High schooler a competitive wakeboarder

While many of Zoe Luquette’s peers were racing around Las Vegas trying to catch Pokémon, the 15-year-old was wakeboarding on Lake Mead on a Thursday afternoon, two days before competing at the California INT League’s Stairway to Heaven event in Lemoore, California.

Three summers ago, the Silverado High School soon-to-be sophomore saw an advertisement by Vegas Water Sports looking for wakeboarders.

“It’s always different every time I get into the water whereas with other sports it’s the same,” Luquette said. “There’s always a new challenge and I’ve met so many people that I can’t see myself ever living without.”

Luquette has competed across the nation and even made a trip in February 2015 to a competition more than 6,000 miles away in Argentina.

Competition judges, Luquette said, award points to competitors for the different kinds of tricks competitors successfully perform as well as their style of riding and they’re also given extra points if they attempt more challenging tricks.

“They (competitions) only get cancelled if there’s lightning,” she said of competitions. “Rain is hard to ride in because it hurts when it hits your skin.”

Luquette has collected first-place trophies as well as dozens of medals and shirts for competing.

She also has a growing list of sponsors including Vegas Water Sports, which organizes trips from the Las Vegas Strip to Lake Mead for tourists and locals alike to give them access to the latest watersports equipment including wakeboards, knee boards, tubes and water skis.

Vegas Water Sports owner Jon Anderson said part of Luquette’s sponsorship includes taking her out on Lake Mead every week.

“I take people out almost every day,” Anderson said. “Things tend to slow down in the winter, but I have wet suits people can wear to stay warm.”

Anderson added that, in addition to tourist and locals, corporate companies also reach out to him to host a company outing.

“I’ve set up a beach for a company and taken handfuls of people out at a time on the water,” he said. “People definitely have a great time.”

In the future, Luquette said she’d like to become a professional wakeboarder.

“I’d like to go up against the girls I’ve been going up against for a while now and have amateurs look up to us,” she said. “Becoming pro takes a lot of dedication.”

While out on the water, Luquette said it’s crucial to block out negative thoughts.

“You can’t get stuck on a bad trick because you can’t move on if you do,” she said. “You’ve got to break down any mental blocks you have because they can make the sport even harder.”

For those looking to get into wakeboarding, Luquette said there are some misconceptions about the sport.

“A lot of people think it takes balance but it really doesn’t,” she said. “Get out as much as possible because it gets easier every time.”

Contact reporter Ann Friedman at afriedman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Follow @AnnFriedmanRJ on Twitter.