By RUSSELL BENNETT
THERE aren’t too many occasions that spring to mind where throwing a tantrum is a good thing.
But for Kooweerup starlet Charli Russell, it represents her next significant goal in an already incredible wakeboarding journey.
The 11-year-old – who goes by her nickname ‘Charch’ – first set foot on a wakeboard when she was just nine, and yet she’s already got a Victorian state title to her name.
She made the step up to the nationals as a 10-year-old in the 10 to 14 age class and finished ninth, and now she’s already set herself some impressive goals.
One of those is to pull off a ‘tantrum’ – or, in simpler terms, a backflip.
Wakeboarding isn’t among the first few sports normally associated with prodigiously-talented Kooweerup youngsters, but with the Russell family having a holiday house at Mulwala, Charli has long been around the water.
Some of the tricks currently in her repertoire are a heelside wake jump, an ollie 180, a toeside 180, and a half cab 180. She can also pull off a range of other tricks including a nose grab, a melon grab and even a roast beef grab.
While those unfamiliar with wakeboarding may struggle to picture these moves, a simple YouTube search will uncover just how impressive they are to watch.
Charli is particularly flexible, which comes in handy when it comes to learning her flips. When she’s not on the water she practices those in the family backyard on her trampoline with a rope attached to the side of the house. Even watching those moves is a spectacle in itself.
“My favourite part is the tricks and trying to get as much air as I can,” Charli said of her sport, adding that she’s continually trying to “cut harder” or carry more speed into her tricks across the wake.
Charli is firmly entrenched in the Wakeboard Victoria community. It’s a tightknit, nurturing one where there’s plenty of support and the ability to learn from the other competitors.
She got a second placing in her most recent competition – on Sunday at Melton Reservoir.
She has wakeboarded with some of the best in the world when they’ve arrived in Melbourne for the Moomba festival.
Australia has some of the best competitors anywhere on the planet, but Charli’s goals extend overseas – to America. If she continues to develop at the rate she has so far, the wakeboarding world really might be her oyster.
