More than 55,000 thrill-seeking spectators and 110 of the world’s biggest names in action sport took gravity to the extreme at the 2005 Gravity Games H2O, presented by Vodafone, which concluded in Perth, Western Australia today.
Held on the Swan River at McCallum Park, Victoria Park, the four-day event (October 6 to 9) awarded prize money of AUS$170,000+ in medal contests for Wakeboarding, Kiteboarding and a new event, Thundercats freestyle powerboating.
Taking part was an elite contingent of 110 professional athletes from 14 countries, including the United States, Canada, Spain, Brazil, Portugal, Italy, France, Sweden, South Africa, China, New Caledonia, New Zealand and from across Australia. The adrenaline-pumped line-up included the majority of the top-ranked competitors from each sport.
Vision from the event will be seen by more than 400 million people worldwide, with broadcasts spanning Europe, Asia, United Kingdom, North America, South America, Middle East, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
Wakeboarding
As part of the World Wakeboard Association (WWA) 2005 World Series, the Wakeboarding medal contest at Gravity Games H2O is regarded as one of the largest in the world, with AUD$110,000 in prize money.
MEN’S WAKEBOARDING
1st
Phillip Sloven
USA
100.00 points
2nd
Daniel Watkins
AUS
88.89 points
3rd
Rusty Malinoski
CAN
77.78 points
4th
JD Webb
USA
66.67 points
5th
Josh Sanders
AUS
55.56 points
6th
Danny Harf
USA
44.44 points
7th
Tino Santori
USA
33.33 points
8th
Parks Bonifay
USA
22.22 points
9th
Brett Eisenhauer
AUS
11.11 points
WOMEN’S WAKEBOARDING
1st
Emily Copeland-Durham
USA
100.00 points
2nd
Lauren Loe
USA
83.33 points
3rd
Dallas Friday
USA
66.67 points
4th
Hayley Smith
AUS
50.00 points
5th
Melissa Marquardt
USA
33.33 points
6th
Sally Grice
AUS
16.67 points
Back on land, spectators were captivated by awesome demonstrations by some of Australia’s best Freestyle Motocross (FMX) riders, including renowned Freestyle Motocross rider, ‘Mad’ Mike Jones from the US and big-name Australian FMX riders, Matt Schurbring (Boonah, QLD), Jeremy ‘Jezza’ Ray (Bunbury, WA) and the only female freestyle rider in Australasia, 22-year-old Mary Perkins of New Zealand.
The largest vert ramp in the Southern Hemisphere saw demos by big-name BMX, skate and inline pros, including BMX riders Eduardo Terreros (Spain), plus Australia’s own Matt Fairbairn and Tim Wood; Skater Jocke Olsson (Sweden), with Renton Millar and Trevor Ward (both Australia); and Inline skaters Zhao Baoqiu and Cui Wentao (both China), plus Cesar Mora (Spain).
Gravity Games H2O is presented by Vodafone and supported by Tourism Western Australia, EventsCorp, Drug Aware, Supra, Coca-Cola, Holiday Inn Burswood, Town of Victoria Park, Kiteboard Pro World Tour, 96fm, X-Press Magazine and Zebra.