Sartell family members compete as world-ranked wake surfers

SARTELL, MINN. – Passersby sometimes see a Sartell family of world-ranked wake surfers practicing on the Mississippi River above the Sartell Dam, hands-free, riding a perpetual, boat-generated wave.

The Grindlands — Eric, son Trevor, 21, and daughter Kia, 19 — are in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this weekend for the Centurion World Wake Surfing Championship. Mom Marlene went along as the self-described cheering section.

While all three competitors were invited to the event, which began Thursday and runs through Saturday, only Eric will compete, in the master's division. Trevor and Kia are too busy with college. He's a senior studying mechanical engineering at North Dakota State University. She's a sophomore studying elementary education with a math minor at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Last Saturday morning, they spent a little time on the river in Sartell before heading to Wayzata for a festival exhibition on Lake Minnetonka.

Eric motored the boat, starting at 11.3 miles per hour, adjusting for the river current, generating a knee- to waist-high wave. Water pressure keeps feet to board. Balance and coordination keep the competitor above the surface.

"It's like you're riding a skateboard on the water," Trevor said.

All three made it look easy, cutting into the wave, spinning 360 or 180 degrees, seeming to balance on the crest.

"I think for me it's going to turn into a hobby that pays for itself. You can't really make a living off it right now. You can, but you're squeaking by and living off favors," Trevor said.

He spent his summer internship in San Diego, working for a defense contractor that builds naval hydrodynamics. That got him surfing the ocean, but out of wake-surfing competition.

Trevor is ranked No. 10 in the world, and Kia No. 4 in their respective divisions. Eric, competing in the master's division, earned first-place in national competition last weekend; he's ranked No. 2 in the world.

The rankings help with sponsorships, such as the boat, motor, wake boards and sunglasses.

The boat, designed to create as much of a wake as possible, has surf gates that allow working either side. It's heated. Weights help with the balance.

Kia, who like Trevor has taught wake surfing throughout Minnesota, recalled starting out.

"It was kind of terrifying to be a little 11-year-old next to such a big wave," Kia said. And now? "It's one of those sports where you never want to stop. There's always that one trick."

She most recently perfected a 3-shuv, which involves going airborne and spinning 360 degrees. Now she's working on a backside big spin, which involves spinning 180 degrees away from the boat while kicking the board 180 degrees.

"You learn a trick and you just start building it," Kia said.

The variations are endless.