Pint-sized Talor's riding wave of success

By Jamie Troughton
If Talor Walters spent any more time upside down, he'd have to start combing his feet.
The talented eight-year-old wakeboarder has scored a sponsorship deal with Ballistics, joining the same team as world champion Kiwi Jeff Weatherall. Talor won last week's national grommet (under-10) title at Lake Karapiro and was so impressive Ballistics signed him up on the spot.
"He's got a huge head start," Ballistics team manager Jennifer Langton said. "Most people in wakeboarding start around 18 or 19 so he's one of the youngest kids in the sport in New Zealand. If he keeps it up, there are definitely big things on the horizon for him."
Talor's favourite move is the back-roll, and such is his passion for the sport, his eyes light up describing it even when standing bone-dry on the shore.
"I use the side of the lip, then edge out on my toes and come in on my heels," Talor explained. "Then just charge it in and throw it into a back roll."
The move kicks him off the wake and into the air, rolling backwards before landing on the other side of the wake. There are a few other moves he's currently perfecting, such as Rayleys, Sliders and Kickers.
Talor spends his time between his parents in Rotorua and Tauranga.
His father, Darren, got the young prodigy into the sport 14 months ago. Now Dad is in serious danger of being overtaken by his son.
Langton, who has closely monitored Talor's progress in the past few months, believes he has a certain 'X' factor that could take him far in the sport.
"He's got huge amounts of style, man. With wakeboarding, you get people who can go out and go wake-to-wake and do the tricks, but you can't teach someone style. He's got heaps of that, and so much get-up-and-go for it."
As part of the sponsorship, Ballistics will provide Talor with wakeboarding equipment and pay his competition entry fees.
He will also be invited to specialist coaching camps run by the likes of Weatherall and fellow professionals Jason McArthur and Andrea Fountain.
Unfortunately, wakeboarding faces some serious competition for Talor's time - he's also a gun snowboarder, surfer and skateboarder, and dabbles in rugby and rugby league in winter.
There is also the small matter of his schooling at Rotorua's Lynmore Primary to fit in, much to young Talor's dislike.
There was further Bay of Plenty success at the wakeboarding nationals, with Tauranga's Darren Bishop taking the junior men's title. But the undoubted star was the pint-sized wakeboarder.
"He rocked," Langton said. "If Talor sticks around in the sport, it will open up to a lot more for him.
"Having that attitude that he's got is always going to be a winner because he really wants it."