Along with the impressive Australian male wakeboarder standings on the World Wake Association (WWA)’s 2020 World Rankings, Australian female wakeboarders are also making their mark in the scene. Out of the incredibly competitive top 10 female wakeboarder rankings, two are proud Australians. Keep reading to find out how these young Australian women found success in the growingly popular wakeboarding sport and their plans to dominate the global sport.
Zahra Kell
Up and coming Australian wakeboarding superstar Zahra Kell is currently ranked second in the world according to WWA’s 2020 World Rankings despite only being 17 years old. Born and raised in Sydney Australia, Zahra made her wakeboarding debut when she was 13 years in 2016 and since then, has only grown in skill and professionalism. Zahra won her first championship at the 2017 Moomba Masters and has only continued to win at large competitions, placing first in the Wake Open in 2018 and at the Australian Nationals in 2019.
Sponsored by established watersports and apparel brand Jetpilot, Zahra simply loves the rush of adrenaline during her competitive rides and keeps motivated based on this feeling alone. Zahra has only just started making a name for herself in the wakeboarding scene and has no plans to stop anytime soon.
Bec Gange
As an eight-time Australian wakeboarding champion and currently number eight on the WWA’s 2020 World Rankings, Bec Gange has a long and successful history with wakeboarding. Currently 31 years old, Bec started her journey in watersports at the tender age of 13, having gotten her first boat when she was 11 years old and quickly developing a love for wakeboarding.
Bec started her professional career wakeboarding in the USA in 2013 and is the first and only woman to have landed the Whirlybird 540, which is a complicated waterboarding trick involving a heelside backflip and a 540 degree spin landing with the handle over the head. She won Female Trick of the Year in her debut year and continued to make her mark in the scene by winning the World Cup in 2013 and World Championships in 2014. Bec was also named the best Australian female rider between 2014 and 2015 and since then, has continued to build her reputation as a master of wakeboarding tricks.
Although Bec has now slowed down in her international wakeboarding competition appearances, she is still very much involved in the scene, coaching upcoming wakeboarding stars (at Bec Gange Wakeboarding Lessons and Tsunami Houseboat) and working on her own original wakeboarding tricks. Last practicing landing a 720 (two 360 degree rotations), Bec is proud to be representing Australia in WWA’s Top 10 Female Wakeboarder Rankings and continues to support young aspiring wakeboarders with her 2019/20 Quantum Signature Series with Jetpilot. Still going strong and winning Best Trick at Moomba Masters last year, Bec’s journey is far from over.
Courtney Angus
Courtney Angus, from the Gold Coast has proven herself to be world’s undisputed ‘Queen of Wakeboarding’. While that may be a big claim to fame, it is well demonstrated through her having won the World Wakeboard Association (WWA) Wake Park World Championships in 2013. She also had victories at the 2014-15 WWA Triple Crown Series as well as many other major competitions domestically and nationally.
Courtney comments that the key to her success is all in the hard work she puts in, and not any nature talent. Despite this humble opinion of herself, Courtney has become one of the world’s best wakeboard riders.
It’s not easy to reach the top of a globally competitive sport as a small region, but Zahra, Courtney and Bec have overcome the odds and made a name for both themselves and Australia as leaders of the wakeboarding scene. If you’re interested in learning more about Australia’s successful female wakeboarders, consider visiting their company sponsors, which have helped the athletes along their wakeboarding journey by providing them with high-quality sports gear and sportswear.