Minnesota wake surfers compete at world championship

Summer may be over, but surfers on Lake Minnetonka are still riding the waves before 11 Minnesota wake surfers compete in the sport's world championship this weekend.

On a cool September day last week, Chris and Stacia Bank of Wayzata zipped across Crystal Bay, practicing the spins and tricks they'll be judged on in Las Vegas at the World Wake Surfing Championship on Friday and Saturday, touted as the "Super Bowl of Wake Surfing."

The husband-wife duo are among the top pro wake surfers in the world and part of a growing sport bringing ocean-like waves to lakes in Minnesota and across the country.

"This is something that has reinvented water sports for people," said Chris Bank, who heads the national organization that puts on the competitions and also organizes two local wake surfing events. "It's the biggest sport in water sports right now."

He also owns a manufacturing company and sells water sport equipment to retailers and said he's seen sales of wake surfing equipment double every year for the past four years — not a cheap accomplishment given that the sport requires pricey boards and a boat to create the wake. And yet, he said, Minnesota is likely No. 3 in the country in terms of popularity of the sport and number of competitors.

"It's pretty big and pretty progressive here," he said. "It's partly because the window is shorter — people are very passionate."

With temperatures in the 50s and the water temperature dipping to 61 degrees, Stacia pulled up a wet suit and rubbed wax on a custom-designed neon green board for traction, hitting the cold water with a yelp. As her husband drove the boat, she held a rope connected to it as it sped up to about 12 miles per hour.

The rest of the lake was nearly empty, except for a lone fishing boat and a loon, bobbing in the water.

The Banks, both competitive waterskiiers and wakeboarders, discovered wake surfing in 2010 when the sport's world championship came to Minnesota. Stacia came in No. 1 as an amateur and since then, they've quickly become pros, gaining company sponsorships and salaries, trips all over the world, free equipment and a $110,000 wake surfing boat.

"We want to grow up to be the Banks," said Andy Weigman, 26, who helped organize the local wake surfing events and has been wake surfing for 11 years, adding about the sport: "It just gives you a reason to get out on the lake."

Not that the Banks need a reason. They live their lives on the lake, renting a house on Crystal Bay in Wayzata just yards from their boat, taking their three young children wakeboarding, water skiing and paddleboarding. They'll wake surf on the lake until late October, and be back on it in the spring before all the ice melts. Even date night for the couple includes wake surfing.

"It's a big investment and lifestyle," Chris Bank said.

The couple, who practice more than an hour almost every day, had to qualify for the world championship by ranking first, second or third at one of the 13 World Series of Wake Surfing events held across the globe. One of those events, the Minnesota 10,000 Lakes Open, is now held in Minneapolis every August. The couple also traveled to Colorado, Arizona, Georgia (U.S.) and Russia to compete. In the winter, they trek to warmer climates to practice or do wake surfing videos or photo shoots.

Now, at next week's competition, they'll only have two minutes to show off their skills. They're judged on the difficulty, intensity, variety and execution of the tricks. Last year, Stacia took third in the world competition, winning $10,000. This year, she's aiming for first and the $12,000 prize.

"I always say I'm the best mom out there," said Stacia, who balances competing with her job as a physical therapist.

The couple doesn't just compete against surfers who have a whole year of training, but also younger competitors ranging from 13 to 30-somethings. At 42, Chris said he's the oldest pro surfer. But unlike other sports, he said, wake surfing is low impact, appealing to people of all ages.

"It was supposed to be our geriatric sport," he joked. "But we'll keep at it as long as we're competitive."

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