World Wakeboard Championships

This weekend was the King of Wake/ Rockstar WWA World Championships, presented by Supra.  In plain speak - it was the world wakeboard championships and we had seats front and center on Friday!  This year the prestigious Championships were held in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin from August 16 -19th.  Pleasant Prairie just happens to be less than an hour from Chicago.  Chablis is good friends with Toby who works for the company that sets up the event, and he invited us up to spend the afternoon.

Chablis and I both love to water ski and wake board.  In fact, Toby was the one who taught us how to wake board a couple of years ago.  We've never had the opportunity to attend a wakeboard event, so we were really excited about going and seeing the professionals in action.

Friday's events were as follows:

FRIDAY, August 17
8:00 am                       Amateur Wakeskate Finals – (SA450)
8:30 am                        Masters Women Finals – (SA450)
8:45 am                         Veterans Women Finals – (SA450)
9:00 am                        Amateur Women Finals- (SA450)
9:15 am                         Girls Finals- (SA450)
9:30 am                         Jr. Women Finals – (SA450)
10:00 am                      Junior Boys Beginner Finals- (SA450)
10:30 am                       Junior Boys Finals – (SA450)
11:00 am                       Boys Beginner Finals- (SA450)
11:30 am                       Boys Finals- (SA550)
12:00 pm                      Men I Semifinals- (SA550)
1:30 pm                         Veterans Finals- (SA550)
2:00 pm                        Men II Finals – (SA550)
2:30 pm                         Jr. Men Finals – (SA550)
3:00 pm- 6:00 pm      Jr. Pro Men Quarterfinals- (SA550)

We got there around noon and the first thing we did was grab some lunch and settle in at a tented table right in the middle of the course.  We could not have had better seats.  

Tents were set up along the lakefront at Lake Andrea for all the vendors, like Rockstar Energy drinks, Overtons, and Mastercraft,  plus many more.....

Several boat dealers had boats on display and of course I had to go and inspect them.  I liked this one.  Oh, how I would love to ski behind a boat like this!

There were approximately 200 professional and amateur wakeboarders in the tournament and they ranged in age from five years old to mid fifties.  There were both male and female contestants at every level and many traveled from all over the world to participate in this invitation only event.

These are some of my favorite pictures.  You might have to zoom in on a few of them to really appreciate the action taking place in the shot.

The moves that these guys made on their boards were truly exciting.  It's a real thrill to see them make their leaps, twists and turns, and then nail the landing.

Toby was extremely busy and was constantly running around taking care of business, but he made sure to come back and forth to check up on us.  It was a great afternoon and it was interesting to sit and watch the championships.  We really want to thank Toby for inviting us up and for all he did for us.  It was great to see him.  Hey Toby, I owe you a spaghetti dinner next time we're all at the lake!

For more information visit the King of Wake webpage.