Whitefish's Andrews finishes 37th at Flyboard World Cup

Everything worked for T.J. Andrews at the Flyboard World Cup earlier this month, except for the results.

Andrews, a Whitefish resident, was the one of 42 pro competitors to compete at the event held in perfect weather on Dec. 2-4 in Dubai. Flyboarding is a watersport in which riders stand on a board connected by a long hose to a watercraft, and water is forced under pressure to a pair of boots with jet nozzles underneath which provide thrust, driving the rider into the air to do flips and tricks.

Andrews, who runs Flyboard of Montana in Whitefish, first started participating competitively in the sport this season but was caught in an unusual set of circumstances at the World Cup, asked to compete as the first rider without a warmup and before many of the judges were fully ready to watch his run. The result ended with a 37th place finish, despite a strong run that included a triple backflip, a move that hadn’t been done in competition until this time last year.

“You deal with the cards you were dealt,” Andrews said.

“It was a crazy time. I learned a lot and I’m looking forward to the North American Championships and riding next year.”

The American field fared much better, with 16-year-old Hunter Verlander winning the competition and U.S. riders taking the top seven places.

“All the divisions bumped it up 100 percent,” Andrews said. “I was proud of myself for throwing some tricks that a lot of the other pros aren’t throwing. I was excited for myself that I could compete at that level with no problem.

“With the small amount of practice I’ve had, the difference between our frozen lake here and people still training up to the competition, I was proud of myself for being able to compete at that level.”

The rest of the trip was a success as well, with Andrews proposing to his girlfriend and getting engaged before the trip back.

Once he arrived back in Montana, he made sure to get back to a more appropriate activity for December.

“When I got back and was done with the jet lag, the first thing I did was go snowboarding. I skied the second day.” said Andrews, who was a freestyle coach for skiing and snowboarding on Big Mountain and is now a guide for Great Northern Powder Guides.

“I’m back to full-time work again trying to get everything ready to go for the winter. I’m pretty excited.”