What do you get when you combine flowriding, food, beverage, music, entertainment, retail and other endless possibilities? A whole lot of fun and a Flow House of course!
The Flow House Xscape Yorkshire is the next big thing to hit the UK and we couldn’t be more excited. We are stoked that our friends in the UK will now have another facility to be able to ride, shred and hone in their flowriding skills, all under the roof of an all inclusive Flow House. Eat, drink, relax, ride and soak in this surf infused lifestyle venue. Featured at the center of it all are two FlowRider® Doubles, allowing over 630 sq ft of carving space for each ride. Whether you surf, skate, wake, snowboard, or just want to have a good ol’ time, head down to Flow House Xscape in Yorkshire to check out all the action!
Keep your eyes peeled for the exciting launch of this newest venue opening the 16th of December. For more information on Flow House and the launch of their new site, please contact: [email protected]
You can also stay up to date on all the latest happenings at:
THE 2013 WORLD FLOWBOARDING CHAMPIONSHIPS (WFC) – FLOWBARREL® HITS THE HOT, HUMID DESERT
2012 was the first time the FlowRider and FlowBarrel events were separated and held on different dates at different venues. This format proved to be very successful as it enabled the competitors to showcase their skills on a specific discipline.
From Asia to Africa and Europe, the WFC has zigzagged across the globe since its inception in 2009. This year it’s set to take place in the United Arab Emirates at the newest Double FlowBarrel® 10 located at Yas Waterworld, Abu Dhabi. This exclusive annual event will be taking place over the weekend of October 25th & 26th 2013.
After its grand unveiling in January 2013, Yas Waterworld would be one of only two venues in the world that boasts a Double FlowBarrel 10. South Africa being the other venue, hosted the WFC event in 2011 so bringing back the competitors to compete on the left and right breaking FlowBarrel should be the perfect recipe for a very compelling championship.
Having an event on a double FlowBarrel brings a whole new dynamic. This enables the competitors to show off their skills on both their forehand and backhand, which gives them an opportunity to showcase a bigger repertoire of tricks to the crowd and of course the judges.
“I have always wanted the event to come back to a double FlowBarrel”, said contest director Greg Lazarus. “This is the perfect platform for riders to really perform”
Having teams fly in from all over the world such as South Africa, Singapore, Chile and of course the defending champions USA as well as competitors from Dubai, the UK, and Australia to name a few. In conjunction with the team event their will be individual championship titles up for grabs in the Pro Female Flowboarding, Pro Men’s Flowboarding and Pro Bodyboard divisions.
So if you are feeling hot and humid, make sure you come cool off and catch the action at the World Flowboarding Championships at Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi.
WORLD FLOWBOARDING CHAMPIONSHIPS – FLOWRIDER® RETURNS TO THE USA
In 2012 Salomon Centre, Ogden, Utah were host to the first WFC event ever held on American soil and due to its incredible turn out of more than 50 of the best riders in the world, it was a no brainer to once again have the WFC event return to the USA.
The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa located in Scottsdale, Arizona is fairly new to the flowboarding scene and has just recently joined the wonderful world of competition. 2013 will be their first time participating on the USA Prime FLOW Tour as the official kick-off event for the tour season, but they didn’t want to stop there. The Westin group have committed to hosting the 2013 World Flowboarding Championships - FlowRider on October 12th -13th. This resort, boasting a double FlowRider set in an arena style layout offers the perfect stage for the best of the best to come battle it out for the WFC titles.
The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa offers Agave, The Arizona Spa, Kierland Golf Club, FlowRider, award winning dining, art, history, music and nearby upscale shopping and entertainment. This oasis in the desert will attract riders from all over the United States as well as teams from Europe, Asia, Australia and of course the defending champions USA.
Flowboarding League Of the World (FLOW) is very excited to be partnering up with the Westin group. “I am so excited that we are able to have the event in the USA once again and I am very grateful that the Westin Group are the host venue”, said FLOW Operations Manager Greg Lazarus.
This will be the first time the WFC event will be held in the state of Arizona at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa this summer, so be sure to stay tuned for more details.
Hyatt Hill San Antonio set to debut FlowRider Memorial Day weekend
The Hyatt Hill San Antonio is set to inaugurate its' membership into the flowboarding community this Memorial Day weekend with the opening of the FlowRider Single. Adjacent to the Championship golf course, they are flying in multiple FLOW National champion Sean Silveira for the grand opening weekend.
The FlowRider is part of a massive recreation renovation which includes slides, pools and Food and Beverage. With experienced FLOW participants Hayley Balderama, Mateo Hernandez, and Cathy Seabert working with the venue, Hyatt Hill should be cranking out a new legion of talented riders in no time time.
The venue, which is located on the outskirts of the city, has an awesome country feel surrounding it, and we look forward to many great reviews of this new facility.
The 2013 FLOW Tour, sponsored by Carbon, is ready to launch its attack beginning with the opening event at the Westin Kierland Resort on Friday, May 31st, 2013. With 10 Prime events on tap, this seasons Tour looks to be as competitive as ever. With returning 2012 Mens Flowboard World Champion Brad Spencer back to defend his title, the Pro division looks to be as tough as ever. The 2012 Female Flowboard World champion Xana Nash, is set to defend her title, which she won as a 14 yr old with incredibly technical riding. The 2012 Junior and Open National Champ Jaxson Moore, is back as well and with a family that is as competitive as they come, Jaxson will be pushing the envelope. Rounding out the field will be former champions and competitors like Chuck Wright, Austyn Bynon, Dee Daniels, Nick Nguyen, Andrew O' Conner, and Nic Sanchez along with many other up and comers.
There are three new venues participating on the Prime series for the first time; Westin Kierland, Scottsdale AZ, Maeva Surf, Montreal Canada, and Jay Peak Resort, VT make it into the lineup for 2013. Ad to that the fact that Flow House, LBI, in New Jersey is hosting the National Championships after recovering from hurricane Sandy, and we have the makings of an incredible season. Please send a huge shout out to LBI, For coming back strong. We are stoked to bring the love of our sport to the New Jersey shores once again.
And....... Add 16 more Pro/Am events into the mix, with such stalwart, veteran locations as Massunnuton and and Waterville, and we have the makings of the most competitive season (26 events total!) in FLOW history.
First International FlowRider® Competition for Canada at Maeva Surf
It’s now official! Maeva Surf is proud to announce that it will be hosting the first international flowboarding competition in Canada May 19th, 2012 on the FlowRider® Double sheet wave attraction. The 2012 FLOW Tour is organized by Wave Loch and sanctioned by FLOW (Flowboarding League Of the World), and they chose Maeva Surf for it’s quality installations and the incredible welcome Quebec gave to the sport of flowboarding.
Competition Format:
Maeva Surf will also be the testing grounds for a new scoring system. Pro categories will be judged in a “jam session, best run” which will push the sport to a new level by allowing each competitor more runs, and being scored on the best one (this format is also found in many skateboard competitions). “Competitors will need to go outside of their comfort zone and augment the difficulty of the tricks performed, which will create an even bigger show” says Patricia Dupuy, co-founder and CEO of Maeva Surf.
The Event:
The competition will take place on May 19th, 2012. A practice session will be organized on Friday night for all competitors. There will be up to eight (8) divisions and the official judges will be representatives of Wave Loch from California. More than $3,000 cash will be up for grabs, as well as over $1,500 in products. ‘‘We will be the second Pro/Am stop of the 2012 circuit, and we want all the competitors to talk about Maeva Surf for the rest of the season. Our goal is to create a FLOW Tour stop the competitors won’t want to miss year after year," says Patricia. Thank you to all of our sponsors for their generous support in this event.
About Maeva Surf:
Maeva Surf is Québec’s first indoor surfing facility, housing the only FlowRider® Double in Canada. As well, the large shop offers some of the world’s largest surf brands such as O’Neill, RipCurl and Oxbow. Since it’s opening (December 4th, 2010), Maeva Surf trains hundreds of new flowboarding initiates every month. Flowboarding, which is a perfect blend of surfing, snowboarding and skateboarding, is one of the fastest evolving water sports in the world. Maeva surf projects expansion with new facilities to continue to grow this incredible sport.
About the FLOWTour:
Wave Loch, creator of the FlowRider® and the sport of flowboarding, actively participates in the development of this sport by organizing the FLOW Tour, which has been running for more than ten years in the United States. Lately, expansion has accelerated with the creation of FLOW Tour's in Europe and in Asia. With more than 150 FlowRiders throughout the world, and the first Canadian event in 2012, we can rest assured that this new sport is only just beginning, and that the best has yet to come!
FANTASY SURF, FL HOSTS THE BIGGEST EVENT IN FLOW TOUR HISTORY
It is almost Flow Tour Season and here at Flowboarders.com we wanted to share a little bit of the history of last year's event.
After an amazing 3-month season, the 2012 Carbon FLOW (Flowboarding League Of the World) Tour found itself on the east coast where it would host the best flowboarders in the nation at the Tour Finals. The Finals event is the most prestigious event on the tour awarding $5200 in cash prize money and AAA points up for grabs along with loads of other prizes, bringing the events total prize purse to over $10,000. The Finals event had a record breaking 110 riders with over 160 entries across the 11 competing divisions who would compete over a two day period.
Day #1’s agenda had all the divisions first round heats starting, with the youngest of them all, the Youth. Both the Youth Bodyboard and Flowboard divisions started from a semi-final round and proved that the future of our sport is in good hands. The flowboard winner was newcomer Dallas Nash who also had a third place finish in the bodyboard division behind Alexa Perez, and taking the gold was the unstoppable Keaton Moore.
From the young guns to the old bullets! Next up would be the Masters division, where the over 35 yr old riders would show these kids that sometimes, experience does count for something. With a heated rivalry in the bodyboard division between Cathy Seabert and Tracy Carroll, this event was sure to be interesting. Unfortunately Tracy had some uncharacteristic faults in the semi-final round, which opened the door for Cathy Seabert. The Flowboard division was as competitive as ever and with Jason Moore leading the charge. Easing into the finals were Jason Moore, Jonathon Root, Rob Chalfant and Mike Pappalardo. The semi finals were intense and paved the way for an awesome day 2 of competition.
The Junior and Open Men’s divisions had the deepest rider pools of the event. These riders had to really bring it if they wanted to make it to the final day. With the Open division accepting riders from both the Juniors and Masters, it was no surprise that this division had the most competitors. The Open Men’s Bodyboard had a long line of skilled riders and this led to an exciting first day of competition as well. The one stand out was Chanler Lee who made it to the final day along with Brad Spencer, Austin Kraus and junior rider Cameron Lodge. Cameron also managed to make it through the quarter and semi final rounds in the Junior Bodyboard division along with Christian Duffy, Ian Olsen and youth rider Joe Chapa. The Open Men’s Flowboard division had a fierce pool of competition but emerging out of the first 2 rounds was FLOW Tour resident Justin Collins along with newbie’s Gilberto Hurtado, Jaxson Moore and Utah local Carter Wood. Another double division competitor, Jaxson Moore, was again leading the charge in the Junior Flowboard division and would live to ride another day with fellow riders, Nick Sanchez, Bubby Koby and the lone female rider Xana Nash.
The Female Flowboard division was possibly one of the most anticipated divisions of the whole event. These girls of all ages had stepped up their game and brought a level of riding that has never been seen on the tour in the past. With names like Austyn Bynon, Dee Daniels, Xana Nash, Madi Moore and Vanessa Arroyo, the crowd had good reason to be impressed. After some nail biting quarter and semi final rounds, it was Austyn, Dee, Xana and Madi who would get to compete on day 2 in the Finals. The Female Bodyboard had veteran rider Cathy Seabert charging through the pack to secure her spot in the final along with Alyssa Mize and the Clifford sisters, Kara and Caitlin.
Like always, it was the Pro riders who would finish the day off. With a much smaller but incredibly skilled field, there was no room for mistakes. The talk of the town was current champ Sean Silveira, and would he be able to hold down Brad Spencer from taking away the championship crown. After a few rounds of intense competition the cream of the crop emerged and the stage was set to have one of the most exciting finals in FLOW Tour history. Sean and Brad would be going head to head to secure the National Champs title with Chuck Wright and Carter Wood nipping at their heels. Although Nick Nguyen had run away with the National Title, he was closely followed by a pack of youngsters who would take every opportunity to dethrone champ. Andrew O’Conner, Nick Sanchez and Daniel Tarapchak would be the brave soles and would not let this final go down with out a fight.
After an intense day of competition, the field of 150 was narrowed down to a mere 40. These 40 riders were the best of the best and had the chance to get a good night sleep and refuel for final day of competition!
Day 2 had all the right ingredients for a great day of competition. The finalists had rested and had a chance to re-charge their batteries. There were no excuses, the time to step up was now, which is exactly what they did.
The day kicked off with the bodyboard division and first up was the Open Female Bodyboard. With Cathy Seabert claiming the top spot spot, the only competition left was for 2nd place. Younger sister Kara Clifford would beat her older sibling, Caitlin, for 2nd, with Caitlin falling into 3rd place, and Alyssa Mize coming in 4th place. Cathy Seabert secured her Open Female National Title.
The Open Female Flowboard division had the crowd on their feet as any one of these girls could take the title. After an intense final it was local rider Austyn Bynon who would take gold, followed by Dee Daniels, Xana Nash and Madi Moore. Even though Xana come in 3rd, her event consistency allowed her to win the Open Female Flowboard National Title on her first year on tour.
Following the girls was the Masters divisions. Eager to get on the wave was Canadian Jason Moore. Jason had already secured the National Title and the pressure was off, but this didn’t stop him from giving it his best effort, especially with riders like Jonathan Root, Rob Chalfant and Mike Pappalardo. Once again it proved that local knowledge was key as Jonathan Root took the gold with Jason coming in a close second followed by Mike P and Rob Chalfant.
Cathy Seabert was once again fortunate to go into the Masters Bodyboard Final with no pressure, as she had already secured the National Championship title. With one gold medal on her neck Cathy was eager to get another, which is exactly what she did.
The Junior Division is our future of the sport, and so far the future looks like it’s in good hands. With riders like Jaxson Moore, who dominated the 2012 FLOW Tour by making both the Junior and Open Men’s Flowboard finals and collecting the gold in the both, the level of riding is progressing at a phenomenal rate. This helped Jaxson secure the USA National Title for both divisions, which is a first for a junior rider. Also making double division finals was young Cameron Lodge. Cameron was able to ride himself to the top of the podium in the Junior Bodyboard but got bounced to second by Chanler Lee in the Open Men’s Bodyboard. This consistency gave Cameron Lodge the National Title for Junior Bodyboard and Brad Spencer clinched the National Title in the Open Men’s Bodyboard division.
We always say, save the best for last, which is exactly what we did. The Pro Bodyboard finals was intense, to say the least. “That was one of the most difficult finals I have ever had to judge” said head judge Greg Lazarus. “Every rider in that final deserved to win”. In the end it was Nick Nguyen, who rode seamlessly changing from regular to switch, without a glitch. Rounding out the tops slots were Andrew O’Conner in 2nd, Nick Sanchez place 3rd and Daniel Tarapchek in 4th. Nick has had a phenomenal season and ended the tour with yet another championship, but these youngsters will be pushing Nick into next year and beyond.
The Pro Flowboard division was the finale. With Sean Silveira and Brad Spencer stepping onto the ride tied in points, they both knew that who-ever emerged the winner would be the USA National Champion. Run after run these two gave it all they had but in the end it was Sean who dealt with the pressure the best. With few faults, Sean rode his way to his 5th USA National Title, which I am sure he would agree, did not come easily. Chuck Wright, by far one of the standouts of the season, came in 2nd, followed by Brad in 3rd and Pro division rookie, Carter Wood coming in 4th.
This years Carbon FLOW Tour was by far the best yet. Every division has progressed in both numbers and skill level. We would like to say thank you to all the venues that allowed us into their space. We would like to thank all the staff that helped us make it happen and the competitors (and parents) for their support. Most of all we would like to thank our sponsors. Carbon for being the 2012 title sponsor and VGT, Duece Brand, Overload, Reeflex, Super Duper Surf, and FLOW, for the logistical support provided.
