World top Wakeboarding comes to Knokke-Heist !

Meanwhile, we are indeed talking about anchoring because after Louis Eggerickx's 3rd place and Lowa Van Cutsem's 1st place - both also Belgian Champions - at the World Championships in Thailand last year, everyone knows by now that our country has talent in house. Naturally, it will be especially looking forward to this twosome.... Both Surfers Paradise and the WSV -overarching federation- took all the necessary initiatives in the past to give local riders every opportunity for professional support, and Lakeside Paradise already allowed riders to train on the current setup all winter.

The competition will not be fierce: meanwhile, the number of entries exceeds the previous edition and we are going to about 100 participants from 12 different countries. 70 Wakeboarders, 16 Wakeskaters and a total of 62 gentlemen and 16 ladies. The cash prize pool is 5000€, divided fairly between ladies and gentlemen.
Some of the big names in the men's category are current World Ranking leader Carlo Husing, German Champion Open Men, Maximilian Bamler, European Champion Junior Men, Patryk Łojek, Polish Champion Open Men and World Ranking Leader Junior Men. Among the ladies, Martina San Filip , South American Champion Open Ladies, will also make her appearance.
In addition, note from just about every participating country all national champions, and of course all Belgian champions including the very young Vic Drooghmans, alongside Emiel Lauwers, Ike Vanleenhove, Kaat Bastiaans and Pauline Appelmans, all from Knokke-Heist.
Of course, wakeskating is also on the programme with the absolute standout being Dennis Hildebrand German Champion and World Ranking Leader Open Men.
 
Total spectacle guaranteed. Admission is free, expert commentators talk the talk and there is a big screen where all the results can be followed. Admission is free.
From Friday 31 March, there will be open training sessions as most of the participants already arrive during the week. This not only to get used to the course and obstacles themselves, but above all to the "Cold Water" temperature where the thermometer currently reads around 7 degrees celcius. This alone only adds to the challenge.
On Saturday 1 April, there will then be the qualifying runs followed by the 16th and quarter-finals and last chance qualifiers, before enjoying the semi-finals and final finals from noon on Sunday.
Each wakeboarder or wakeskater enters the water in turn to give his or her best during 1 round of Kicker to Kicker. A five-member international jury judges the difficulty of the tricks performed and the height of the jumps, after which the rider with the most points moves on to the next round.
Podiums and closing ceremony are scheduled at 5pm.
 
 
An action-packed summer.
 Lakeside Paradise will thus open its doors every day from Saturday 25 March. From that day onwards, anyone can visit one of the 3 cable cars daily: the 2.0 for beginners, the "Rookie" for recreational wakeboarders and the "Pro" for more advanced wakeboarders. At each track, a cable operator and/or math assistant will provide expert guidance. Also from 25 March, there will be the new summer menu at Lakeside Bites, the restaurant overlooking Lake Duinenwater. Healthy, cosy and affordable world cuisine in a unique setting with friendly service.
As soon as the water temperature reaches 12 degrees, it is chocolate time again: then 30 tonnes of chalk are neatly distributed over the entire Duinenwater surface to combat algae growth during the hot and windless summer days.
The Tomorrow Team's weekly training starts on 29 April while there is a heat of the Ronix Junior Tour on 30 April: a competition for all U18 wakeboarders.
Thursday, July 1 is time for all the ladies because of the first Womens session, with sequels on June 29 and September 7. Sessions exclusively for ladies.
From Sunday 4 June we hope that the water temperature may become pleasant because from then on there will be the weekly kids sessions every Sunday morning for youngsters -12 years old who want to take their first steps on the board with extra guidance. 
Father's Day on Sunday 11 June is a traditional high-flyer with the "daddy is cool" session, just dads with their kids on the water.
Advance booking is necessary for all these sessions as full is full.
With the Hyperlite Rookie tour on Monday, August 28, the U11 and U14 will take their turn.
Towards the end of the season, there is the annual UFO session on 1 October, day when the craziest Unidentified Floating Objects can be seen on Lake Duinenwater: a bit like the Red Bull Soapbox race but with inflatable crocodiles, surfboards with chairs on them, homemade boats, snowboards, snow skis...dressed-up wakeboarders...in short, hilarious scenes that produce unique images.
The season concludes with the club championships "KING and QUEEN OF THE LAKE" at.....
 
Ongoing activities
Besides the BITES available à la carte every day, there is also the tapa and cocktail bar on the beachfront terrace and there are fixed BBQ nights during July and August.
Every Wednesday and Saturday there is outdoor cooking, on Thursday the traditional paradise signature BBQ, on Friday the Cote à L'os with fries and on Sunday the all you can eat Surf & Turf BBQ. Fish and meat with vegetable buffet and, of course, always Veggie alternative.
 
Kampen
During the Easter holidays, the wake-skating and surfing camps will take place for two weeks where, according to the weather conditions, there will be a choice between the skate park, surfers or Lakeside Paradise.
Finally, in July and August, the first and last week there is the wake and racket camp in cooperation with Tennis and Padel centre Duinbergen and there are weekly half-day and full-day wakeboarding camps.
If you still want to be there, be quick because everything is almost full. Surf to www.lakesideparadise.be or call 050/606035 for all info