Amateur Wakeboarders Kick Off World Championships

Orlando, Fla. — The top amateur wake athletes from throughout the globe hit the waters of the Orlando Watersports Complex in Orlando, Fla. today for the first day of action at the 2009 ROCKSTAR WWA Wakeboard World Championships, presented by Supra.

The 2009 Worlds, which kicked off today and runs through Sunday, August 30, is a four-day-long event featuring pro and amateur wakeboarders and wakeskaters from around the world, including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Korea, China, Columbia, Argentina, Sweden, France, Brazil, Mexico, Great Britain, Canada and the United States, vying for world titles in 20 different divisions, separated by age and skill level.

Athletes compete by performing rail tricks and aerial stunts, while being towed on the water behind the official towboat of the ’09 Worlds, the Supra Launch 24V, at a speed of approximately 25mph. Tricks are scored by a panel of judges, with only the top-scoring athletes advancing in each round of the contest until a winner is determined in the finals.

The ROCKSTAR WWA Wakeboard World Championships, presented by Supra kicked off its first day with semifinal rounds for 12 of the 20 divisions, where riders battled it out on the water for a spot in their respective division final, held tomorrow.

Also competing today were the riders of the Jr. Pro Men division for their quarterfinal round. The field of 25 riders was narrowed down to 12 for tomorrow’s semifinals. Among the 12 semifinalists are Bob Soven of Longwood, Fla. and Mitch Langfield of Brisbane, Aus., as the two riders paced their respective heats with a perfect score of 100 points.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27 – DAY 1 RESULTS:

Jr. Pro Men – Semifinal #1
1. Taylor Kress USA 95.50
2. Jacob Valdez USA 91.50
3. Freddie Wayne USA 77.25
4. Michael Dowdy USA 75.75

Jr. Pro Men – Semifinal #2
1. Steel Lafferty USA 96.50
2. Alex Graydon USA 86.75
3. Johnny Tobabaen USA 83.25
4. Hunter Stich USA 73.50

Jr. Pro Men – Semifinal #3
1. Daniel Powers USA 94.25
2. Pierce Homsey USA 88.25
3. Joshua Twelker USA 83.25
4. Daniel Dyck CAN 74.25

Jr. Pro Men – Semifinal #4
1. Nick Galotifore USA 94.00
2. Kyle Evans USA 85.50
3. Jarrod Askew AUS 81.00
4. Kelton Collins USA 79.50

Jr. Pro Men – Semifinal #5
1. Bob Soven USA 100.00
2. Julian Cohen USA 90.00
3. John Jeffries USA 77.25
4. Connor Bitton USA 72.75

Jr. Pro Men – Semifinal #6
1. Mitch Langfield AUS 100.00
2. Raphael Derome CAN 90.00
3. Toshiki Yasui JPN 76.50
4. Youki Okumura JPN 64.25
5. Gunnar Shuler USA 52.75

Jr. Men – Semifinal #1
1. Morgan Pederson USA 60.00
2. Keenan Allen USA 54.33
3. Jackie Sly USA 43.33
4. Nick Vaccari USA 35.00

Jr. Men – Semifinal #2
1. Bryan Kryzda MEX 64.00
2. Danny Faulkner USA 51.00
3. Brandon Canney USA 41.67
4. Cody Prizer USA 35.00

Jr. Men – Semifinal #3
1. Clay Fraley USA 61.00
2. Justin Payton USA 48.00
3. Will Green USA 45.67
4. Daniel Pate USA 25.00

Jr. Boys Beginner – Semifinal #1
1. Kade Kasey USA 61.00
2. Mat Doke USA 47.33
3. Benjamin Brown USA 41.67
4. Jaden Reichl USA NS

Jr. Boys Beginner – Semifinal #2
1. Jack Dorrestijn USA 61.33
2. Heiden Hein USA 53.67
3. Hunter Henderson USA 40.67
4. Matias Gutierrez COL 30.67

Jr. Boys – Semifinal #1
1. Mitch Kappler USA 60.00
2. Nicholas Brown USA 52.33
3. Ian Rabon USA 42.67
4. Cobe France AUS 32.00

Boys Beginner – Semifinal #1
1. Jonathan Abendroth USA 66.67
2. Braxton Feemster USA 60.00
3. Zandon Feemster USA 50.67
4. Merrett Fay USA 41.33
5. Andrew Starling USA 32.67
6. Yuki Takou JPN 24.00

Boys – Semifinal #1
1. Jason Soven USA 61.67
2. Noah Flegel USA 58.67
3. Robby Holihan USA 47.67
4. Chandler Frost USA 34.00

Boys – Semifinal #2
1. Paulie Koch USA 68.67
2. Gus Shuler USA 58.33
3. Landon Kasey USA 42.33
4. Gunner Daft USA 34.00

Boys – Semifinal #3
1. Tony Iacconi AUS 74.67
2. Logan McCracken USA 54.00
3. Ben Watts USA 42.00
4. Natsuki Takahashi JPN34.00
5. Zach Brown USA 25.67

Jr. Women – Semifinal #1
1. Emylee Wright USA 70.67
2. Megan Blaschka USA 60.00
3. Carolina Rodriguez MEX 40.67
4. Jasmine Lally USA 35.00
5. Leah Gibney USA 27.67

Girls – Semifinal #1
1. Taylor McCullough USA 72.78
2. Rachel Orgill USA 58.89
3. Katelyn Fenner USA 56.00
4. Delanie Parker USA 48.56
5. Charmane Lally USA 36.67
6. Maite Gutierrez COL 31.78
7. Emily Harmon USA 18.44

Masters Women – Semifinal #1
1. Allison Blaha USA 56.66
2. Kat Laird USA 51.78
3. Jennifer Busser USA 36.22
4. Susan Sheehan USA 31.78
5. Geri Robertson USA 27.56
6. Elizabeth Freeman USA 24.11

Amateur Wakeskate – Semifinal #1
1. Matt Haydon USA 80.00
2. Michael Roeder USA 71.67
3. Jim Branton USA 56.67
4. Shinya Kondo JPN 41.67
5. Devin Canney USA 31.67
6. Barna Becsek CHN 25.00

Veterans – Semifinal #1
1. Matt Vermillion USA 70.00
2. Gonzalo Renosto ARG 63.89
3. Faron Kelsh USA 53.33
4. Tommy Fambrough USA 52.75
5. Camilo Gutierrez COL 44.44
6. Shinobu Yamagishi USA 37.22
7. Michael Fay USA 30.00

Men’s II – Semifinal #1
1. Duston Swafford -USA 71.11
2. Nick Link USA 65.28
3. Kyle Green USA 63.33
4. Jesse Dunbar USA 50.56
5. Brian White USA 47.22
6. Brad Gearhart USA 41.67
7. Tatsuya Sagara JPN 34.44

Jr. Women – Semifinal #1
1. Kanako Ooto JPN 45.00
2. Ashley Gwartney USA 32.20