The art of competitive flyboarding

Having had a few days to think about the 2013 Flyboard World Cup and what an amazing sport flyboarding has become, it became clear to me that what I thought about the competition was very different from what I know now after have witnessed it up close. and Personal Professional Flyboarding is very different from the recreational fun many of us have on the water. Adding to the height, speed and tricks these professionals employ during their competitive careers is the complexity of managing the hose, the Jet Ski, the performance area and the judges.

The first time I saw a competitor spin, flip, land, and fly only to then fall 30 feet straight into the water for no apparent reason, I thought what the heck happened. It soon became abundantly clear that this rider had dropped his EMK throttle on purpose and gotten into the drink to quickly drop the hose into the water, making sure not to capsize the ski and avoid disqualification. We saw several amazing Flyboarders mess around on their trick or execute to get close to the Ski, resulting in a flipped Seadoo and an early exit from the competition.

Sitting on the shuttle bus traveling from the Pearl Qatar Marina back to the Hilton Doha hotel, I spoke to 2012 world champion Stéphane Prayas. He had just unleashed a new trick on the world that involved flying to the back of the Ski, placing one hand on the back of the seat, then leaning back and using his Flyboard jets to float himself and the Ski through the water. . He was a crowd favorite, but there was more to him than just coming up with a new trick.

Paraphrasing Stéphane, he said that the wheel and the jet ski have to work as one, they are a team on the water and his new trick was simply an opportunity to connect and show respect to the machine. I really wanted him to understand how important that relationship is to him and how important it is to play this sport, aside from the board, hose, and ski. This was something that Franky Zapata had also told the runners during his briefing. He said that the driver’s safety is number one and also respect the team because you will be penalized for dangerous maneuvers and lack of control.

I’m not sure that a sport, which is only two years old, can have an ‘old school’ philosophy, but it seemed to me after speaking with Stéphane and after seeing some of the competitors who seemed to be focused on trick after stunt after stunt until a wobbly Ski or kinked hose caught them off guard that there’s a chance this intimate relationship between man/woman and machine is something that isn’t top of mind, all the time, to some flyers. The fundamental thing in any sport is not the glamorous pieces but the absolute necessities to be able to compete at the highest level. As flyboarding matures, it will be the movement and flair between tricks that will likely separate the champions from the contenders. I’m still going to jump out of my seat when a double backflip lands and goes flying high above the water, but now I’m also going to cap off the ruffles that nail all these niceties that only seeing the World Cup in person could have informed me.