Air time; Watercraft freestyle champ excels on, and above, the water.

Byline: Kim Ring

W EST BROOKFIELD - There is a split second that comes just before a feeling of weightlessness kicks in.

"And that's when you do the trick," explained watercraft freestyle champ Douglas F. Wdowiak of Ware.

At that moment, Mr. Wdowiak pushes the watercraft spinning out from under his feet as it flies into the air. Sometimes he and the craft are separated completely. Other times, he hangs on, his legs catching up to the falling machine, which plunges like a bullet, breaking the surface of Lake Wickaboag where he practices.

Amazingly, the craft shoots from the water with the agile 39-year-old still aboard and a NASA logo visible on its underside, making it look like a miniature rocket.

The machine spins in a barrel roll, flips end over end and "lays rubber" on the lake. Water sprays in a rooster-tail pattern and Mr. Wdowiak waves his arm like a cowboy or does a flying eagle jump, his legs splayed.

He's always been a bit of a daredevil. When he was a child, his mother helped him build "safer" ramps to launch his wheeled crafts from.

"I didn't really do tricks then, I went for distance," he said, laughing.

His affection for all water sports - and a related injury - led him to the personal watercraft in 1989. Before that it was water skiing, wake boarding, boating and just about anything that involved getting wet.

But a fall while barefoot water skiing that year broke his eardrum and left him - on doctor's orders - beached for the summer. Then he figured out that he could stay mostly dry aboard a personal watercraft. And he spent the season atop one, learning a few tricks and having fun.

"It's just a day at the lake for me," he said, puffing after a particularly impressive string of tricks on a recent afternoon.

Years later, after performing for years in shows in China, Texas and Indiana, some in a wave pool at a water park, he set his sights on becoming a champion at the sport.

In early August, he achieved that dream at the Toyota Governors' Cup in Charleston, W. Va.

There Mr. Wdowiak brought home the watercraft freestyle champion's trophy - a blue and clear glass vessel that stands among several others he's picked up at various competitions along the way.

"It means a lot to me to have this," he said, holding the trophy.

A.J. Handler, president of Upstate Watercraft promotions, said athletes like Mr. Wdowiak, who won in the amateur class, are finding their sport is gaining popularity.

"We get between 20,000 and 25,000 spectators at an event," he said, adding that the economy forced a scaling back of the competitions to just four nationwide in 2009. The sport, he said, is relatively safe, with far fewer deaths than many others.

The events include racing and freestyle competitions and feature up to 300 athletes taking part, he said. There are cash prizes, as well, he said. Starting out in the sport can run about $5,000 for a watercraft, and as the athlete improves, the price goes up.

"I've seen people spend $20,000 or more," Mr. Handler said.

The sport grew as promoters sought to give watercraft enthusiasts a place to compete. Many once took to the lakes and left other boaters amazed, stunned or frightened for the safety of the watercraft riders or calling police.

"We wanted to take the `bad boys' off the lake and provide them with a venue to compete," Mr. Handler said, adding that he's seen a police officer, a few lawyers, a nurse and some firefighters compete. Many still ride on local bodies of water, practicing tricks and just having fun. Mr. Wdowiak rides whenever he can, stretching the season into the fall and beyond, undaunted by cold weather.

"It's tradition for me to ride on Thanksgiving," he said. "I'll ride until there's ice and I can't ride anymore."

Then it's a few depressing months of winter when he watches "Deadliest Catch" and "Nitro Circus." His physical workouts - lifting weights - start on Valentine's Day in preparation for a new riding season, during which he spends a lot of time alone, practicing.

"I like to keep it personal," he said. "To me, it's solitary."

Mr. Wdowiak is humble about his skills, and though the sport is competitive on some levels, it's not always about winning. The eight-time world champion is someone he admires.

"I don't necessarily want to beat him," Mr. Wdowiak said. "I just want to be his friend."

During the day, Mr. Wdowiak works as an electrician, something he studied at Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School in Palmer. While there, he learned a few other skills that would come in handy with his hobbies on the water.

Once, a hard landing and slippery deck on the craft left him with a split upper lip.

"The hole was big enough to put a pencil through," he said. At the hospital, he was numbed and prepared for stitches when ambulances began bringing in victims from a car accident. Mr. Wdowiak got tired of waiting, spotted the suture materials, went to the mirror and stitched the wound closed. The scar is practically invisible today.

"They taught sewing at Pathfinder, too," he said.

Despite a few minor injuries, Mr. Wdowiak shows no signs of changing the "lifestyle" he's living.

"What keeps me going? It's (like) medication," he said. "It's rev therapy."

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) Douglas Wdowiak practices some stunts at Lake Wickaboag in West Brookfield recently. (2) Douglas Wdowiak poses with the trophy he won in the Toyota Governors' Cup.

PHOTOG: (1) T&G Staff Photos/CHRISTINE PETERSON (2) T&G Staff/STEVE LANAVA