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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday August 19, 2006 - 3 Waking his way to the top Oakville's Mark Enns ponders a future as a professional wakeskater By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER Some of the world's best amateur wakeskaters were on the Toronto Islands last weekend vying for a chance to compete with the pros at the biggest wakeboarding competition in the world. Oakville's Mark Enns came up big. The 17-year-old placed second out of 18 in Wakestock's amateur wakeskate final Aug. 11. That was good enough to "I'm really happy qualify him for the Billabong with my run and I'm Pro Wakeskate the next day. excited that I got to "I'm really happy with my make it into pro." run and I'm excited that I got to make it into pro," a smiling Wakeskater Enns said after his Aug. 11 run Mark Enns, following his on Centre Island's Long Pond. qualifying amateur ride "There are a lot of really good riders here, so I'm happy with the result. I've been riding well, so I'm stoked on that." Enns, who put up the only clean run in the amateur final, was beat out for the top spot by fellow Canadian rider, Matt Sacchitiello. Only the top two amateurs from a pool that included riders from Japan, California and British Columbia got a chance to compete against the pros. "Mark really put it together and mixed it up," judge Collin Harrington said after Enns' final amateur run. "He did what the judges like to see, and he did what he needed to do (to advance to pro.)" Judges were evaluating competitors on the variety, difficulty and number of tricks they performed successfully. Wakeskating is similar to wakeboarding in that competitors ride on a snowboard-type board and do tricks behind a boat, both in the wake and on rails and ramps. The difference: there are no bindings holding a wakeskater's feet to the board. Instead, they wear skate shoes and move freely on the board while doing tricks like pop shove-its, toeside 180 tail grabs, 270s and Indy Grabs. Those were just a few of the tricks Enns, who has been wakeskating two and a half years, performed for judges during the amateur final. In the pro round of 20 riders, he didn't crack the top 10, TOP FORM : Mark Enns competing in the amateur wakeskating competition at Wakestock at the Toronto Islands. See Fun page 4 · Wood & Vinyl Shutters, Supplied & Installed · High Quality at Affordable Prices · Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed · Serving Oakville with Shop at Home Service Authorized Vinylbilt Dealer www.shuttersetc.ca Shop at Home Service FREE