Colorado River News

Oct. 3-10
World’s finest Personal Watercraft racers heading to Lake Havasu
For 23rd IJSBA Dos Equis World Finals at Dos Equis Desert XX
Stars from BMX, FMX, Skateboard all part of lifestyle
festival at Crazy Horse RV Resort & Campground

LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ (September 29, 2004) -- Athletes from around the globe and across the U.S. are heading to Lake Havasu for the 2004 Dos Equis Desert XX as the world's top racers prepare to battle it out during the 23rd International Jet Sports Boating Association (IJSBA) Dos Equis World Finals, Oct. 3-10 in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. The sports and lifestyle festival will also include demos by action sport stars from BMX and Skateboarding on Half-pipe, a Freestyle Motocross air show live music, and the massive Performance Alley.

Sanctioned under rules of the IJSBA, of Costa Mesa, Calif. and produced for the first time by IMG Action Sports, the IJSBA Dos Equis World Finals of personal watercraft racing is one of the world's most unique and spectacular sporting championships. Returning to Lake Havasu for the 23rd consecutive year, the massive racing extravaganza will be held in the shadow of the original London Bridge on the offshoot waters of the Colorado River.

The race site for the sixth consecutive year will be at the purpose-built Aqua Stadium on the grounds of the Crazy Horse RV Resort and Campgrounds in the popular Arizona water resort of Lake Havasu City.

Featuring over 1,200 entries from more than 30 nations, the IJSBA Dos Equis World Finals is the premier personal watercraft racing extravaganza in the world and boasts more than $120,000 in prizes and contingencies in the massive eight-day event. IJSBA World Championship titles will be presented in 34 closed-course racing classes as well as Pro Freestyle and Amateur Freestyle.

The event will also feature freestyle motocross, skateboarding, BMX and mini-moto racing in world-class venues, along with live concerts and an interactive lifestyle festival spread over 12 acres.

“Dos Equis Desert XX is the ultimate season-ending party and the Southwest’s first action sports and lifestyle festival with its roots firmly placed in the personal watercraft capital of the world,” said James Leitz, vice president for IMG Action Sports. “The heritage of the IJSBA Dos Equis World Finals dates back over two decades. Over the years, this event has become the epicenter for racing, fun and lifestyle.”

After 22 years as an annual Lake Havasu happening, this year's IJSBA Dos Equis World Finals, will once again center around the world’s finest PWC racing. Additionally, the festival will include great food, the Dos Equis Desert XX Concert Stage, wakeboard demos, a poker run, Dash-4-Cash Australian Pursuit, Supercourse exhibition race, Sea-Doo Challenge, 4-stroke mini motorcycle races and the Pro-celebrity mini moto challenge. Also part of the event site is the interactive Performance Alley industry exhibits.

A veritable salute to personal watercraft and the youthful lifestyle it represents, the industry's biggest week will include several distinct championship events. Starting the week will be the 2004 IJSBA Novice National Finals and Masters World Finals (Oct. 3-5), followed by the 2004 IJSBA Expert and Amateur World Finals (Oct. 7-8) and concluding with the featured 2004 IJSBA Pro and Pro-Am World Finals (Oct. 8-10).
Freestyle athletes will compete in the IJSBA Amateur Freestyle World Finals on Friday, Oct. 8 and the IJSBA Pro Freestyle World Finals with qualifying on Saturday, Oct. 9 and finals on Sunday, Oct. 10.

Featured in the spotlight will be the nine returning 2003 IJSBA Pro and Pro-Am World Champions—France’s Steven Dauliach (Pro Ski-Kawasaki), Japan’s Masao Fujisawa (Pro Freestyle-Yamaha), Dustin Farthing, Port Lucie, Fla. (Pro Runabout 1200-Kawasaki), Brazil’s Celio Vinicius (Sport-Sea-Doo), Rob Flores, Las Vegas (Pro-Am Ski Superstock-Kawasaki), Victor Sheldon, Vista, Calif. (Pro-Am Ski Stock-Polaris), Kenneth Ritchie, Fullerton, Calif. (Pro-Am Runabout 1200SS-Sea-Doo), Eric Lagopoulos, Longboat Key, Fla. (Pro-Am Runabout 800SS-Sea-Doo) and Janelle Barr, Renton, Wash. (Pro-Am Women Ski-Kawasaki).

Among the other elite of personal watercraft racers who will be competing in Lake Havasu include superstars Chris MacClugage and Eric Malone of the U.S. along with France’s Nicolas Rius, and Brazil’s Alessander Lenzi.

Scheduled to participate in the action sports half-pipe demos are: Skateboard stars Neal Hendrix, Jesse Fritsch, Sandro Dias and Lecio Batista; BMX noteables Tom Stober, Dave Brumlow, Danny Williams and Jim Burgess along with prominent Freestyle Motorcross riders Ronnie Renner, Jimmy McGuire and Myles Richmond.

The Dos Equis Desert XX Concert Stage will fire up on Friday (Oct. 8) with live concerts by Asphalt, Another Damn Disappointment and Common Sense and on Saturday (Oct. 9) with Stickman Group, Pepper and TSOL.

“The IJSBA is honored and excited to partner with IMG, the world’s premier sports and lifestyle marketing and management company, to produce the most important event in our sport,” said Biorn Tangeland, managing director of the IJSBA. “Dos Equis involvement with the World Finals will allow us to build upon the rich tradition that has been established during the 22 years of world class racing on Lake Havasu. This year’s event has expanded beyond traditional racing as IMG and Dos Equis have created an all-encompassing action sports and lifestyle event.”

General Admission to the first half of the IJSBA World Finals (Oct. 3-6) is free with daily pit passes available for $10 each. Individual daily General Admission tickets for the featured four days of the event (Oct. 7-10) are $10 each for Thursday, $15 Friday, $20 on Saturday and Sunday. Pit passes for those four days are an additional $10 for Thursday, $15 Friday, $20 each on Saturday and Sunday. A four-day General Admission ticket is available for just $40.

Special IJSBA Super Passes, which include both a general admission ticket and a pit pass will also be available at the gate for the final four days (Oct. 7-10). Four day Super Passes will be $65 each, three day (Friday-Sunday) will be $60, Two day (Saturday and Sunday) will be $55 and Sunday only will be $40.

Various discounts, with valid ID and good for up to two discounted tickets, are also available for AWA/IJSBA members, Military personnel, senior citizens (over 60) and residents of Lake Havasu City.

Children under six years old will be admitted free when accompanied by a paid adult.

Advance tickets are available through Tickmaster at www.ticketmaster.com/artist/9237163, or by calling 702.474.4000, 619.220.TIXS OR 714.740.2000.

The 2004 Dos Equis Desert XX, featuring the 23rd IJSBA Dos Equis World Finals, will be televised as three one-hour segments on Fusion TV, airing on Fox Sports Net from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on three consecutive Wednesdays (Oct. 27, Nov. 10 and Nov. 17). The shows will re-air on FUEL TV (dates TBA) and in 90 countries worldwide via international syndication.

Title Sponsor of the Dos Equis Desert XX and JSBA Dos Equis World Finals is Dos Equis.

Co-sponsors of this year’s Dos Equis Desert XX and IJSBA Dos Equis World Finals are Accutron (Bulova), Kawasaki and Sea-Doo. Associate sponsors are: Fly Racing, Skat-Trak, Jet Pilot, Nintendo, Atlas Insurance, Rockstar and Arizona Road Runner.

The official website of the IJSBA Dos Equis World Finals is www.ijsba.com. The site will provide daily results, photos and updates along with LIVE broadcast of the public address dialogue through audio streaming from Lake Havasu.

IMG Action Sports, based in Los Angeles, is handling sales, marketing and producing this year’s massive, internationally televised event with a small army of nearly 300 staff and volunteers.

Based in Los Angeles, IMG Action Sports is a division of IMG, the world’s largest company dedicated to the marketing of sport, leisure and lifestyle. The division produces more than 25 events per year. For information regarding IMG: www.imgworld.com.

The IJSBA, headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., is the worldwide sanctioning body for personal watercraft racing, with affiliated associations, organizations and members in over 50 countries across the globe. For more information, contact the IJSBA at 714.751.8695.