Date: 7/22/02
Author: Dallas Friday

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Dallas Friday (Pic: O'Brien)

Dallas Friday here in Orlando. I just got back on the flight from California. In California I went to a tournament called the Malibu Open. It not only has men's and women's wake boarding but also ski jumping, trick skiing and slalom skiing. It was a big event and there were plenty of spectators on hand to watch. It was a record breaking day for ski jumping and in the slalom competition there was a run-off at the end of the competition so it was a nail biting tournament full of excitement.

I competed in semis on Saturday and came in second so going into finals on Sunday I was second seed. I watched the girls that went before me and knew what I needed to do to win. However, competition does not always go as well as practice. I finished my first pass with zero falls. Then after a couple tricks in my second pass, a toeside roll to revert and kript, I went to push the envelope for the women with throwing a bat wing. I had made it a thousand times before in practice, but went down on it in the tournament. I am the only women throwing that trick, so I was disappointed when I fell. I got back up and went to throw another technical move, the tootsie roll. I went down on my tootsie roll and that ended my pass. Two falls and your done. Needless to say, I was disappointed with my fourth place finish. But in a way it is good to not always make the podium because it makes you more determined for the next stop and pushes you to train harder.

Of course, the next stop is the Gravity Games that I look so forward to every year. I am in a dilemma in the fact that I could go out and throw 2 solid passes with basic moves and stand up and for sure make podium and win the prize money. But I am wanting to raise the bar and make the tricks that are more technical and raise the bar of the women's side of wake boarding, however, doing the more difficult tricks you of course have a greater chance of falling. So I chose the latter and continue to push the sport with more technical tricks. I just need to make sure I stand them up in the tournament like I do in practice. I have a good feeling about the Gravity Games and am determined to do my technical moves for the fans that come to watch the event. I just need to stand it up and I know that if I do that I will be taking home another Gold this year at the Gravity Games.

~Dallas

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