By Barry Strauss
Staff Writer
Summer is right around the corner, and here in NEPA there is more beauty locked away in the spruce trees and mountainous landscapes then meets the eye. Just ask Trevor Bartholomew, who is the head of the wakeboard department at Sterling Marina, located at the beautiful Lake Wallenpaupack. Trevor feels that “if you have never been to this lake, it is a must.”
It is a huge man-made lake, and the surroundings are honestly out of hand.” The lake consists of 5,700 acres and is 13 miles long and has 52 miles of shoreline. There are recreational areas featuring hundreds of acres of forest lands, wildlife, walking trails, campsites, restaurants, bars, and of course boating, wakeboarding, and waterskiing.
“Well on the weekends it gets pretty crazy up here. The lake puts off more of an ocean feel with all of the tourists consuming the shore, making for a huge amount of waves and chop all across the water. On the weekdays it is a different story, the lake is glass and adds up to be a paradise for anyone who rides,” said Trevor with the look of excitement, as the much anticipated season has finally made its way home.
Trevor, who holds a degree in Exercise Science from East Stroudsburg University and is finishing up his Graduate studies in Health and Physical Education, has been working with the marina for two years. Along with his dreams of teaching, he wants to push the sport to a higher caliber around the area. “As of now the scene around here is lacking, if you say the word wakeboard more then half of the people you are talking to have no idea what it is, and I want to try to change all that”. The great thing about Trevor is that he seems to be a doer and not just another talker.
This past year, Trevor, along with Sterling Marina has been working on plans to develop a team of riders to compete, ride, and practice together. The team members will all be sponsored by the marina, which is backed by a huge named company, Liquid Force. They are shooting for a team of about 15 to 20 riders with a variety of levels. The team will get to ride and practice on a brand new Mastercraft X-1, which is an incredible boat. It comes with standard ballast, a cruise control system, seats 11 people, and has tons of muscle and steep smooth wakes. In non-wakeboarding lingo, this is a great boat to ride behind.
The riders that are accepted to the team will have certain responsibilities. They will ride in the events that the marina holds, help with demos, and over all act presentable, respectful, and approachable while wearing the name. In return, they will be sponsored by the marina, get discounts on the variety of goods the marina has to offer, meet tons of new people, and of course get to ride and enjoy the lake and its vast surroundings.
The tryouts will be held on May 17-18, May 24-25, and May 31-June 1…or by appointment. Anyone and everyone is invited. “If you are just learning to jump the wake, hitting 180s, or working on scarecrows and mobes, all our invited.”
Along with these events, the marina has many other activities scheduled for the upcoming summer. Trevor, being the head of the wakeboard department, is also in charge of lessons. The lessons could be anything from wakeboarding to water skiing to wakeskating, basically whatever you are interested in learning. So if you are looking to give wakeboarding a try, or just want to see what it is all about don’t hesitate to come out and join in on the festivities. Visit the Sterling Marina’s website at www.sterlingmarina.com/. Merry Summer.