SUMMER2016
MOUNTAINLIFEBLUEMOUNTAINS
39
ERIKALANGMANONTHENEW
TRICKSANDBIGAIROFTHE
PROVINCE’SWAKEBOARDING
WOMEN
words :: Carmen Kuntz
Ripping around the lake on a wakeskate behind her bubblegum-pink motorboat, Erika Langman
embodies the confidence, passion, and stoke of the women’s wakeboard scene in Ontario. She is a
mentor, founder and competitor—a leader in the emerging wake sisterhood.
Langman took her first ride on a borrowedwakeboard behind a tin fishing boat. Summers were spent
at her family cottage on Steenburg Lake, 30minutes south of Bancroft. “I learned towaterski there
as a kid,” she says. “As soon as I triedwakeboarding I threw the skis away and said ‘Let’s do flips!’”
With a gymnastics background, Langmanwas already thinking of going fast and getting air. That
moment—that feeling—has shaped the course of Langman’s life. She has traveled the world competing
in sevenWorld Championships fromAbu Dhabi to Norway, Mexico to the Philippines. Last year she was
a finalist in Shanghai at theWake ParkWorld Cup. Since then, her life has been an adventure chasing
big air. She is a rolemodel and advocate for the women’s wake scene locally and abroad.
As a coach for “girls only” wake clinics like the Sisterhood Sessions based out of The RanchWake
Park in Kettleby, Langman sees firsthand howwakeboarding helps build confidence. “It’s amazing
for young girls because wakeboarding is an achievement-based sport; there is always a new trick to
work towards,” she says. “And achievement is what builds confidence.”
Langman was a foundingmember of the RootsWake Series, Ontario’s only competitive wakeboard
circuit. “It’s a great platform that is based on ability-level versus age,” says Langman. “It pushes
people to learn new tricks.” As well as being Event Director for the Roots, she also sits on the board
for four different wake committees provincially, nationally and internationally.
Langman rides and competes in both boat and cable wakeboarding. (The former uses a motorboat
to pull riders into ramps, rails and jumps while the latter, also known as ‘winching’, uses an
overhead cable systemwith a tow rope attached.) Cable parks use only a small amount of electricity
and create no pollution. “It’s like a terrain park in snowboarding,” says Langman. “It’s very green in
comparison to boat. It’s quiet and you don’t need a big lake.”
Langman is not only a competitor, she’s also a mentor and coach. “I’ve been involved in the sport
for a very long time,” she says. “And I’m trying to take some of the girls under my wing to go to
the big events.” Last September, Langman accompanied 16-year-oldMackayla Petrie toWorldWake
Association’sWorld Championships in Portugal where Petrie came home with a second place finish
in the junior girls category.
For Langman, seeing the positive effects of the sport on women of all ages is just as good as the
feeling of flying. “You watch them progress and you see their confidence growing every time they
land new tricks or get a new grab,” she adds. “You see their eyes just light up.”
“I learned towaterski asakid. Assoonas I triedwakeboarding
I threw theskisawayandsaid‘Let’sdo flips!’”
LEFT
Erika Langmandoes an Indy glide,TheRanchWake Park, Kettleby.Action shooter RichardRoth explains the setup: "I was floating
aroundwithnowater housing in a life vest beingworn like shorts.A little sketchy...but the end resultwasworth it." RICHARDROTH
RICHARDROTH
