LAKE GENEVA, WI – Twenty of the world’s top professional wakeboarders will compete in the “Double Up del Noche,” a wakeboarding contest on Lake Geneva under the lights on Monday, August 29 at 8:00 p.m.. Following the World Wakeboard Association (WWA) Nationals near Milwaukee the proceeding weekend, riders will be shuttled to nearby Lake Geneva where two portable 150 foot stadium style light towers will illuminate Bigfoot Beach adjacent to the recently remodeled Skinny’s Lakeshore Restaurant. Confirmed riders include 2004 Pro Tour Champion, Andrew Adkison; hometown hero, Eric Ruck (Twin Lakes, WI); Gator Boards Legend, Rickey Gonzales; Rob Struharik; and five time pro tour champ and X-Games winner, Parks Bonifay. The purse is expected to be on par with the top professional events, said event organizers, The Board Shop, of Lake Geneva.
Invited riders also include Josh Sanders, Collin Harrington, Shane Bonifay, Trevor Hansen, Rusty Malinowski, Danny Harf, Tino Santori, Chad Sharpe, Tim Keepers, Derek Graseman, Brett Eisenhauer, Ben Greenwood, JD Webb, Daniel Watkins, and Keith Lyman – professional wakeboarding’s top roster.
“With the Nationals just up the road we really wanted to seize the opportunity to get them here to Lake Geneva, but we had to come up with something different,” said event organizer, Jayson Rishling of The Board Shop. That point of differentiation comes not only in the format, (a “Double Up” sends the tow boat on two passes, the rider jumping off the combined wake from each pass to double the boost they achieve) but also in the form of fifteen 6K HMI bulbs providing 120 million candela of lights – the same setup used in many professional sports stadiums. “Our friends at Red Bull have used these lights for a bunch of their major events and they offered to help us by bringing them here. It’s definitely going to light up the better part of the shore,” said Rishling.
The contest will be free to the general public, with food and drink available through Skinny’s Lakeshore Restaurant. Parking will be available at Badger High School, with shuttles available to the event. Following the 8 p.m. event, Erik Ruck’s band, Braided Funk, will play a concert upstairs at Skinny’s. Double Up del Noche is powered by MasterCraft, and make possible by Red Bull Energy Drink, the City of Lake Geneva, Reef, Skinny’s Lakeshore, Alliance Wakeboarding Magazine, Wakeboarding Magazine, and The Board Shop.
For more information contact Jayson Rishling or Keni Koreba, owners of The Board Shop, Lake Geneva, (262) 248-1703.
