If I had to describe Sliders Cable Park in one word, I would say: Family. To be perfectly honest, walking into the grounds that host an extreme sport, you expect things like, arrogance and elitism to be among the first. But this could not be further from the truth. Of all the staff and riders that I spoke to, and I spoke to a fair number, were full of smiles, hospitality, warmth and were all very welcoming.
And if I were allowed to choose just one more word to describe Sliders Cable Park, I would say: Passion. I had the pleasure of speaking with Asser, Alek and Kareem, 3 young riders who are there all day. The most telling of all was when I asked the question, “What were you guys into before wakeboarding?”. Football and basketball were the general answers. That was until Alek’s parents spoke up. Helen and Serj, owners of Diving Attitude, happened to mention that Alek scuba dives. Diving with rays and turtles in the most the exotic of spots in the Red Sea, this 13-year-old has racked up a mere 300 dives. He has forgotten this. All he thinks about is wakeboarding.
And considering that the cables stop running at 6pm, Asser walked in at 6:05, still dripping wet, because every minute you have, you use it to wakeboard.
Only 3 years ago, Sliders was not Sliders – not even a drop of water – but a patch of sand. That was until the ground was broken and the empty hollow joined to the lagoon. This means that the waters in Sliders are tidal. But fear not, the ramps and kickers are built to manage this. The upshot is that water is always clean and void of bacteria but it does mean that barnacles grow on the ramps. Can you imagine falling on this at high speed? But again, there is no shortage of elbow grease. These barnacles are scraped away diligently by anybody and everybody who works at sliders!
Marketing Manager, Alicja Zielinska of Warsaw proudly tells me how, in this last year alone, they have added 3 more ramps, installed windows in the viewing area and built a floating bridge. And yes, the bridge rises and falls with the tide. Mahmoud, an instructor who clearly loves his work and his workplace informs me that the bridge was built by Sliders’ very own instructors and riders as they were all in need of it! The young and talented Asser laughs as he tells of what a relief it is to cut the journey in half when you fall at the other end of the pool! “In fact”, he laughs, “wakeboarding is not just wakeboarding: it’s swimming, hiking, and sprinting- sprinting when the sand is really hot!”
The unassuming Kareem does not have a lot to say but when I mentioned seeing him on El Gouna TV, he mentions “Oh yeah….I was junior Kite Surfing champion as well…!” Mind blowing. Yet, he quickly states “Wakeboarding is first!” The love these guys have for the sport is almost contagious. Asser explains how he got introduced through a friend and the very next day bought a 6-month pass. And they all ride every day they possibly can. It’s only school that gets in the way!
“So, what is the next step up for you guys?” I ask. They all, very quickly responded in unison “Sponsorship”. This simply means that they can get the best equipment and top-notch coaching. Californian based Liquid Force is the desired sponsor, but anybody reading this can fill the gap!
Competition time for these lads as sliders hosts its own internal competition: The Winner Takes All! This competition is divided into 2 equal halves, one on each Eid. Of the junior heats, Alek won the first event and Kareem won the second. Now, these boys are like brothers, meaning they are joined in spirit and can’t agree on anything! So, when I asked who the overall winner was over both competitions, it was not as straightforward an answer as one might imagine…After much debate, there was a decision made, with the help of mother-figure Alicja, to sort it all out this coming Christmas! But, if we have a 3rd winner (Asser, pay attention) then maybe Easter will see yet another competition!
The competition is broken down into heats with a heat being one lap around the cable. From the 1st heat, the semi-finalists are chosen and then it’s finals! Now finals are 2 heats, but this is not a chance to just to rack up points as it’s only the best heat that counts! There were some very impressive moves namely the ‘toeside-frontside-720’ by Kareem Ahdy, a mexican roll by Alek Kalamian and a switch-heelside 540 by Hugo Montefusco.
These are the official results from the competition:
