SHORELINES

25 a p c s hor e l i n e s.c om | 2015 Vol :2 Sometimes you don't understand a word being said, but you know it's impressive. Take Tyler Royal and his sister, Hannah, who speak – and live – the lingo of wakeboarding. The siblings from Lake Jordan toss off wakeboard terms as glibly as you discuss the weather. "If I were trying to explain to my buddy what trick I do, I might say a Wake-to-Wake Heel-Back 540," says Tyler, 20. Need translation? "Wake to wake is jumping from one wake and landing directly on the other," he explains. "Cutting in heel-side is leaning on your heels as opposed to leaning on your toes, bending backside on your first rotation with your back facing the boat." He knows it sounds foreign. In fact, he often starts by defining the sport itself. "I say it's like snowboarding on water behind a boat." And if anyone on Alabama lakes embodies wakeboarding, it's Tyler, the reigning National Champion in the Outlaw Division in the INT League. Hannah, a rising sophomore at Wetumpka High School, finished first in the state division. "This is pretty much entirely my life," says Tyler, who balances being a part-time student, Elmore County substitute teacher and a gymnastics- tumbling-cheerleading coach when he's not on the water. "My parents are great about it – in fact, they got us started." Dad Jeff Royal was a "skurfer," the precursor to wakeboarding, using a rigged-up surf board with straps attached; he hoisted Hannah into her first ride at the age of 18 months. Mom Beth Royal, who grew up on Alabama lakes, is a water sports enthusiast as well. Yet it hasn't been a slam dunk, this rise of the Royals. In fact, Tyler, at 7, had only been up on the board – his dad's too-big one, at that – when he broke his femur in a skateboard accident in his own driveway. "He was in traction for 21 days with a pin through his knee, then a body cast for three or four months," says Jeff. "Tyler was on a walker and basically had to learn to walk again. That's when we happened to go to a wakeboard event where he met Shaun Murray." Murray is to wakeboarding what Shaun White is to snowboarding. He's the best, the brightest and a savvy fellow who's carved a career from the sport. Taking an interest in the kid on the walker, Murray talked the talk, shared his wakeboard video game, and recruited a convert. The moment Tyler could walk again, he headed for the water. Hannah followed and admits, "It's all I've ever known. The whole family was doing it." Her own will to compete, she adds, came not only from sibling rivalry but also from seeing boys her age excel on boards. "There aren't a lot of female riders in the wakeboard community and I wanted to keep up with the Opposite: Photo by Billy Brown — Tyler Royal and his sister, Hannah, perform wakeboarding stunts on Lake Jordan. Inset: Photo by Billy Brown — Hannah, a rising sophomore at Wetumpka High School, and Tyler, age 20, have spent their childhood wakeboarding on Lake Jordan. "THIS IS PRETTY MUCH ENTIRELY MY LIFE. MY PARENTS ARE GREAT ABOUT IT – IN FACT, THEY GOT US STARTED." —W E T UM P K A'S T Y L ER R OYA L O N COM P E T I T I V E WA K EB O A R D IN G.

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