Colorado River News

Air Nautique WWA Wakeboard National Championship
Action Sports Stars Compete
In Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin Aug. 24-28

Pleasant Prairie, WI: The largest wakeboarding event in the world, the 15th annual Air Nautique WWA Wakeboard National Championship will be held at a new location in 2005, Lake Andrea at Prairie Springs Park, just outside Milwaukee, WI in Pleasant Prairie, WI August 24-28, 2005.

The WWA Wakeboard National Championship has one of the strongest traditions in all of action sports, dating back to 1990. The event features close to 300 top wakeboarders from around the country in 13 age divisions. Competitors range from 5 to 50 years of age with the top two divisions, the pro men and women’s divisions attracting world-famous action sports athletes.

The event will feature top professional wakeboarders including defending National Pro Men’s Champion Tino Santori and former National Pro Men’s Champions, Shawn Watson, Danny Harf and Parks Bonifay.

In the Pro Women’s division, defending National Champion and ESPY award-winner, Dallas Friday returns to defend her crown against challengers and former National Champions Tara Hamilton and Emily Copeland.

The WWA Wakeboard Nationals is one of the premier events in all of action sports with big time money to the winners and big time exposure from the television crews taping the event.

The event is the largest of its kind in the world with nearly 300 competitors and their families expected to descend on Pleasant Prairie for five days of competition. The event is really two events in one with the top amateur divisions competing August 24-26, and then making way for the pro divisions who will entertain fans throughout the weekend, August 27-28. The highlight of the weekend will come on August 28 when the WWA Wakeboard National Pro Championships determine the top male and female wakeboarders in the sport.

In the past the event has drawn in excess of 10,000 spectators. Event organizers hope for more of the same from the huge base of watersports enthusiasts in Wisconsin.

“The love of wakeboarding in this area puts Wisconsin at the top of the list for an event,” said Sean Dishman Sales and Marketing Director for World Sports & Marketing, the organizing body for the WWA Wakeboard National Championship. “Seeing fans that are passionate about this sport is really exciting, and a testament to the adventurous spirit in the Midwest that has helped the sport of wakeboarding grow so quickly."

The sport of wakeboarding has skyrocketed in popularity over the past ten years making it the fastest growing watersport in the world. Pro Wakeboarding is much like snowboarding with a similar style of board and bindings. Athletes (called riders) perform Big Air tricks behind the Correct Craft Super Air Nautique, special boats with weight in the back to create a gigantic wake for riders to do flips, twists, turns and inverts. There will also be a “jib park”, or floating skate park out on the water so that competitors can add to their performance by sliding and grinding on rails and performing flips off various ramps.

The WWA Wakeboard National Championship is a world-renowned event created by the World Wakeboard Association. The event is organized by World Sports & Marketing of Orlando, Florida. Competitors will be pulled by the Correct Craft Super Air Nautique wakeboard boat. The event has the support of the following: Verizon Wireless, Perfect Pass, Hyperlite, Fox Riders Co., Infinity Marine Audio, Toyo Tires, KMC Wheels, Liquid Force, Gator Boards, CWB, J - Star, O'Brien, Double-up, Oakley, Reef, Body Glove, UGP, Love Sac, Capix Helmets, Indo Boards, Execute, Mikker.com, Wakeworld.com, Wakeboarder.com, Monster Towers, Say I Won't, Ten-80 and One Percent Design.

Wake Boarding, published by World Publications, is the official magazine of the Pro Wakeboard Tour. Wake Boarding is the definitive source on all things wakeboarding, with expert coverage of professional instruction, gear, boats and the latest news.

Fast Facts
Where
Lake Andrea at Prairie Springs Park
9900 Terwall Terrace
Pleasant Prairie, WI

When
August 24-28, 2004
Thursday: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Saturday: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Sunday: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.