The top professional wakeboarders from throughout the globe hit the waters of Prospect Lake today for the opening rounds of the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour stop in Colorado Springs. The event, which concludes tomorrow, Saturday, July 24, at Memorial Park, opened with preliminary rounds for the Pro Men and Jr. Pro Men’s divisions.
While many big-name riders were on-site today for the Pro Men’s division qualifying round; all eyes were on the return of former King of Wake and Colorado native Tino Santori, as he made his first Pro Tour appearance in over a year.
“It feels great to back on Tour, competing against these guys,” said Santori. “It’s difficult being away from the Tour, but I’m just stoked to be riding today and in my home state.”
Santori was first off the dock in his four-man heat, going up against Kirby Liesmann, Josh Palma and four-time X Games gold medalist Danny Harf. Santori had a solid run and the support of a hometown crowd, but Palma and Harf proved to be too much for the former two-time national champion, knocking him out of the contest.
“The level of riding is insane here; everyone has stepped up their riding so much,” said Santori. “I didn’t do as well as I hoped for, but I had fun out there and that’s all I can ask for.”
Palma and Harf advance to tomorrow’s Pro Men quarterfinals along with 18 other pros. The quarterfinals will begin at 11:30 a.m
In the Jr. Pro Men’s division, 19 amateur rippers hit the water today for their quarterfinal round of action in Colorado Springs. Only the top two riders from each of the five quarterfinal heats advanced, narrowing the field of riders down to 10 for tomorrow’s semifinals.
Among the 10 semifinalists is 16-year-old Daniel Powers, who posted a perfect score of 100 points during his quarterfinal run today. Powers and the rest of the Jr. Pro Men semifinalists will take to the water tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., following the Pro Men’s quarterfinals.
The Pro Tour wraps up its stop in Colorado Springs tomorrow, Saturday, July 24, with the ticketed event starting at 11:30 a.m. and the Main Event running from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the gate for $10 (general admission), $5 (ages 6-12) or free (ages 5 and under).
The Main Event features high-energy athlete introductions, leading into the Pro Men finals. It also includes the Pro Tour’s new double up contest and big-air challenge. The two new competitions are designed to feature select athletes performing exciting and innovative new tricks that aren’t normally attempted in a traditional contest setting.
In addition to all the action on the water; on land, fans will also enjoy plenty of great food and music, 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.
Attendees can also pick up their share of $10,000 in free gift cards from Overton’s, the official water-sports retailer of the King of Wake series. Fans can also register to win a $500 Overton’s catalog shopping spree.
