Wake women

In a sport dominated by men, the Hoffman sisters are proving to be the most feared, and entertaining women on the wake. The sisters competed in the International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation Wakeboard World Championships, and turned heads with more than just their looks. Raequel (pictured), a 20-year-old senior at Chico State, won the gold medal in the Open Women division, and Shawna, a 17-year-old senior at Durham High School, finished fifth in the Junior Women division. Both have plans outside the sport—Raequel sees herself teaching, and Shawna desires a career in physical therapy. They both see the potential to push the limits of their sport and excel greatly before finding careers.

For those of us who have siblings, there is an inevitable truth that they sometimes fight, do you recall the worst sister showdown you’ve ever had?

Raequel: There was one time when I was really frustrated with the way she was driving me with the boat, and she knew it, too. But we really don’t fight or try to be the “better sister.” If I have a bad run on the wake, and she’s up next in a competition, I tell her when not to jump too early and where to watch for white caps.

Shawna: Yeah, I could tell she was mad. I do suck sometimes driving the boat.

Raequel, you recently came back from ACL reconstructive surgery. How has that injury changed your perspective on the sport?

Raequel: It made me better in some ways. Now when I practice tricks, I do them over and over until I’m satisfied and know I won’t get hurt. If someone suffered the same injury, I would tell them it sucks, but it happens to a lot of wake boarders and you can come back if you’re persistent.

Shawna, what do you want out of your future in wakeboarding?

Shawna: I just want to continue to be a good influence on kids. It’s funny because I have little girls asking for my autographs, and even boys come up with my poster. I never thought I would ever have that. And it’s not about the attention, but I just want to be good role-model sisters.

So what is the worst wipe-out you have ever experienced?

Raequel: Just YouTube “Most daring-catching waves.” It was pretty bad. Real TV picked it up for a show and they tried to ask me questions about it, which is funny because I really don’t remember much of it.