Hold on to your shorts!
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By TJ Putnam
Kalahari Resort might be most known for being America’s largest indoor water park, but it’s the resort’s Flowrider attraction that has become northern Ohio’s latest phenomenon.
Prior to the resort’s opening in 2006, people of all ages from all over the globe traveled to Sandusky for the purpose of visiting the world’s greatest amusement park, Cedar Point.
Today tourists have yet another reason to make our area they’re next vacation getaway: to ride the perfect wave. Unlike the waves found at surfing hotspots such as Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia, Kalahari’s Flowrider in Huron Township generates a continuous five-foot wave that simulates the thrill of surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding all into one wet and wild ride.
Some find the Flowrider to be an exciting challenge, something fun and different to do. But others just can’t get enough. These addicts have become hooked to the thrill of flow boarding.
To the people who are unaware of Ohio’s semi-exclusive flow boarding community of adrenaline junkies, the idea of having a surf club or team in Sandusky may seem about as bizarre as a Jamaican bobsled team.
But believe it or not, the birth of a new water sport in northern Ohio has become a reality. Many of the individuals that are a part of the surf club have a huge amount of talent, and a few have actually been ranked as some of the top flowboarders in the nation.
If you are like the majority of Ohioans that haven’t surfed, riding on a body board instead of a stand-up board typically is the best strategy for avoiding any public humiliation that you may face in the occurrence of a “wipe-out” when riding the Flowrider for the first time.
The body boards require less skill and balance to stay on the wave and give new riders the chance to enjoy a greater duration of surfing time. However, if your feeling brave and want to drop into the wave like the pros, just remember to tighten up your board shorts because when the 35-mile per hour blast of water knocks you out of equilibrium, the last thing your going to want is an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction.
But just like anything else in life that you wish to get better at, practice make perfect, and if at first you don’t succeed you must try, try again. One particular group that call themselves “Team Edge” seem to be living by those words when it comes to flow-boarding. Over time, they have played a vital role in the emergence of an artificial ocean surfing subculture right here in Sandusky.
Team Edge is a group based out of Sandusky that is steadily becoming known as one of the nation’s most elite team of Flowriders. In 2008 alone, Team Edge has successfully competed at tournaments in Wisconsin, Alabama, Virginia, and Illinois.
The team is also scheduled to compete at tournaments in Hawaii, Missouri, California, Alabama (2nd time), and Tampa Bay by the end of the summer. The team riders are Sam Riley (21, Wakemen), Shane Lewandowski (17, Michigan), TJ Zuniga (24, Fremont), Andy Hasse (22, Minnesota), and Robert Puls (23, Minnesota).
“It’s somethin’ odd that you can’t find at too many other places. It’s something that we can’t get tired of. It’s like an addiction." Riley said.
Riley also tells how the team has made sacrifices in order to become the best and compete against other riders across the nation.
“We’ve spent over $2,500 a piece to pay for all the costs to travel everywhere. We’ve even slept in our car to cut costs when we went to Collinsville (Illinois). When the competition was over, we just went home. We didn’t stay.”
Robert Puls and Andy Hasse moved away from their hometown in Minnesota to live the flowriding lifestyle in Sandusky. Shane Lewandowski travels from Michigan frequently to be apart of the action as well. All five members of Team Edge are employees of Kalahari, where they have the opportunity to practice on the resort’s two Flowriders about three or four times a week. Lewandowski says, “If you want to surf you have to practice, practice, practice. It takes time. Just don’t give up”.
Be sure not to miss the resort’s “Battle of Kalahari” Flowrider competition on July 18th were you can see Team Edge go head to head with Kalahari’s Wisconsin Dells Flowrider team (More details TBA). If you would like to participate in Kalahari’s surf club, contact Waterpark Manager Chad Nagal at the front desk to sign up. Practices are every Tuesday night from 10 p.m. until midnight. The cost is $25 for your first session and $10 for every session after that.