Date: 11/17/04
Author: Josh Cantor

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What is the one major factor that keeps our sport of wakeboarding from reaching the popularity of other sports, such as snowboarding and skateboarding? You don't need a boat and crew of people for snowboarding and skateboarding. So what can be done? In most areas, not much - that is just how it is. However, in Orlando, Florida, Deerfield Beach, Florida, New Braunfels, Texas and now in Kansas City, Kansas there is another option. That option is a cable park.

For those of you unfamiliar with what a cable park is, it is like a snow ski lift that pulls a rider in a circle around a lake. Instead of sitting on a chair, the rider holds a handle that hangs from the cable. Instead of hitting a wake, a rider hits different rails, boxes and kickers in the water. Tension on the line is used to get air around the corners. It has more of a skate park feel to it than anything.

There are definitely some varying opinions on cable parks, but for the most part, the majority of people love them. They offer a great way to learn to hit different obstacles. I have had the opportunity, while on Liquid Force's Trip Across America, to visit three of the four wakeboarding cable parks in the U.S. While in Kansas City, I was able to spend three days just hanging out at the park riding and talking with all the guys that work there, along with the owner and builder of the park, Mike Olson. Over these few days, I was able to gather a lot of info about the park's short history, present state and plans for the future.

The construction of the park started in October 2002 and the doors opened in May of 2004. The park is owned and operated by Mike Olson, whose wife, Lisa, and daughter, Cara, can also be seen riding the cable all the time. The lake covers eight acres. At the complex there is also a golf driving range and a baseball batting cage. Currently only 15 acres of the complex's 40 acres are being used, so there is still plenty of room for future projects. One of the planned projects is a 50 cc motorcycle track. The cable itself is a six-carrier cable, meaning six people can be on the water at one time.

While I was at the park, one of my favorite things was when I was learning some new tricks on the 80-foot A-frame, having my buddy, Mike Fulton, yelling at me from the other side of the lake. Every time I would come off the slider, I would look over to him and would get either cheering from him or booing. Either way it was a fun way to ride.

The towers holding up the cable are 30 feet high, which Mike Olson told me make it so you can get higher when doing jumps in the corners. Currently the park has the 80-foot A-frame and a 40-foot flat box, which is an absolute blast whether it is the first slider you have ever hit or if you are a more experienced rider spinning 900 across it. There are also a couple kickers currently located on the far side of the lake. One of them is named Grimace, and rightfully so. The kickers provide an opportunity to do more inverts and air tricks than we are used to from riding behind the boat.

The park is located 30 minutes from downtown Kansas City off the 169 Highway. There is lodging ten minutes from the park and one of the best barbecue restaurants in KC, K&M, only five minutes away. The park is also only about three minutes from Hillsdale Lake, a public lake, which gives people the option of riding behind the boat if they want to try to transfer some of their new cable skills back to the boat wake. Sycamore Ridge Golf Course is only about five minutes from the park. As you can see, you have a lot to do at the park and in the surrounding area. Not that there is ever a reason to leave this 40-acre sports complex.

Along with wakeboarding, the park accommodates waterskiing, kneeboarding and wakeskating. Mike told me they are focused on making the park very wakeskating friendly, citing that they have in the works a 60-foot flat bar that is designed for wakeskaters. While I was talking with Mike, it was very apparent that he is very conscious of the fact that people get bored with the same thing day in and day out. He plans to combat this in his park by continually changing where the obstacles are and what obstacles are in the water. He wants to keep his customers guessing on what the park is going to look like every time they come out to ride.

This year the park was host to the Cable Nationals. There was a $1,000 prize for the wakeskating division put up by KC Watersports. In the future, they plan to hold more events at the park. This being their first year in operation, they are still getting a grasp on everything that's going on. Next year, look for events to be going on at the park constantly. They also plan to have day camps, so people can come from all over the world and get some serious training in, or people just passing through can have a little fun on the water.

So far, KC Watersports reports that 50% of their customers at the cable park are trying wakeboarding for the first time. I talked with some of the guys on the dock that are running the cable and found that they really understand how important a first impression is with their customers and this awareness is apparent with how they interact with the customers. They are very supportive with each person, offering helpful tips and encouragement. It is a nerve-racking thing to try something for the first time. Then, it is compounded by having a dock full of people watching you. The guys running the cable do a great job easing the tension, providing for an enjoyable and almost always successful experience.

If it is your first time, one of the cable operators will sit on the bench right next to you and hold your board in the appropriate direction. As the cable pulls you, they will actually help you stand up and take off. This makes the first time a little easier than just being given a handle and sent on your way.

If you are having trouble grasping the pull of the cable, you can always start on a kneeboard until you get comfortable with riding a cable. Actually, a kneeboard is a blast on the cable. While I was there, Mike Fulton and I both rode kneeboards behind the same carrier. It was so much fun to hit the flat box at the same time. That's what is so much fun about the cable is that you can ride at the same time as your friends and yell and scream at each other as you all cruise around the lake. When one person falls, they usually have to get out of the way pretty fast because they now have become the newest obstacle to be ollied over.

The rates for riding the cable are very reasonable and if you don't have your own equipment, they also provide rentals for you. While getting this massive complex up and running, there have been a lot of people and companies stepping up to help. Two of the major supporters have been Alliance Wakeboard Magazine and Liquid Force Wakeboards. The guys running the Texas Ski Ranch have been very supportive in helping with any questions Mike and the rest of the guys at KC had while getting the park off the ground.

The first full year of operation has created nothing but rave reviews. The guys at KC Watersports plan to spend the rest of this year and the cold off-season building and organizing great events for the years to come. This first year has created a lot of great momentum for bigger and better things in the future.

The park, unlike those in Florida, is not open year round. In the winter, the lake will actually freeze over. Last winter they were pulled around the ice on kneeboards. The park will close around October and reopen in April, depending on the weather. For more information on the park you can check out their website at www.kcwatersports.com or give them a call at (913) 783-4300.

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