Latest News

Cobe France: From Wake to Wake

Cobe France: From Wake to Wake

Wakeboarding is a fast-growing watersport that is very popular with young people. Australians have a large presence on the international wakeboarding stage, with many top-ranking wakeboarders from Australia.

 

Cobe France is a 17-year-old Gold Coast wakeboarder who is making his mark in the international wakeboard scene with tricks up his sleeve. In an interview with LKI, Cobe says that what he loves most is traveling around the world to wakeboard. And he is doing just that!

 

He learned how to wakeboard at the age of six. At 10 years of age, he won his first World Title for Junior Boys in 2009. In 2015, he finished the Australian season of competitions as the undefeated boys champion in the international Junior Pro class (14-19 years old). In the events that followed in his rookie year, he had an unbelievable season finishing second in both the World Wakeboard Association Junior Pro Tour and the WWA Wake Series.

 

After his international stint and championship wins at the 2016 Junior Pro Tour and WWA Wake Series, Cobe returned to Queensland at the start of September to continue his Year 12 schoolwork at Upper Coomera State College. During the five months of travel, he kept up with his schoolwork and assignments by email with his teachers. Doing that was a challenge, especially with the distraction of a world class Malibu wakeboard boat permanently on the dock! But despite the challenges, he gained recognition as the school’s “Sportsperson of the Year”.

 

Cobe spent the last two seasons living with a group of young athletes on Lake Jessamine just 20 minutes from downtown Orlando, Florida. Sharing a house with the current World Champion and Brisbane wakeboarder, Cory Teunissen, and training with legends in the sport like Mike Dowdy and Gold Coaster Harley Clifford, have been important experiences to develop his skills.

 

While there are thousands of natural lakes scattered over the state Florida that make it the world’s water-skiing sport capital, Cobe’s favourite destination to hit the water are the Gold Coast’s Coomera River for training and the Broadwater for general boating.

 

This summer season, Cobe will be training on his purple Malibu on the Coomera River, and wakeboarding in Wakeboard Queensland events held at various locations around Southern Queensland.

 

(The Wakeboard Queensland summer series is run with ability-based classes matching riders of similar levels against each other. With the level of wakeboarders in Queensland, not only can riders of all levels compete against similar skilled riders but you can also see the best in the world hit the water. The events are listed on the Wakeboard Queensland website www.wakeboardqld.com.)

 

 

Cobe’s Event List:

 

2015 Events

  • Undefeated Boys champion during the Australian season of competitions
  • 2nd place, Australian Open
  • 2nd place, World Junior Pro Tour
  • 2nd place in WWA Wake Series held in Orlando, Florida

 

2016 Events

  • 2nd place, Moomba Masters – Junior Pro
  • 2nd place, Australian Open – Junior Men
  • 2nd place, WWA Wake Open – Junior Pro
  • 2nd place, WWA Junior Pro Tour – Malibu Experience Event 1 (Las Vegas)
  • 1st place, WWA Junior Pro Tour – Malibu Experience Event 3 (Texas)
  • 1st place, WWA Junior Pro Tour – Malibu Experience Event 4 (East USA)
  • 1st place, WWA Junior Pro Tour – Series Champion
  • 2nd place, WWA European Nationals – Junior Pro

 

Interview with Andy Kancachian

Related People Articles

Similar Posts From People Category