European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 25, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday March 252007 pack 7 Marcos Morait owner of Gator bait Wake Board school demonstrates a Man Euver in key Biscayne Fla despite the name Moran says the school does a brisk business Rathy like Murray had planned to com Pete at Board up Miami a Wake Board com petition in mid March that was to Span four Days and was expected to draw according to promoters about 150 competitors and 1500 spectators a Day the Wake boarding extravaganza will include the International water ski federations Wake Board qualifying event for the pan american games in Rio Wake boarding is probably the fastest growing of the action sports says Jonathan Joner Strauss director of operations for Miami sports International which organized Board up Miami a lot More people Are getting into it and its getting More competitive Strauss says the 1080 the hardest trick in the Book in which Wake boarders spin Verti Cally in three circles in the air was practically unknown until recently now there have been three people in the last six months who can do it boats have changed and that helped the sport a lot most any Powerboat works Fine but a whole Niche of specially boats has flourished in the 1990s riders began experimenting with ways to boost the size of the Wake and adjust its shape hardcore practitioners started hauling five gallon buckets of rocks or Cement blocks inboard to increase the size of the Wake bringing along a lot of friends to Load Down the boat is also popular taking a Cue some boat makers such As Orlando based Correct Craft an 83yearold family owned company began crafting ves Sels that can generate the size and shape of wakes desired Correct Craft which makes the Nau Tique Brand designed Builtin ballasts that can be filled and emptied to Fin tune the Wake it also makes a Hydraulic Wake plate that adjusts the shape of the Wake the company which is seeing 15 percent growth in sales for its 2007 models has a Utility Patent on special towers that help riders lift higher into the air Maryville ten based skiers Choice which makes the Loomba and Supra brands 20foot to 24foot boats that Range from about to the mid offers a precise compute adjusted throttle to keep Speed consistent to within a fraction of a mile per hour helping riders performances Dan Miller skiers choices vice president of sales says production has climbed 50 percent Over the past three years we Haven been Able to build nearly enough Miller says demand is outstripping Supply we thought the higher interest rates would slow things Down but it Hast Wake boards also have come a Long Way among other things they Are compression folded and neutrally buoyant making them easier to submerge and climb on and they Are lighter and faster As Are the boots allow ing for greater jumps aquatic schools and coaches also Are Riding the wave Marcos Moran the head Wake Board instructor at splash Academy on key Biscayne says technological improve ments in boats and equipment have enhanced performances dramatically the materials Are lighter and stronger and the Heights that people jump used to be five or six feet above the water Are now 15 to 20 feet above the water says Moran who has been coaching professionally for eight years and founded his own company Gator bait Wake Board school Moran says driving for Wake Board riders is a skill unto itself he has been professionally certified at the Helm and will drive in Board up Miami variations of the sport Are also taking off including Wake skating which Doest require boots one spinoff of the sport Doest even re quire a boat Cable Parks such As ski Rixen Usa at quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach Are popping up ski Rixen has erected an overhead Cable system along the perimeter of a Lake that tows riders without a boat it has ramps and rails for launching boards into the air its a different feel than a boat says Moran but its really great practice Wake boarding now occupies that Sweet spot in marketing at the nexus of mainstream Appeal a growing number of families do it and cultish Cool its among the fastest growing extreme