Portland, Oregon - The third stop on the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour presented by Chevy Trucks and GM Vortec engines descends on Blue Lake Park in Portland, OR June 28-29 with X Games Qualifying for spots on the women's wakeboarding team for the 2003 X Games.
X Games Qualifying begins the weekend on Saturday with the world's top female wakeboarders invited to compete for the coveted spots at the X Games to be held in Los Angeles, California August 16-17. Later on Saturday the rest of the Pro Tour hits the water to fight for the Portland Tour stop championship with the women's event presented by Barts WaterSports.
The Pro Tour season heats up going into Portland. At the third event of the season, the Tour is still up for grabs. Last year Wisconsin native Erik Ruck took home the Pro Wakeboard Tour's Season championship. Shawn Watson who won the first two Pro Wakeboard Tour stops of the season in Orlando and Detroit will challenge Ruck for the title this year along with former Pro Tour Champions Parks Bonifay, Shaun Murray and Darin Shapiro.
The top female on the women's Pro Tour right now is Dallas Friday, a 16-year-old former gymnast who turned pro at 13 and has taken the sport by storm over the past 4 years. Friday has won every pro women's event in 2003 after winning the wakeboarding National Championship in 2002.
The 2002 X Games championship eluded Friday who won her first X Games in 2001. Emily Copeland took first at the X Games in Philadelphia last year, and she'll be competing against Friday in Portland. The last time these two went head-to-head in Portland it was for the 2001 Pro Wakeboard Tour season championship. Copeland won the last event of 2001 in Portland and with it took a narrow victory over Friday for the season championship.
The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, presented by Chevy Trucks and GM Vortec Engines, is a five-event circuit organized by World Sports & Marketing of Orlando, Florida. Powered by Indmar, the Pro Tour has the support of the following: Bud Light, 180 Energy Drink, SeaDoo watercraft, Hyperlite, Perfect Pass, Activision, Liquid Force, Epiphone Guitars, CWB, OJ Props, Gator Boards, Chipper Beef Jerky, Earthboard, Bare Wetsuits, buywake.com, Billabong, Reef, Love Sac, Body Glove, Capix Helmets, JoyRide, 3thirteen, Indo Boards, One Percent Designs, UGP, Straightline, Double-up, Blindside, Bootie Lube, Liquid Lube, Monaco, Ice Apparel and Barts Water Sports.
Portland Daily Schedule of Events
SATURDAY, JUNE 28
7:30 am Junior Men Semifinals
9:00 am Pro Wakeskate Qualifying
10:00 am Pro Women X Games Qualifying
12:00 pm Pro Wakeskate Seeding Round
12:30 pm - 4:30 pm Pro Men Quarterfinals
SUNDAY, JUNE 29
8:30 am Pro Women Semifinals
10:00 am Junior Men Finals
(Awards Ceremony)
11:00 am Pro Men Semifinals
12:30 pm Pro Wakeskate Finals
(Awards Ceremony)
1:30 pm Pro Women Finals
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Pro Men Finals
(Awards Ceremony)
