Point Loman Eric Silverman rode to the top of the International FLOW Championship in Singapore on Oct. 31. Silverman, 17, brought home two titles after the three-day competition. Silverman single-handedly nabbed the Expert Men’s Championship and combined his efforts with Team USA to bring home the Overall Team Championship. Team USA is made up of Silverman, Pacific Beach’s Greg Lazarus, Salt Lake City’s Kristen Barney (formerly of San Diego) and Dallas’ Tyler Danek. This year’s competition marked Silverman’s second IFC appearance. For the local, the experience keeps getting better. “It was super cool. I liked it much more than last year because last year I had no time to do anything except the contest,” Silverman said.  “This year, I went over early and I got to see some more of Singapore besides just Wave House Sentosa,” he said. Silverman participated in three events at this year’s IFC: FlowRider, FlowBarrel Strapless and FlowBarrel Strapped. He can thank his sister for inadvertently introducing him to the sport. “My sister won two free hours and I took them because she wasn’t going to use them,” Silverman said. “And after, that I was hooked.” Silverman’s teammate and fellow San Diegan Lazarus, compares flowriding to snowboarding. He said the main focus is keeping one’s weight shifted on the back foot. “It’s a new and up-and-coming sport,” Silverman said. “The structure creates a man-made 10-foot curling barrel.  It looks like surfing but it’s nothing like it.” In addition to surfing, the sport is also compared to wakeboarding and snowboarding, and was created by San Diegan Tom Lochtefeld, founder and CEO of Wave House at Belmont Park. Mission Beach’s Wave House San Diego played a heavy role in Team USA’s title. The local venue held the IFC qualifier and the Team USA foursome was formed there by being the best of their specific divisions. Silverman also practices there. Silverman and his teammates are doing their part to expand the sport, and Silverman tries to push the sport to the next level by executing more difficult tricks. Boasting a bit more experience on the wave, teammate Lazarus is a pioneer in the sport. “Well, I would like to believe that I have had a small influence in the growth [of flowriding],” Lazarus said. “I started riding back in 2001 and went on the Siemens Mobile [Wave] Tour and was one of the first professional riders in the sport. Since then, I have dedicated my time and moved to the states to work for Wave Loch and help market and grow the sport wherever possible. And, hopefully I will be doing that for the rest of my life.” Places like Wave House San Diego and competitions like IFC could turn all of Team USA’s dreams into reality. “Every venue that opens up has a potential to breed new riders, which they do. But at the end of the day, it’s events like the IFC that really project the sport to a new level,” Lazarus said. “And, I am confident that every year the sport will get bigger and better.”