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With the southern hemisphere season in full swing, we thought it only appropriate to check in with some of our friends down in Australia. We had a chance to chat with Scotty Kell of the legendary Black Diamond Wakeboarding School outside Sydney, Australia to give us a little inside info about him and his school. Scotty has been responsible for training and coaching some of the biggest names in wakeboarding over the course of his career and does it exclusively with the help of Super Air Nautiques. If you’re in the area be sure to check it out!
Tell us a little about Black Diamond and your history.
Black Diamond was established in 1996 and is the longest running Wakeboard School in Australia. We teach all levels from first-time beginners to professional. We operate 7 days a week from mid September until early June and on set weeks throughout our winter leading into major competitions like the Nautique Wake Series.
What’s new for Black Diamond for the 2016-2017 summer?
Black Diamond turns 21 next year! And we have just got approval on our private riverfront property to start to build a new school building so we are massively looking forward to getting it started in 2017.
That’s amazing, and what Nautiques are you running at the moment?
We are running a 2017 Super Air Nautique 210 and a 2017 Super Air Nautique G23. We switch between boats depending on the level of the rider or the size of the group.
Who coaches your students?
Scotty Kell is the coach who was one of the first professional riders in Australia and has been coaching beginners to professionals for over 20 years. Scotty has guided a huge number of his riders into winning many world titles as well as assisting with setting up his guys and girls with very successful riding careers. Scotty is also a family man whom finds it really rewarding to take out new people and families getting into the sport and sharing his knowledge with them so they head in the right direction from day one.
What riders got their start at Black Diamond?
So many of the riders have trained here over the years from Australia and all around the world, but the current ones that you would be seeing in the USA at the moment are riders such as Tony Iacconi, Massi Piffaretti, Dean Smith, Nic Rapa, Amber Wing, Zahra Kell, Sam Brown, Elliot Digney, Cory Teunissen, Parker Siegle, Lewy Watt, Callan Starr, Chloe Mills and Bec Gange.
What riders come through for guest appearances?
You’ll be sure to find some of the above riders here at most times through our summer, they’re always stopping by.
How is your waterway and waterfront site set up?
We are on an acre of private waterfront land on the Hawkesbury River at Wisemans Ferry, which is the most North Western outskirt of Sydney. We currently have two cabins and a camp kitchen and deck entertaining area and training trampolines. Soon we will have the new building to go with all of this ☺
What else keeps you busy in the summertime?
We have a busy summer this year with a few competitions going on close to and on our home soil. A lot of our riders are also wanting to prepare for heading over to the USA to compete in the next Northern Hemisphere summer so we’re busy with that. We’ll be working hard with all the crew training in Sydney and also be heading to the AAO’s in New Zealand late in January to drive the Nautique G23 and also taking the helm at Moomba Masters in March next year in Melbourne.
Contact:
Black Diamond Wakeboarding School
Location: Wisemans Ferry, Sydney NSW Australia
www.blackdiamondwakeboarding.com.au
scottykell@bigpond.com
Instagram: @blackdiamondwake @scottykell
Facebook: Black Diamond Wakeboarding School
