2008 Hostel Board Co Wake Board Rail Jam

Noah Simmon - Rail Jam 2008

The morning of Saturday, May 18th, started out a little cold, but by 11am, the air was as hot as the competition. Clear blue skies greeted spectators and competitors and the 2008 Hostel Board Company, Wakeboard Rail Jam was in full effect. We filled the parking lot with thousands of gallons of water, several hundred bails of hay and enough Red Bull to keep a sweatshop running for a week. It's not often you're going to see a parking lot used for a wakeboarding contest, but we did it anyway.

The Prizes for the contest were sweet. $500 for first place overall winner sweetened the pot and for worst wipeout, a brand new Nixon The Player watch. If $500 wasn't enough incentive for these guys to push the limits of parking lot wakeboarding, then a sweet Nixon watch drove them the extra mile to get creative and crazy and that's exactly what happened. The competition was fierce with bragging rights and $500 on the line.

To keep the crowds at bay, our sponsors provided us with enough gear to make anyone jealous. Every few minutes, there was another giveaway, you could have walked away with a new pair of Von Zipper sunglasses, Volcom clothing or even some Billabong board shorts. Daniel Blackwell, event emcee, was the man of the day, giving away everything that wasn't nailed down. O'Neill t-shirts were flying through the air into the crowds of eager hands ready to snatch the Dakine and ES Emerica gear. It was a great event.

worst wipeout? Sorry Wade.

The warm up rounds were almost as exciting as the competition itself. Anyone who wanted to try the rail was welcome and try they did. Amateurs and first timers attacked the rail with gusto. You had to be there to believe it. There was the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. The warm up rounds saw the winner of the worst wipeout round as the youngest competitor caught the rail and took a nasty spill.

The wake board and wake skate competitions drew from New Jersey to Florida and everywhere in between. The competition was fierce as competitors aired, tail-grabbed and ollied there way through the competition. The huge airs of Noah Simmon, who flew his way through the competition, were a crowd favorite for the wakeboard competition. Wilds Drake expert rail work took the wake skate division by storm.

When all was said and done, after all the sponsors gear had been given away, after all the heats had been run, after the last rail was gouged, the competition was over and it was time to tally the scored.

Noah Simmon took 1st Place in the highly competitive wake board divisions and Wilds Drake took 1st Place in the wake skate divisions.

Worst wipeout went to an unnamed 13 year old competition, who deserved the Nixon Player watch as much as anyone.

Be sure to check out next year's Rail Jam with bigger prizes, more giveaway and even fiercer competition.

Special thanks to all the sponsors: Liquid Force, Billaong, O'Neill, Dakine, Von Zipper, Volcom, ES Emerica and Nixon. Special thanks to the town of Mt. Pleasant and the Moultrie Plaza for hosting the 2008 Hostel Rail Jam. We can't wait until next year.