RIDIN’ THE WAVE
An average wakeboarder will start to get familiar with this extreme sport at around 7 years old, but Mariana Rodriguez discovered her passion at 15, and is now competing at a national level.
Mariana was introduced to this sport 3 years ago, and once she stepped on a board, there was no way she was ever going to step off. Aside from becoming her favorite pastime, she is looking to make a long-term commitment, possibly a career.
Mariana visits La Presa de la Boca three times every week to practice her craft. Her ‘sets’ consist of 30 minute sessions where she is pulled by a boatman, due to the unavailability of her personal coaches on school days. Discipline and talent have led her to compete in places such as Orlando, Mexico City and Valle de Bravo.
Yet, to become a national champion, there are some elaborate aspects she still has to master. As a wakeboarder, you are graded by the difficulty of the trick, your ability to stay on board, and your overall performance in the sixty seconds that you get to perform. “There are 2 buoys that the motorboat can drive from, within that space of the lake, so you can manage to do four tricks outward, and four tricks on the way back,” Mariana explains. “You can only fall down once, if you fall a second time, you are left in the water.”
Mariana’s most recent competition consisted of three stops where she was pitted against eight other girls from around the country. The first leg of the tour was in Mexico City, then Monterrey, and finally Cancun. Mariana’s aggregate score in the three events merited a Second Place finish which is a tremendous accomplishment, but not enough for this determined athlete.
Wakeboarding is qualified as an extreme sport because of its use of motor boats, which means injuries are commonplace. Once, on a normal practice day, Mariana was attempting a challenging stunt and her wakeboard slammed against her head. Even though at the time she did not feel it, the boatman saw the blood and Mariana was immediately sent to the hospital where she eventually got 12 stitches.
Every athlete’s dream is to go pro, but Mariana is well aware of how difficult this is due to accidents, which is why she continues to work hard in school. In the future, this talented athlete is looking to attend a school in Florida where she can improve her wakeboarding skills, and pursue academic challenges.