PWT Action Continues in Acworth Despite Rain Delay: No Pain, No Gain for Adkison
Acworth, Ga. - Despite an hour-long rain delay today, the action continued in Acworth, as the top wakeboarders in the world hit the waters of Lake Allatoona at Dallas Landing Park for day two of the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour. Day two featured the Jr. Pro Men's division competing in their quarterfinals, while the pros took to the water for their Round of 40, all to advance onto tomorrow's final rounds of action.
In the Round of 40, the 24 riders from yesterday's pro qualifiers competed with the top-16 ranked riders on tour in 10 heats of four for a spot in tomorrow's quarterfinals. By the end of the day, the field of riders was cut in half from 40 to 20, as only the top-two riders from each heat advanced.
Among the 20 riders advancing from the Round of 40 is two-time world champion Andrew Adkison, who competed today with an injury. Adkison, who won the Acworth Pro Tour stop in 2006, suffered a slight hairline fracture in his left radius two days ago and was originally unsure if he would be able to compete at the event.
"The X-ray hadn't come back yet, so I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to compete in Acworth, said Adkison. "Once my doctor cleared me to ride, I knew had to be here to compete."
While Adksion said his injury limited his riding today, it didn't stop him from taking first place in heat and earning a spot in tomorrow's quarterfinals.
"I had a decent run today, but I had to mellow out at the end of it," Adkison commented on his performance. "I really started feeling the pain on my out of course Heel 7 and after my batwing. We'll just have to see what tomorrow brings."
Adkison and the 19 other quarterfinalists will kick off tomorrow's festivities at 12 noon.
In the Jr. Pro Men's division, 24 amateur rippers hit the water today for their quarterfinal round of action in Acworth. Only the top two riders from each of the five quarterfinal heats advanced onto tomorrow’s semifinals, sending more than half of competition home.
Among the 10 riders advancing from today’s quarterfinals is birthday boy Freddie Wayne, who celebrated his 16th birthday on Friday, May 20. Wayne entered the quarterfinals as the third seed in his heat, but rode away with a near-perfect score of 98.50 out of a possible 100 points to pace his division.
Wayne and the rest of the Jr. Pro Men riders will take to the water for their semifinals tomorrow at 2 p.m., following the pro men.
The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour will wrap up in Acworth tomorrow, Saturday, May 22 with riding from 12 noon to 8 p.m. After the contest is over, the riders will head to downtown Acworth off of Main Street for the award ceremony and block party.
In addition to all the action on the water; on land, fans will enjoy plenty of great food; athlete autograph signings; chances to win freebies; 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.
Also be sure to pick up your share of $10,000 in free gift cards from the Overton’s booth. As the official water-sports retailer of the King of Wake series, fans can also register to win a $500 Overton's catalog shopping spree.
Tickets to the event can be purchased at the gate for $10 (general admission), $5 (ages 6-12) or free (ages 5 and under).
To catch all the high-flying, rail-sliding, water-sports action of the Acworth Pro Tour stop on television, tune in to FUEL TV on July 20 at 8 p.m. EST.
For more information on the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, including news, daily schedules, tickets, photos, videos, athlete bios, results, standings and more, visit www.allisports.com.
The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour is organized by World Sports & Marketing of Orlando, Fla., and has the support of the following sponsors: MasterCraft, Rockstar Energy Drink, Overton’s, Indmar, Peavey, Mona Vie, Billabong, Hyperlite, CWB, Ronix, Liquid Force, Byerly, Oakley, Sayiwon't, Epiphone, WakeBoarding magazine, FUEL TV and Allisports.com.
