A new wave in water sports
Flip Side
Oak Mountain State Park
8195 B John Findlay Drive
620-2528
Seasonal hours: Daily 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Season ends in September
Eight-year-old Tanner Dill stands on the edge of Beaver Lake with a wakeboard strapped to his feet. A motor whirs above his head and pulls the cable in his hand. Within seconds, Tanner is skimming across the water as the first person to experience Flip Side Watersports, the new wakeboard cable park at Oak Mountain State Park.
Flip Side, the creation of Josh White and Jeremy Talbot, is the first cable park to be built in Alabama. It opened on June 14 and has already served riders of every skill level from ages five to 57.
The cable park allows riders to wakeboard, kneeboard and water ski without a boat. Two towers stand on opposite sides of the lake with 817 feet of cable between them. An electric motor, controlled by an operator, runs the length of the cable and pulls riders back and forth across the lake at speeds up to 27 miles per hour.
White described cable parks as the “easiest way to learn to wakeboard” because beginners don’t have to worry about the rough wake from a boat. However, advanced riders will not be bored, either. Two corrugated railings and a ramp are in the water for those who want to try out tricks, and White said there are plans to add more obstacles.
Flip Side was born out of White’s childhood love of wakeboarding. He tried his first cable park in Orlando eight years ago and was immediately hooked.
“It was a whole new feel. I could do all kinds of new stuff I’d never done before,” White said.
In 2010, White and Talbot decided that a cable park could make a great business. They drew up a business plan, but it would be four years before Flip Side became a reality. White said it was a challenge to find property with a lake suitable for wakeboarding, and Oak Mountain turned down their requests to use the lake several times. It was the state park’s new superintendent, Adam Sample, who finally gave enthusiastic support to the project.
Now that Flip Side is up and running, White hopes he can introduce more people to wakeboarding. Without the expense of purchasing gear, a boat and fuel, water sports can become more accessible. White noted that the cost of renting gear and riding all day at Flip Side is less expensive than driving to a lake and fueling a boat for a day.
“Right now there’s so many kids in Birmingham who have never seen a wakeboard, maybe at all,” White said. “We want to make the sport grow, and in the same sense we want to make the park grow, because without the park we wouldn’t be here.”
The cable park is open every day until the end of the season in September, and White said they offer lessons and reservations for parties and events. If he receives significant interest from riders, he might also install a hot shower and open Flip Side on weekends in the winter. He will also continue his own tradition of wakeboarding every New Year’s Day.
While Flip Side is still young, White said he plans to eventually add a second cable and perhaps expand to a full-size park, which could handle eight riders at a time. He has also considered opening multiple locations someday, including one closer to his home in Guntersville.
For White, it was worth four years to make Flip Side a reality because he simply “can’t stay away from the lake.”
The first cable park in Alabama
Location: Beaver Lake, Oak Mountain State Park
Cable Length: 817 feet
Top Speed: 27 miles per hour
Experience level: Beginner-Advanced
Suitable for: Wakeboards, water skis and kneeboards
Cost: $65 for all-day gear rental and riding