Colorado River News

Correct Craft and World Sports & Marketing Join Forces To Launch New Event in 2005:
The Air Nautique Pan American Wakeboarding Championships

Orlando, Florida (January 20, 2005) -- Two leaders in the watersports industry, Correct Craft Boat Company, a leading manufacturer in the wakeboarding industry and World Sports & Marketing a leading event organizer have joined forces to announce the creation of a new event in 2005, the Air Nautique Pan American Wakeboard Championship. The event will debut in Orlando, Florida at Orlando WaterSports Complex September 21-25, 2005.

The Pan American Championship will be open to all divisions and age groups including the Pro Men’s and Women’s divisions, promising the top competitors in the world. The Pro Men’s and Women’s Pan American Championship will be a World Cup of Wakeboarding event, handled in much the same way as the Wakeboard Nationals open to all participants throughout the world.

The Pan American amateur championship will be open to competitors from the Western Hemisphere, encompassing North, Central and South America, marking the first time a competition has been held to recognize the top wakeboarders in this region.

“Correct Craft is a family-oriented company, producing boats with families in mind,” said Gary Meloon, vice president of marketing for Correct Craft. “It seems that the majority of the big events include only pro riders. With the growing number of participants at the Nationals and Worlds we saw the need for more competitions to help encourage the growth at the amateur level. This event will be open to all ages, and we hope families get excited and make the trip to Orlando.”

Correct Craft has been a long-time water ski and wakeboard event organizer, annually hosting the longest-running and most successful event in watersports history, the Masters Water Ski and Wakeboard Tournament for many years. In wakeboarding, Correct Craft has been the official towboat of the WWA Wakeboard National for many years and will continue in that capacity in 2005.

World Sports & Marketing has worked with Correct Craft and the WWA as the event producer for the WWA Wakeboard Nationals since 1996.

“We are very excited to have the opportunity to continue our relationship with Correct Craft,” said Sean Dishman sales and marketing director for World Sports & Marketing. “It is an exciting prospect to bring an event of this magnitude to the market. We are happy to help out in further developing the next crop of great wakeboarders.”