I can’t believe that another year has gone by. It seems that a few weeks ago it was April, and we had just launched this site. I think it was fate that brought us to launch in 2009, which has turned out to be the best year for women’s wakeboarding and wakeskating so far. Like any other sport, women’s wake sports go through cycles: one year, women are the talk of the town and everyone is pumped about them, and the next year, women are fighting tooth and nail to get recognition. I really feel that this time it is different. Women have accomplished so much and are pushing the sport so hard, I see us riding this wave of firsts for many years to come. Some of our favorite highlights from 2009 include:
- Anna Hajek begins riding after her knee injury.
- Amber Wing becomes the first woman to land a heelside 720 on July 1.
- Meagan Ethell becomes the youngest rider to compete with the Pro-Women at 12 years old.
- Dallas Friday becomes the first woman to land an S-bend in competition at the Air Nautique WWA National Championships in Oklahoma City, OK. She throws S-bends in competition regularly, as does Raimi Merritt.
- The first Girls Ride the Wake event takes place at Camp Far West, Wheatland, CA.
- Jen GilanFarr continues to push women’s wakeskate to higher levels.
- Dallas Friday takes Female Wakeboarder of the Year at the 2009 Wake Awards.
- Amber Wing takes Female Trick of the Year at the 2009 Wake Awards.
- Dallas Friday is crowned Queen of Wake for 2009.
- Nicola Butler lands a toeside 720, becoming only the third woman to ever land the trick (Amber Wing did it in 2006 and Raequel Hoffman did it in 2007).
It seems crazy that all of these things have happened in just one year (actually, most of these took place over the Summer!). I am grateful for the fact that WakeGirls has been here to document and track most of these milestones, and we are looking forward to what the girls will bring in 2010. We are already planning clinics and WakeGirls sessions, as well as our online video competition, Wake Idol. Thanks for being here with us every step of the way!!!
– The WakeGirls Team
Want to read more about Women’s Sports in 2009? Read what our sister blogs on the Women Talk Sports Network are talking about in our “Best of ’09″ Series.
From Because I Played Sports, Best of ’09: Forming a community, WomenTalkSports.com
From One Athletic Women, Best of ’09: an idiosyncratic digest of bloggings from Athletic Women Blog
From The Glowing Edge, Top Four Historic Moments in Women’s Boxing 2009
From MultiSport Mama, A Year of plantar fasciitis: 12 months of pain and recovery
From Fair Games News, Six troubled trends in women’s sports (and what we can do)
From Draft Day Suit, Trobling Trends in Women’s Sports
From One Sport Voice, The "Best" of 2009 and the State of Girls & Women in Sports
From Nobody Puts Robin in a Corner, Best of ’09: A Fresh Meat’s Perspective
From PrettyTough.com, 2009: A Salute to Women in Sports
From Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times, Best of the decade: A look back at Northwest women’s hoops
From Women Talk Sports Co-Founder Ann Gaffigan, Victories and Failures in Women’s Sports in 2009 (#FTW or #FAIL)
From Westbound Boarder, Top Female Snowboarding Moments of 2009
From Swish Appeal, Best of 2009: The Humble Emergence of Tanisha Wright
From C and R Stanford Women’s Basketball, Best of the Best of 2009
