By Reed Watson
National University Student Journalist
Photo by Rusty Skinner
Photo by Rusty Skinner
The Annual Northern California Spring Convergence is Happening Soon
Grab your tent, food, gas money and make your way to Camp Far West Reservoir for the annual Spring Nor Cal Convergence. The last weekend of April is going to be three days of wakeskate fun.
Austin Watts, owner of Liquid Playgound, has been supporting this event since 2009. Watts says, “Convergence to me is wakeskating. It’s passion. It’s progression. Its like-minded people coming together to share the stoke and enthusiasm of our sport. It’s getting everyone on an equal playing field. It’s the ‘pro’ riders and new people feeding off each other whether it be helping someone land a new trick or a conversation around the fire pit. It’s unlimited options of winches, rails, boats and jet skis. Its lifelong friendships, traveling, fire pits, movies, good beer, laughs and stories. It’s life. It’s Northern California.”
Bring your dog, best friend and even grandma. Everyone is welcome. People of all riding levels and people who have never tried wakeskating before are welcome. Wakeskaters and friends will camp out Friday the 26th through Sunday the 28th. Boats, jet skis, the winch and rails will be accessible throughout each day. Boards will also be available for demo. The camping fee of roughly $10 a night is the only requirement.
On average 70-100 people usually attend Spring Convergence. The companies Liquid Force, Integrity and Original Wakeskates provide boards to ride. Pull Dozer Winches usually provide the winches to be used. The rest is up to you with the essentials that you will need for three days of camping.
Friday people tend to show up to find the premier location to set up camp as well as start building rails. The next day the boats, jet skis and winches are all filled up and ready to use. Later on the BBQ grills fire up and people start to catch up with one another. Converging, wakeskating and having fun is what the weekend is all about.
Wakeskating is the same concept of getting pulled by a rope at 20mph like wakeboarding. Except with a wakeskate you are not locked into the board. You are free to move around like on a skateboard. It’s the combination of surfing, skateboarding and all the other board sports. The board responds to your feet much like a skateboard.
Watts say, “The first Nor Cal Convergence was held in October of 2005 at Villa Lagos. Chris Barcellos was the original godfather of this event. He created a site called norcalwake.com that with its first members created the start to Convergence. It was next held at the Delta and then to Camp Far West for the past five years.”
To learn more about wakeskating you can go to www.thewakeskatemag.com or www.theliquidplayground.com. For questions and concerns about the Spring Nor Cal Convergence call Austin Watts at 408-435-8088 or send an email to Austin@theliquidplayground.com. Don’t worry if you can’t attend Nor Cal Convergence in the spring, because there is always one in the fall too.
Austin Watts tells us, “Bring the positive attitude and the fun times will follow.”
Check out a video from last year’s Nor Cal Spring Convergence.
References
Interview with Austin Watts. The Liquid Playground Owner and event coordinator.
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