Business management junior RJ Pabon does an indy front roll behind the G23 at Lake Roosevelt. (Photo courtesy of Ryan Platt)Students are taking advantage of Arizona’s warm weather by bringing a sport to campus that most schools lack.
Last year, ASU Wake Devils were ranked as one of the top competitive collegiate teams in the nation.
Business management junior Ryan Platt founded Wake Devils during his freshman year after transferring from NAU.
Platt, originally from Folsom, Calif., said he has been wakeboarding for about 12 years, but had never competed until he started the team.
He said he learned how to wakeboard when he and his family began boating with his church every Sunday.
Soon after that his dad began taking him out during the week as well.
“Riding for fun is completely different than riding competitively,” he said.
The club is now in its third year.
Platt said students have to pay for a majority of their participation in Wake Devils. Last year, the University gave the club around $4,000, but that amount was cut to $700 this year.
Platt said there are only about 100 schools in the nation with competitive wakeboarding teams.
He said he loves the weather here at ASU because it’s perfect for wakeboarding year-round. While many people are confined to only wakeboarding in the summer, the Wake Devils practice all year.
“Even in Arizona it gets pretty cold in the winter, but that doesn’t stop us,” Platt said. “We’re out in the 50 degree weather in wet suits.”
Platt said he gets to the lake about two or three times a week for practice.
The team practices at Bartlett Lake in Carefree, a little over an hour from the Tempe campus.
Members pay monthly dues to rent top-of-the-line boats from the Bartlett Boat Club.
Wake Devils is in the process of petitioning to be considered a club sport instead of just a club on campus, which Platt said could happen as soon as spring 2013.
The team started with eight members at the beginning of last year but now has 27 members on the competitive team. They hope to begin welcoming beginner members soon.
Platt said the goal is to get other students out to the lake and teach them how to ride.
“A lot of our competitive riders are good coaches too,” he said.
Platt said Wake Devils is completely student-run, but some of the riders get coaching at wake boarding clinics.
He said if the club gets more funding, he would love to bring in coaches for the team.
In the past year, Wake Devils has traveled to competitions in Texas, Nevada, California and Florida. The team was on CBS Sports for nationals this July.
“I never thought I’d go all the places wake boarding has taken me,” Platt said.
The team has eight competitions scheduled for this semester already.
Business management junior RJ Pabon was Platt’s roommate sophomore year and helped Platt get Wake Devils where they are today.
Pabon said he has been wakeboarding all his life but had never competed prior.
“Wakeboarding is unlike most traditional sports,” Pabon said. “It’s more expensive, but it’s worth it.”
Pabon said the Wake Devils team is like a big family. He said they all enjoy each other’s company especially because they share the same interests.
Pabon said he hopes to wakeboard even after he graduates college.
“I will definitely keep wake boarding all my life until I get too old,” Pabon said.
Chemical engineering major junior Chelsea Clark was a part of the X Devils, an extreme sports team at ASU, during her freshman year. She said Cabon and Platt recruited her for Wake Devils her sophomore year.
Clark started doing wakeboarding tricks in November of her freshman year. She, too, did not compete until she joined Wake Devils.
“Practicing is hard to fit in (my) schedule but I love wakeboarding so much (so) I make time,” Clark said.
Reach the reporter at hblawren@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @hannah_lawr
