Making Waves on Day One of Pro-Am Wakeboard Championships in Portland

Portland, Ore. — The world’s top professional wakeboarders and wakeskaters mixed it up out on the waters of Blue Lake Park in Portland today with some of the best amateur riders from around the globe for the first of three days at the 2008 Tigé Pro-Am Wakeboard Championships, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink.

Day one of the contest featured four of the nine divisions competing at the Portland event and gave riders the opportunity to make waves and set the tone early-on in the three-day-long contest.

The top pro wakeboarders from around the globe battled it out on the water today in the Pro Men’s Division qualifying round. Only the top-three riders from each of the six heats advanced past the opening-round and onto tomorrow’s quarterfinals. The 18 quarterfinalists will go up against the top-six riders in the current King of Wake standings, where all 24 riders will vie for one of the 12 spots in Sunday’s semifinals.

Among the 18 riders advancing past today’s qualifiers were heat leaders Austin Hair (Tega Cay, SC), Josh Sanders (Nowra, Australia), Aaron Rathy (Nanaimo, B.C.), Erik Ruck (Twin Lakes, WI), Trevor Hansen (Groveland, FL) and Jimmy LaRiche (Boca Raton, FL).

The top wakeskaters in the world hit the water today for the Pro Wakeskate Division quarterfinals. Divided into two heats of five, these talented shredders each battled for a spot in tomorrow’s semifinals. Among the nine wakeskaters advancing past opening round were today’s heat leaders Reed Hansen (Groveland, FL) and Brain Grubb (Nashua, NH).

After leading his heat today, Hansen appears to be well on his way towards capturing his second consecutive Pro-Am title, after winning the event in Cancun, Mex. last year.

Wakeboarding’s future superstars, ages 14-18, took to the water today’s for the Jr. Men’s Division quarterfinals. These talented, young amateur standouts competed in three heats of four today for a spot in tomorrow’s semifinals. Among the 10 riders advancing past the quarterfinals were heat leaders Julian Cohen (Windermere, FL), Jacob Valdez (Canyon Lake, CA) and Gunnar Shular (Janesville, WI).

Elizabeth Talansky (Longwood, FL) took the top spot in today’s Women’s Wakeskate Division semifinals and will advance onto tomorrow’s finals.

The event will feature all nine divisions tomorrow, June 21 from 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and will conclude and on June 22, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The Tigé Pro-Am Wakeboard Championships, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink is a three-day carnival of water-sports action. But not all of the action takes place on the water. On land, fans will experience tons of great food and music; athlete autograph signings; chances to win free giveaways; and shopping at the most cutting-edge stores for water-sports equipment including boats, wakeboards, wakeskates, sunglasses and the latest in wakeboarding and surfing fashions.

Tickets can be purchased at Blue Lake Park, June 21-22 for $10 (general admission), $5 (ages 6-12) or free (ages 5 and under).

For more information regarding the event, visit www.kingofwake.com.

Tigé is the official tow boat for the Tigé Pro-Am Wakeboard Championships, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink.

Pleasure Craft Marine engines is the official marine engine of the event. Since 1976, PCM has been the constant innovator of features and benefits designed specifically to improve water-sports power.

Rockstar is the world’s most powerful energy drink. Developed to improve the recovery time of those who lead active and exhausting lifestyles, Rockstar Energy Drink is available in 10 flavors — Original, Sugar Free, Juiced, Zero Carb, Guava, Pomegranate, Punched, Roasted Mocha, Roasted Vanilla Light and Roasted Latte — at convenience stores and retail grocery outlets across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and the United Kingdom.

To catch all the wakeboarding action from home, tune in to Fuel TV. For exact air dates, visit www.kingofwake.com.

Fuel TV is a 24/7 action-sports lifestyle network for wakeboarding, skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX and freestyle motocross. A unit of Fox Cable Networks, Fuel TV was launched July 1, 2003, and is seen in 24 million U.S. homes. To subscribe to Fuel TV, call 877-4-FUEL-TV. For program times and other information, visit fuel.tv.

WakeBoarding, published by Bonnier Corp., is the official magazine of the Tigé Pro-Am Wakeboard Championships, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink. WakeBoarding is the definitive source on all things wakeboarding, with expert coverage of professional instruction, gear, boats and the latest news.

The Tigé Pro-Am Wakeboard Championships is organized by World Sports & Marketing of Orlando, Fla. The Pro-Am has the support of the following: Tigé Boats, Rockstar Energy Drink, PCM, Mona Vie, Nike 6.0, Oakley HDO, U.S. Air Force, Hyperlite Wakeboards, Ronix Wakeboards, CWB Wakeboards, Gator Boards, Cire, wakeworld.com and theliquidcircus.com.

Friday, June 20 – Day 1 Results:

Pro Men – Qualifying Round – Heat 01

1 Austin Hair USA 93.00
2 Tino Santori USA 91.50
3 Josh Palma USA 83.50
4 Nick Weinacker USA 56.25

Pro Men – Qualifying Round – Heat 02

1 Josh Sanders AUS 89.50
2 Dustin O’Ferrall CAN 87.75
3 Marcelo Giardi BRZ 82.50
4 Kyle Alberts USA 80.25

Pro Men – Qualifying Round – Heat 03

1 Aaron Rathy CAN 92.25
2 Nick Jones USA 90.00
3 James Hindes USA 87.75
4 Randall Harris USA NS

Pro Men – Qualifying Round – Heat 04

1 Erik Ruck USA 93.75
2 Dean Smith AUS 92.25
3 Rhett Whatley USA 84.00
4 Kyle Rattray CAN NS

Pro Men – Qualifying Round – Heat 05

1 Trevor Hansen USA 93.75
2 Bradley Smeele NZL 92.25
3 Robby Carter USA 84.00
4 Hunter Hanson USA NS

Pro Men – Qualifying Round – Heat 06

1 Jimmy LaRiche USA 97.25
2 Danny Thollander USA 83.25
3 Daniel Watkins AUS 81.25
4 Bryan Hutton USA 78.25
5 Tony Carroll USA 60.00

Professional Wakeskate – Quarter Finals – Heat 01

1 Reed Hansen USA 70.00
2 Stuart Shinn USA 60.00
3 George Daniels USA 50.00
4 Evan Park CAN 40.00
5 Silas Thurman USA 30.00

Professional Wakeskate – Quarter Finals – Heat 02

1 Brian Grubb USA 73.33
2 Grant Roberts 60.00
3 Brandon Thomas USA 43.33
4 James Balzer CDN 40.00
5 Gib Gibbons USA N/S

Jr. Men (14-18) – Quarter Finals – Heat 01

1 Jacob Valdez USA 94.25
2 Daniel Powers USA 79.50
3 Joshua Twelker USA 75.25
4 Alex Scagliotti USA 64.75

Jr. Men (14-18) – Quarter Finals – Heat 02

1 Gunnar Shuler USA 97.00
2 Erik Nikstad USA 91.50
3 Justin Payton USA 81.50
4 Stephen Cahail USA NS

Jr. Men (14-18) – Quarter Finals – Heat 03

1 Julian Cohen USA 95.75
2 Ben Albright USA 92.00
3 Thomas Olson USA 82.25
4 Johnny Tobaben USA NS

Women Wakeskate – Semi Finals – Heat 01

1 Elizabeth Talansky USA 100.0