WWA National Championship Photo Recap

Sunday’s competition at the Air Nautique WWA Nationals was some of the most entertaining riding that has ever been on display. Decent water conditions set the stage for a couple firsts, including Dallas Friday’s S-bend and wakeskater Reed Hansen’s switch 540.

The wakeskating final was the heaviest boat riding competition ever, hands down. The showdown between Brian Grubb and Reed Hansen was mind-blowing. In essence it was a spectacle of the two best boat riders in the world going out and having the run of their life, linking up more hammers than they’ve ever done before in a contest. Nine each to be exact. Watching Hansen’s 540 really gave a sense that you just witnessed history.

This season, the Pro Mens Wakeboard field is a young, talented group of shredders who really have a respectable competitive vibe. Guys like Jimmy LaRiche and Adam Errington are bringing a lot of style and good camaraderie to the scene. Errington has always conducted himself in an understated way and his riding has done a lot of talking. You could tell he’s always wanted a pro win, but wasn’t going to let the pursuit get in the way of any friendships he has with so many of the sport’s best riders. He truly embodies the wakeboarding soul and sets a great example for other young kids who want any kind of success in the sport.

As Errington jumped on the podium to claim his first-ever Pro Mens victory, it was fitting that he was up there standing next to fellow Ronix Team rider Danny Harf. Harf had a very similar path to greatness and has showed the finest competitive demeanor and sportsmanship with his peers.

The future is looking bright and is definitely here a lot quicker than people thought.

Instead of going for a super technical moe off the double up, Adam Errington pulled a huge stalefish glide. This strategy helped him with the “Airs” category and ultimately the entire event.

Amber Wing pulls an indy front roll in her finals run. She is always on her game and is a threat at any contest.

Andrew Adkison is riding super consistent this year. All of his moves are really polished and he has solid grabs like on this nose grab Pete Rose which is a toeside back roll with a frontside 360.

Bob Soven comes out on top again in Junior Pro Mens. Look out for this guy — he’s going to be making some noise for a while.

Brandon Thomas always digs a strong edge into the wake, giving him a lot of line tension and good pop, like on this switch nosegrab 180.

Brian Grubb had an incredible run with nine different hammers, including a wake-to-wake big spin. Here he pulls a heelside late shove.

Dallas Friday had the run of her life, starting with an S-bend (which is a competition first) and other huge moves like this Bat Wing.

Danny Harf always gives his moves that extra touch of style that helps him out in every category of judging. Here, Harf takes a method way out into the flats.

You would think Reed Hansen would have been intimidated by Grubb’s insane run, but he just starting chipping away at Grubb’s lead with moves like this mute big spin and a heelside 540, which was a contest-first.