Luke Edwards / Niagara This Week

Cable wakeboard system remains open by appointment through October

You never know what you’re going get with a brand new venture. Luckily for the owners of BoarderPass their gamble in Niagara paid off.

BoarderPass Niagara, the group that brought cable wakeboarding to Sugarloaf Marina in Port Colborne, reported a successful first year in business in the region. The business opened up in Port Colborne in late June and brought with it a new recreation venue for the city.

“We exceeded what we had hoped for. It was about 15 per cent more than our goal,” said Tim Nixon, who co-owns BoarderPass alongside Chris Smith.

The system, which features four trick areas in its circuit, originated in Sarnia. Last winter Nixon and Smith came to Port Colborne looking to install a second cable system in Niagara.

The city backed the project enthusiastically, and BoardePass went to work setting things up. It opened June 29 and had an early boost with a Wake Up Call event, which brought boarders from around the region out to try it.

“Thank you to Sugarloaf for their help and the City of Port Colborne. There’s been a lot of support from the community,” Nixon said.

Nixon said their system was able to attract a lot of first-timers, estimating 90 per cent of those who came out were rookies.

BoarderPass doesn’t have any plans for huge changes next year. Nixon said they’ll probably switch some of the tricks on the circuit to keep things fresh.

The Port Colborne venue will remain open for most of October, depending on weather. It’s only open by appointment now that the weather has turned and the kids are back in school. Nixon said they’ll be offering early bird passes next year, with deals for season passes and the summer school passes.