Portland, Indianoplis, and Orlando On Tap For Action Sport Series
Orlando, Florida - One of the biggest events in action sports, the Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding Series is gearing up with the announcement of the 2004 event schedule. This year, the Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding will make three stops across the United States. Along the way the world's top professional wakeboarders will compete for an estimated $200,000 in cash and prizes in three events: The Vans Wakeboarding Pro June 19-20 in Portland, Oregon; the WWA Wakeboard National Championship August 19-22 in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the WWA Wakeboard World Championship September 30-October 3 in Orlando, Florida.
Look for top professional wakeboarders including: 2003 Pro Wakeboard Tour Champion Parks Bonifay, 2003 National Champion and Vans Triple Crown Champion Danny and 2002 Vans Triple Crown Champion Darin Shapiro to compete in 2004. On the women's side the world's top females will try to knock Dallas Friday from the top spot. Friday swept the three-event series in 2004.
The season will kickoff at Portland's Blue Lake Park with the Vans Wakeboarding Pro. Last year Portland hosted the Pro Wakeboard Tour, attracting 15,000 fans making it one of the most highly attended events of the season.
The Precedent in Indianapolis will be the site for the second event of the Vans Triple Crown, the WWA Wakeboard National Championship. This will mark the second year for the Wakeboarding Nationals at Indy's Precedent. The 2003 event was the largest wakeboarding event in the world with over 250 competitors from across the United States. Over 10,000 fans packed the Precedent to see some of the highest level wakeboarding in the world.
Orlando WaterSports Complex will again be the site of the WWA Wakeboard World Championships, the final stop on the Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding. The Wakeboard Worlds is the season-ending event in the U.S., and this will mark the third year in a row that Orlando WaterSports Complex will host the event.
"The Vans Triple Crown Series is the preeminent series in the sport of wakeboarding," said Terry Dorner, vice president for World Sports & Marketing, the organizing body for the Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding series. "The three events in the series are typically the best events in the sport during the year. The three host cities have proven track records in drawing good crowds and provide excellent conditions for the athletes to compete at the top level."
The sport of wakeboarding has skyrocketed in popularity over the past ten years making it the fastest growing watersport in the world. Pro Wakeboarding is much like snowboarding with a similar style of board and bindings. Athletes (called riders) perform Big Air tricks behind the MasterCraft X Star, a special boat with weight in the back to create a gigantic wake for riders to do flips, twists, turns and inverts. There will also be a "jib park", or floating skate park out on the water so that competitors can add to their performance by sliding and grinding on rails and performing flips off various ramps.
The Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding, the largest wakeboarding series in the sport, consists of three championship-caliber events: Vans Wakeboard Pro June 19-20 Fox Sports Net - July 15, 4 pm (Portland, OR)
WWA Wakeboard Nationals August 19-22 Fox Sports Net - Sept. 16, 4 pm (Indianapolis, IN)
WWA Wakeboard Worlds Sept. 30-Oct. 3 Fox Sports Net - Oct. 26, 4 pm (Orlando, FL)
The Vans Triple Crown™ Series is made possible through the support of Ford Trucks, Right Guard, Mountain Dew, NBC Sports and Fox Sports Net. The Vans Triple Crown Series features the world's top athletes participating in premier venues throughout North America for the top prize purse in each of six action sports: Skateboarding, Wakeboarding, BMX, Freestyle Motocross, Surfing and Snowboarding.
Additional promotional support provided by: MasterCraft, Nautiques, SeaDoo watercraft, Perfect Pass, Hyperlite, Liquid Force, Gator Boards, CWB, Jobe, Double-up, O'Brien, Blindside, JoyRide, Cassette Wakeskates, 484 Wakeskates, Billabong, Body Glove, UGP, Epiphone Guitars, OJ Props, Perfect Pass, Chipper Beef Jerky, Bare Wetsuits, buywake.com, Love Sac, Capix Helmets, Indo Boards, Straight Line, Nevin, ten-80, KMC Wheels, Toyo Tires, Wake Tech, J Star, Execute, WakeWorld, Wakeboarder.com, Monster Tower and One Percent
Designs.
Local sponsors include: Portland Oregon Visitors Association and Oregon Sports Authority.
