Hydro Fest 2016

The World of Hydroflight Comes Together

Welcome to H2RO Magazine’s Official Event Page for Hydro Fest 2016!

When: June 10 – 12, 2016
Where: Pahrump and Las Vegas, Nevada

H2RO OFFICIAL HYDRO FEST VIDEO IN 4K

ACTION FROM FRIDAY AT HYDRO FEST!

Great moments from Saturday at Hydro Fest.

H2RO EVENT PARTNER

H2RO HYDRO FEST SPONSORS

Fifty eight minutes outside of Las Vegas sits 4.5 acres of cool blue water, a stunning mountain backdrop and a race track. It’s also the spot where on June 10th, 11th and 12th of 2016, as the hot winds blew across the Nevada desert, Hydroflight history was made.

Dean O’Malley of Jetpack America, along with media veteran Eric Longabardi, Hydroflight visionary and SoCal Hydro Sports owner Charlene Lewis and DEFY Hydroflight’s fearless leader Nick Homer envisioned and then executed a three day event that included the first meeting for the World Hydroflight Association, the first open board competition to include divisions for Jetboards, Jetpacks and Jetbikes and the first competition to be sanctioned by the IJSBA.

Hydro Fest 2016 took leadership, personal sacrifice and commitment from these core organizers while at the same time relying on support from the manufacturers, sponsors, judges (Hydro Score), Jetpack America staff and Hydroflight community at large to become a reality. H2RO can’t thank everyone involved enough for bringing this historic event to life and setting such a great example for future Hydroflight competitions to learn from and expand upon.

JETBOARD DIVISION CHAMPION – BEN MERRELL

There are athletes in every sport that capture our imagination and seem to experience moments throughout their careers that simply could not have been scripted any better. As Ben Merrell stood atop the Hydro Fest podium as champion in the Pro Jetboard division I couldn’t help but have one of those ‘life flashing before your eyes’ moments. The rapid fire memories had that kind of grainy film look while still flowing seamlessly together. It began with Ben disappearing into the sea only to emerge with a fish in his mouth during the finals of the 2013 Flyboard World Cup in Doha, Qatar then quickly morphed into a helmet wearing, fist pumping 2014 NAFBC competitor who had just pulled off a 720 double in front of tens of thousands of spectators along the Toronto waterfront.

The next flash of memory brought me to his Jetblade video footage, tension at the 2014 XDubai Flyboard World Cup and an athlete shunned by his former community. Bits and pieces of our long Skype call and the subsequent interview on H2RO Magazine transitioned into Merrell booting up in a Legend board and making a statement of strength during the 2015 North American Flyboard Championship in Shreveport, Louisiana. Another flash and Ben is sitting two rows ahead of me in the stands at the 2015 XDubai Flyboard World Cup his hand extended and shaken by Franky Zapata. A full circle moment for those that know their history and the handshake cross-dissolves into a gorgeous slow motion spin back dolphin… but no podium.

It’s at that moment that I squint out the Nevada sun to see Ben, arms raised, Jetblade at his feet, medal around his neck and realize that the climax of this four year journey could not have come at a more appropriate competition or venue. Ben Merrell who’s strength and determination to lead our industry forward inspired the necessary evolution to allow for a competition like Hydro Fest to occur also brings with it the reward of his first championship victory.

As I stood in front of the podium at Hydro Fest holding my GoPro as steady as I could my final thought was… to be continued!

Hunter Verlander (2nd), Scotty Knemeyer (3rd), Damone Rippy (4th) and all of the Pro Jetboard competitors delivered never-before-seen moments and H2RO will be sharing their great flying in detail.

The Open Division also showcased some amazing athletes. Big congrats to Casey Mcelwee, Logan Foust and Jesse Nickell for each finding the podium for the first time.

The big names did not disappoint, Damone Rippy, Hunter Verlander, Ben Merrell each delivered world class runs but we also saw some insane entry rounds from newcomer Aleks Skar and the return of Adrian Boucher and Scotty Knemeyer. Big thumbs up to our judges and the Hydro Score system. After a long and challenging day we’ve got an amazing top 16 ready to battle it out on Saturday. (Ben Merrell and Damone Rippy are missing on this Top 16 list but did qualify for the Top 8 Round)

Pro Men round of eight scores were ridiculously close. Damone Rippy, Hunter Verlander and Ben Merrell are basically a pick’em at one, two and three. Ben’s run was big and super clean, Hunter was super technical with a triple and bonsai double and Damone Rippy’s ultra low doubles and crowd pleasing aggression manage top spot even though his landings were an area to improve on.

HYDROFEST WOMEN’S JETBOARD CHAMPION – KRISTEN SMOYER

The Women’s Jetboard Division was exciting and filled with great runs and personal bests. Kristen Smoyer and roommate Gemma Weston will reunite in Florida each with a first place finish in their respective competitions. Smoyer proved herself once again to be one of the top riders in the world and continues to be a great ambassador for the sport. Valentine Cambron provided serious competition finishing in second place and it was great to see Stephanie Wells take a leap forward with an impressive final run which put her on the podium in third.

JETPACK DIVISION

The craziest dudes at this event were certainly the Jetpack pilots. The speed and skill that was on display blew both the fans and fellow competitor’s minds. Jesse Orlando was gnarly and made history winning the first ever Pro Jetpack competition. It was such an incredibly close battle for top spot as Jon Statman and Mike Traster delivered innovative and inspiring runs all throughout the competition.

“Kiss the Clouds, Soak the Crowds”  Jesse Orlando

JETBIKE DIVISION CHAMPION – JOEY NATALE

I don’t think there was one person at this event that didn’t come away wanting to fly a Jetbike. The Jetovator skills on display at Hydro Fest were shockingly radical. H2RO will dive into the detail in future posts but let’s celebrate the top three athletes who are now in the Hydroflight history books as winners in the first ever Pro Jetbike competition. Joey Natale exceeded his hype winning his first of what will no doubt be many Jetbike Championships. Lee Major tricked the bike backwards out of the gate and was only .37 points away from Joey. Jordan Finley went so huge with the one handed backflip and rounded out a world class podium in third.

Random Notes from Friday: Entry round has begun with Max Miller, Ronnie Feise and Stephane Jacobs ripping on the Jetovator. Stephane came out with the top score of the three. His run had great speed and some impressive no handed spin combos. He also dove the bike and styled out his moves very nicely. Ronnie and Max were solid and looked like they fly together as they each had great spin flip combos.

Joey Natale as expected raised the bike bar with a sick run filled with doubles, no handed cork spins and heart stopping stalls. Jordan Finley followed Joey up with some big flips from the top of the hose.

Ben Merrell showed he’s skilled on more than just the Jetboard. His Jetbike spin flip combos were big and he had a nice dive session using the competition area to its fullest.

Derek Stryker showed us a new happy accident with a crazy spin that sent the hose looping back behind the ski and his driver. It may have been seen as unsafe but it looked rad and drew some ooohhhhhs from the crowd.

Overall the Jetbike division has grabbed the attention of the crowd and competitors!

Damn! These Jetbike athletes went after each other leaving it all out on the water and pushing each other to new heights. Some crashes and close calls further showed just how on the edge these riders were pushing their skills. Great video coming from all three divisions and certainly both the packs and bikes are on the competitive map and will remain!

HYDROFEST EVENT OVERVIEW

Hydro Fest will be the first Hydroflight competition in our sports history to be open to all products and include divisions for Jetboards, Jetpacks and Jetbikes. This will also be the first event produced through a partnership of the IJSBA sanctioned Hydroflight Association and JetPack America. Jetpack America Las Vegas will host the event at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Resort & Country Club in Pahrump, Nevada.

Top Jetboard, Jetpack and Jetbike Hydroflight athletes from around the world will be in attendance putting on demonstrations and competing in their respective divisions.

The location is the beautiful Lake Spring Mountain. A 4.5 acre freshwater lake which will see the open board Hydroflight competition and act as the playground for attendees to paddleboard, kayak, swim and play.

Hydro Fest 2016 will also feature awesome off-the-water fun such as slack lines, mountain bike courses, go-cart racing, beach volleyball and other family-friendly activities.

At night, the facility will be transformed into a concert venue where some top local country artists will perform for the crowd.

Hydro Fest Competitors

Alphabetical Order as of April 5th:

HYDROFEST PHOTO GALLERY

Serious hose art and a narrow escape for Brody Wells during the Jetboard Entry Round.

Surf Channel getting us hyped!

Hydro Fest Judges

Jason Burns – 45, Lake Angelus, MI (USA)
Jason is the owner of Michigan Flyboard. He was a competitive jet ski freestyler for both the IJSBA and APBA for 19 years. Jason retired in 2008 after finishing second in the Midwest Watercross Tour. Since then Jason has been judging IJSBA sanctioned jet ski events around the Midwest along with the World Finals. In 2015 Jason was the head judge for the North American Flyboard Championship. He was also a judge in Dubai at the FlyBoard World Cup in December 2015. Jason has a strong passion for judging freestyle water sports. He’s also been working along side the European Jet Ski Freestyle Championship, Flyboard Freestyle Championships, Midwest Hydroflight Tour and Hydro-Fest 2016.

Christopher Hassler – 30, San Diego, CA (USA)
Since the age of 15, Chris has been on some sort of board. He grew up snowboarding in the winters, going to places like Utah and even Switzerland, and wakeboarding during the summers. When his business partner showed him a YouTube video of flyboarding, his jaw dropped and it was all over. The two of them went and tried it in Charleston, SC and became instructors the same day. After flyboarding for a summer in South Carolina, they decided to start up a company in San Diego (Fly Guys Watersports). Since its beginning in March of 2014, Fly Guys has flown over a 1,000 people. In that time, Chris has gotten to know lots of people in this growing industry. Best part of that, he got to fly a lot of cool toys. From the flyboard to the X-board to the Jetblade to the Jetovator.

William Mcelwee (Billy Mac)– 37, Milwaukee, WI (USA)
Billy Mac as he’s known in the hydroflight industry has been flying hydrosport devices since early 2012. He is an avid flyer and participated in the 2014 and 2015 North American Flyboard Championships. Billy is a very technical person both mechanically and professionally. Mcelwee’s engineering background gives him special focus and expertise on many of the more technical aspects of this fast evolving industry and sport.  He is a Senior Systems Engineer for a publicly traded company in his ‘day job’. He is also a very ‘by the book’ judge and wants nothing more then this first of its kind Hydro-Fest 2016 competition in June to be judged as fairly as possible for all the competitors involved.

Tommy Nuttall – 52, Riverview, MI (USA)
Tommy owns Typhoon Tommy Entertainment and is a IJSBA freestyle promoter. Over the past decade he’s produced many shows and championship tours, including the 2015 USA Freestyle Tour. Tommy became a competitive jet ski freestyler and racer in 1991. He’s placed in the top 8 in all classes (Ski, X2, Runabout) of watercraft at the pro freestyle world finals in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. He is a former Sea World water skier/safety instructor and was company manager for the The Batman Stunt show at Six Flags. Nuttall has judged and announced many jet ski freestyle competitions. In 2014 Tommy became extensively involved in Hydroflight. Tommy’s background in action sports began as a skateboarder in the late 1970’s and includes involvement in the sports of hockey, gymnastics, soccer, track and wrestling. His competitive sports experience as an athlete and coach give him a solid background in the sports judging process.

Nate Rocco Sinisgalli – 28, San Diego CA (USA)
Nate has been in Hydro-Flight for 3 years and is a certified Master Instructor. He is knowledgeable in all forms of hydroflight and is advanced in flying every piece of equipment. Specializing in Jetpacks, Nate participated in the Hydro-Soul project in Thailand and is featured as a Jetpack rider in this highly anticipated documentary. Nate has been the Manager of Jetpack America’s San Diego flight location for 2 years where he manages 13 employees. Being able to teach and observe the progression of Hydro-flight from his employees, peers, and experiencing all forms of flight first hand, he has the tools to delegate a fair and diligent Hydroflight judgement.

Trinaty Tronsgard – 53, Calgary, Alberta (Canada)
Trinaty has been involved in the hydroflight business back before it was ever a business. He worked as a throttle man in the Caribbean in 2011 to fly luxury yacht owners and their guests and saw how much fun people had and wanted to bring that fun to everyone. Ever since then, he’s been on the lookout for opportunities to fly people and is happy to see how the industry is evolving to include multiple suppliers and hydroflight devices, making it easy and fun for anyone to fly. Trinaty and his partner now run Prairie Pirates Jetpacks and Watersports in Alberta Canada, and he flies his guests on jetpacks, jetboards, hoverboards and jetbikes. In addition, Trinaty’s been focusing on creating a training program for throttle men, an often overlooked aspect of the guest’s success with flight. His motto … All air, all the time!

Hydro Fest 2016 in Las Vegas Judging Guidelines

Judging freestyle is a special science and has always been a controversial topic. How can you even judge a sport like Hydroflight? You don’t want fixed scores for certain tricks like they have in figure-skating. There shouldn’t be a right or wrong way, there is a reason it is called FREEstyle. That’s why as a judge you don’t want to follow strict rules but rather a certain philosophy.

This common freestyle philosophy is also called “overall impression”. It makes sure that the sport is free to constantly develop and not be limited by rules that reward sheer number of tricks. However, this kind of judging can be subjective, but that is actually the goal – to let the fair and competent judges have their own opinion. That way there are no restrictions and the evolution of the sport is solely driven by the athletes.

Now what does “overall impression” mean for a judge? You don’t follow a fixed score system for tricks. Instead, judging is based on guidelines that leave room for the creativity of the flyers, where the run is seen as a whole and not just a quick succession of tricks.

The overall impression uses of the following aspects:

1) Difficulty
2) Execution
3) Amplitude
4) Variety
5) Progression

1) Difficulty: How difficult is the trick? Here, the focus is on the number of spins and flips, whether it was a back to back or a true double. Add combinations of grabs and axes of rotation in one up-down motion and you have your base for level of difficulty.

2) Execution: How is the trick executed? With intent, held through the whole trick showing style and control with a solid landing.

3) Amplitude: Isn’t this what makes our sport great? “Power used” is also associated with this criteria.

4) Variety: How many variations does the run offer? A mixture of big tricks is essential for a good score and shows the whole trick repertoire of a flyer. Showmanship between tricks makes for well rounded run.

5) Progression: Is that a new trick? Progression is what pushes the sport into new realms. This includes new and unusual tricks and variations of combos.

A run is judged on these guidelines and compared to the preceding runs. The hardest part as a judge is remembering what the 5th competitor did when judging the 35th. Therefore all judges use “shorthand notes” Here, the judges document the flyer’s entire run with abbreviations and marks for all guideline values in order to compare and rank all the riders properly.

Before the competition, all judges will have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and the importance our role is in the growth of the sport. We will understand judges will be judged on our collective results. 90% of the people should agree with our cognitive science (wisdom of the crowd) or we need to reassess our criteria. Tricks will be recorded at the height preformed with level of difficulty of 1 to 5 assigned, other marks will be made for each overall impression (below average, average and above average).

The first 5 to 10 runs provide the “anchor scores” and, based off of those, the rest of the runs are ranked. Every judge gives a score between 1 and 10 to place competitors above or below previous runs. You simply can’t give everyone a 9.5. A judge needs to be diligent in preforming his/her duties, keeping records and allowing room between scores to fit a 40 competitor field. Don’t be shocked to see low scores in qualifying, we do this to ensure proper placement in ranking when you have such a large field of competitors.

If 2 runs are at the same level, the 5 guidelines decide which one was better!

One key aspect of the judging will be transparency, where all judges’ scores will be visible to the crowd and to the competitors, along with the cumulative score, which will help prevent judge bias and address concerns around score adjustment or competitor advantage.

Here are few photos posted on Facebook by Charlene Lewis of the venue:

We just saw that Jetpack America is also bringing some great hydroflight content together on their new Hydro-Channel check it out.

If you haven’t been keeping up with H2RO TV then check out the flying from the finals of the XDubai Flyboard World Cup which went down in December.

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