Written by Andrea Arcand
Photos by Swami Studios

Austin, Texas is not exactly considered a snowboarding mecca, but the Austin 360 Wakeboard Club decided that a little backyard snowboarding would be the perfect way to reward its members for helping to clean-up Emma Long park, the beloved home of numerous wakeboarding events throughout the year.

In January and February of most years, Lake Austin is drained in order to help control the population of hydrilla, a vicious, fast-spreading plant that likes to eat propellers. So about thirty of us hydrilla-hating members of the 360 Wakeboard Club woke up early on Saturday morning to help out with work that can only be done while the water levels are low. Armed with utility vehicles, shovels, rakes, and sandbags and fueled up with breakfast tacos, we filled in trenches, laid down tarps, hauled sand, and moved rocks.

It was cold, dirty work, but we had a lot of fun. Emma Long Park has hosted several Aquaholics Anonymous events every year, as well as Waketoberfest, the granddaddy of all Austin wakeboarding events, and it felt great to give back to a park that’s given so much to the local wakeboarding community.

Especially surprising was that thirty of us managed to get up early on a Saturday morning – typically the only time anyone can get wakeboarders out of bed early on a weekend is the promise of having a glassy lake all to ourselves.

Up next was Captain Rick’s Righteous Rail Jam. We had to wait until Thursday night, which is when Chapparal Ice, a local ice skating rink and a generous event sponsor, was going to be shaving and resurfacing its ice sheet. The Rail Jam was hosted by LakeLessons and held in the backyard of the company’s founder, Greg Lawrence. That night, after several hours of waiting (fortunately there were fajitas to keep us from getting too fidgety), the “snow” finally arrived in trailers and truckbeds, and, with a drop-in higher than the roof of the house, the Rail Jam began!

There were great tricks thrown throughout the night, between the rail and a quarter pipe. We were treated to some sweet 180s, backside board slides, and a completely sick nose press by Captain Rick.

The rail got in a few tricks, as well, and, by the end of the evening, Richie, Captain Rick, Johnny on the Spot, JW, and Reuben all got to sign the official Rail Jam Handicapped Poster.

Many thanks go out to the industrious members of the 360Wakeboard Club for helping to clean up Emma Long Park. We also want to thank the sponsors of Captain Rick’s Righteous Rail Jam: Chapparal Ice for the fresh powder, LakeLessons for the location and organization, and The Wakeshop for providing prizes to the riders. Backyard snowboard Rail Jams are definitely a great way to cope with a bad case of winter blues!