Courtesy of Wakeboarding Club

After three years of persistence, Fresno State has finally allowed a wakeboarding club to form.

The first meeting of the new club was last Thursday. Fresno State sophomore Lance Christensen is the club president and one of two students that nagged Fresno State before the university finally relented.

The other Fresno State student is professional wakeboarder Mario Cabalka. Cabalka said he has been asking Fresno State to allow a wakeboard team for three years.

Both Christensen and Cabalka acknowledge that having a wakeboard club is a big liability issue for Fresno State. They also know that nearly every other college has a team.

Courtesy of Wakeboarding Club

“I’d say other schools are very supportive because it’s so popular for college students,â€Â Christensen said. “Fresno State can use us as a draw for students.â€Â

The club is for everyone interested in wakeboarding. In the future, the club aims to have a level above just the club level for the hardcore wakeboarders.

The goal for the wakeboard club is to eventually have the club for people with moderate interest and a club sport team that will compete.

Since the club is starting so near to the end of the year, there will be no attempt to gain club sport status.

Christensen estimates that the club sport team will be comprised of about 8 to 15 athletes.

“There’s tons of colleges, it’s a real established sport right now,â€Â Christensen said. “Pretty much everyone you can think of has a team.â€Â

Christensen and Cabalka said that new members do not need any experience. For now, Christensen said that they are just feeling everything out before any new goals are established.

“I’m looking to get a bunch of people together and have a good time,â€Â Cabalka said. “Starting off, we want to have fun and get people out wakeboarding.â€Â

Wakeboarding has been an extreme sport for about 20 years.

A rope connects a wakeboarder to a boat. As the boat begins to pick up speed on the lake, the rider is pulled up and attempts to gain control as they skim across the water.

When the rider gets control, they then use the boat̢۪s wake to do aerial tricks.

“It’s snowboarding on water,â€Â Christensen said. “It’s crazy, it’s amazing, it’s mind-blowing, that’s what it is.â€Â

Fresno is close to multiple lakes, something that Christensen is excited about.

“We can go 30 minutes away and we’re already there,â€Â he said.

Christensen has spoken to five wakeboard teams from colleges around the country.

“I’ve talked to Oregon, UCSB, Long Beach, San Diego State and Florida about how to start a team,â€Â Christensen said. “Other colleges have gotten funds from their school, but I don’t know exactly how Fresno State will work with this.â€Â

The Fresno State team will definitely be helped out by Cabalka, the only professional wakeboarder at Fresno State.

Cabalka has been at the forefront of the mission to get a wakeboard club, pushing Fresno State hard in the past couple of months.

He̢۪s happy that he will be able to add his knowledge and experience to the team.

“Everyone has their own style and their own tricks,â€Â Cabalka said. “The more you practice, the better you get, just like anything else.â€Â

Christensen, who said he just learned a back flip, can also do a 180.

“What’s really popular with the pros is a 1080, someone just landed that,â€Â Christensen said. “Double back flips are popular.â€Â

On top of being the only pro wakeboarder on campus, Cabalka is also the only professional wakeboarder on tour with an amputated leg.

“I’m a below the knee amputee and I’m the only pro with one out there,â€Â Cabalka said. “It’s a sport where you can challenge yourself and you can challenge other people, too.â€Â

Cabalka raffled off one of his sponsored wakeboards at the first meeting last Thursday, a move he hopes will build excitement for the new team.

The tour has been fun for Cabalka, though he said the money is not great. He even has a nickname on the tour, a nickname he hopes that the Fresno State team will soon learn.

“They call me the one-legged wonder on the tour,â€Â he said.