TWELVE months after coming up just short, Mildura wakeboarder Liam Dinnage is now a national champion.
The 22-year-old nailed his final run at the weekend’s Australian Wakeboard Nationals in Murray Bridge to claim the 19-29 Men’s division.
Dinnage finished with a score of 64.33, just ahead of Luke Steadman’s 62.11, after successfully performing one of the newest tricks, the Wrapped KGB, in Saturday’s final.
Dinnage came second in last year’s titles, held on the Mildura riverfront, to good mate and fellow local Cambell Davison.
“I’m stoked actually to be able to do it,” he said.
“After coming second to Cambell last year, it made me really want to step up my game this year and try and push a bit further.
“I’ve spent a bit more time behind the water this season and really have been trying to learn something new each time and get to the point where I can nail a few more of these tricks.
“While you’re learning them, you do get a few good slams but once you get them, you can build that consistency.”
Despite the weekend arguably being one of the biggest of his fledgling career, Dinnage aimed to make it feel like a casual Saturday afternoon ride.
“I wasn’t too sure where I would end up because in wakeboarding, everything can happen so fast,” he said.
“You could go out and fall twice and then that’s it, it’s all done.
“I went out for a ride on the Thursday just to get used to the conditions there, and then in the final on Saturday I just tried to make it seem like any other day riding.
“I wanted to stay as relaxed as possible and not get too wound up.”
After Steadman put down a solid final run, Dinnage knew he had to pull out all the stops.
“I was last off the pontoon as I had the highest score in the heats and watching him go, I knew I had to hit some good tricks to get it done,” he said.
“The best one I hit was a trick he tried and couldn’t land called a Wrapped KGB, a wrapped backroll with a backside 360 spin.
“I learned that one at the start of the season and knew I could land it, so when I did that in the final, I had a pretty good feeling I would get enough points to win.”
The nationals rounded out a consistent season for the Mildura rider after winning the Victorian championship and being named the overall open class rider of the rider in the state.
Dinnage hopes to get on the board more regularly during the off-season.
“I’ll try and get out as much as possible over the off-season, four to five months is a long time off the board,” he said.
