Sheffield Waterski & Cable and sponsored by Relentless. With 94 competitors this has to be one of the biggest Wakeboard Competitions of the year and all credit is due to the hard work of the guys from Uniwake and Andy and the crew at Sheffield Waterski & Cable.

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Monday saw the arrival of the students and by 11.15 there was already a big queue waiting to hit the cable for the practise sessions.With nearly 30 women registered it was noticeable that the queue was almost 50/50 men and women which is something we haven't seen before; again credit to Uniwake for promoting the sport so well within the unis and for getting so many female riders to compete.

The riding level was already proving to be good but with  riders still getting use to the lake and systems we're expecting big things when the competitions start later on in the week.

There were a number of good riders out on the water but one girl didn't want to ride. With the sun out and never wanting to miss an opportunity we managed to persuade/'bully' Kirsteen into riding a few laps. She almost managed to come off the water with her hair still dry, that was until she stacked a big S bend! We managed to get some good images but you will have to check out the galleries to see those!!

 

So the schedule for the week is: Tuesday  - Railey Clinics & Practice Sessions for both Boat and Cable, Wednesday - Boat Comp at Triton Lake, Thursday - Cable Comp

After the lake closed on Monday the staff manage to get a chance to ride and Buzza and Ben were on it ... We only had time for a couple of shots but when the weather is this good and we get a sunset like this who can complain.... Sheffield ???? really ??? could be anywhere in the world!

 

So as usual with all student events the parties are a big part of activities and Monday night proved to be no exception. Fancy dress combined with amazing skies made for some interesting imagery, add a little bit of strobe flash and we get three headed people .....weird ...but fun!

To view a small gallery of images from the first day click here you don't need to be register to view these!

 

DAY2

So after a good night chilling and catching up with friends, it was time for day 2 and with the sun beating down for the second day people were beginning to show signs of a festival type mood, tired, burnt, but very happy!

It was another practice day which gave us chance to try and get shots of everyone; not an easy task with so many riders and all at different levels. Many of the beginners just wanted a pic of them riding stood up, or even attempting something that they know they just can't do at the moment, whilst the more experienced riders wanted fully tweaked images showing the technical side of the sport, with grabs, inverts and full extension. But this is what Uniwake is all about; bringing people of all levels together to learn, to compete and most importantly to enjoy the sport with other like minded people.

It is really good to see the better riders 'pushing' the ones learning and the ones learning appreciating the skill level of the better riders. Of course being students there is a silly side to it all as well with 'who can have the biggest crash', or 'do the most outrageous manoeuvre'. This time the biggest crash went to a t90, basically a crash that smashes your face into the water , whilst the craziest manoeuvre had to go to Pierre Petit who, on a knee board, was pulling switch back flips, front flips and barrel rolls of, the kickers!

As the evening drew in the light, although not quite as dramatic as the previous night, was stunning. I asked a couple of the guys from the cable park, Buzza, Ben and Wee Man along with Kirstin Mitchell if they would ride for some evening shots. Buzza and Ben were on it big time with some massive moves off the third corner. Not being able to get the boat where we needed it to be for the images, we moved to the dock and Wee Man and Kirstin did a few moves over our heads .... interesting results and it certainly didn't look like you would expect Sheffield to look!! Coming off the water at around 10.00pm we headed to the van to download and get ready for the early start the following day for the boat comps

 

DAY3

A 6am alarm call woke us up to yet another gloriously sunny day, a quick breakfast and pack up to move over to Triton Lake for the boat sessions saw us on the road by 7.15am arghhh .

The boat was already in the water when we arrived and ready to go. With the ladies up first everything was running smoothly and once again the level of so called beginners was very good! The ladies were strong riders behind the boats with good wake tricks 180's and 360's as well as wake to wake and a couple of invert attempts on the final runs showed that with more boat time the level could be very high indeed.

Next up was the Mens B and again some of the guys were very confident riders.

The big competition of the day was Mens A and with only 3 riders in this it was a big shame. The level was off the scale, a few more riders would have added to the drama as Matt Price showed why he is a sponsored rider. The number of trick he managed to get into the runs was far higher than anyone else with a sequence more akin to pro competitions. The other two were still very good riders but just couldn't compete with the variety that Matt threw down .. and landed.

Back at Sheffield Cable and Waterski there was still more time to practice as well as a quick wakeskate jam which provided some amusement for the non competitors as people who had never riden wakeskates joined in with 'seasoned riders' Its quite funny watching a student try to do a back flip off a kicker on a wakeskate.

 

DAY4

The final day of the Uniwake BUCS Nationals brought with it a full day of cable competitions starting early with the qualifiers in order to get through 3 categories of women and men as well as a kneeboard comp.

Again the standard of riding was impressive, much to the delight of some of the locals who, having come for a quiet walk, stayed to watch the action.

With the level of riding having improved after 4 days solid on the water practicing both behind a boat and on the cable the only thing left to do was the competition some of which would qualify for the valuable BUCS points.

With all levels of riding taking part the competition is more about progression rather than out and out supremeacy which of course is paramount in the higher levels. This system however introduces people who are new to the sport into how to compete, and a gentle pressure rather than over powering them with a full on battle against the 'big boys ...and girls' who obviously have had more experience at this. So one compulsory element of this competition is the T90 which in basic terms means ....... who can crash the hardest.

Now this is a must for everyone and at the end of the in lap (if you cleared the trick part of the ride) you must crash. Not everyone is happy about this, especially those who have done this before and know just how much this can hurt. Catching the front edge of the board literally slams the person face first into the water with the painful feeling of having your eyelids peeled back accross your face !!!  There could only be one winner for this as he was too fast to be photographed, his eyelids and eyeballs bruised he hit the water harder than anyone else that day. Now we felt a little sorry for him, as we had a competion for the funniest photograph from the week. If he'd have been a little slower he may well have won, instead the acolade must go to for the guys who with his attempt to ride the fun box in a horizontal position, with transfer and drop off makes a classic image. Whilst for the girls Vicki henderson who had a narrow escape on the first day whist trying to pull of a three 360 in the funbox (that fun box cuaght out a few people this week) she leant to far forward, almost catching her head on the lip as she slipped off, maybe not funny on reflection about what could have happened........... but she made it and can tell the tale with graphic images to illustrate how not to dismount the fun box. With all this going on as well as a massive photo call for all the riders there along with two vans, a boat with landrover, branded gazebo, banners and product we were kept busy throughout the day.

So with presentations and the last night party Uniwake presents the BUCS Nationals 2010 came to fitting end. The BUCS results are as follows ...

 

 

 

click here for the full galleries but remember you'll have to be registered to see them ...