In wakeboarding terminology, to grind is to ride a board on an obstacle in the water. Beginning Thursday, June 17 (and continuing for the next four weeks), wakeboarders young and old can enter Wake Nation Cincinnati’s “Weekly Grind Series” with an opportunity to move on in a national competition.

All nine cable wakeboarding parks in the USA are participating in the event, called the National Points Chase Competition, sponsored by CableWakeboard.com.

At the end of the summer, the top three Wake Nation Cincinnati winners in each competition category will qualify to represent Wake Nation Cincinnati and the entire region in the 2010 National Points Chase Championship in Texas.

Event scoring will be based on composition, complexity and proficiency of each rider’s run on jumps, obstacles and open water. Scoring will be done by Wake Nation Cincinnati judges.

Experienced riders and even beginners can enter the competition in five different divisions: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Pro, and Wakeskate. A sixth division, Extreme Kneeboarding, is a fun exhibition-only event. There are weekly trophies and prizes for winners.

Dates and times for the Weekly Grind Series are Thursday, June 17; Friday, June 25; Thursday, July 1; Thursday, July 8, and Thursday, July 15. Each competition begins at 6 p.m. Cost to enter is $15 per event, or $60 for all five events. To enter, contestants can sign up at Wake Nation Cincinnati or call (513) 887-WAKE.

Located at 201 Joe Nuxhall Way in Fairfield’s Joyce Park, the Wake Nation Cincinnati watersports’ complex opened to rave reviews one year ago as Ohio’s only watersports’ park where riders can wakeboard, water ski, kneeboard, and wakeskate around a 10-acre lake WITHOUT A BOAT.

Riders are pulled around the oval lake at speeds of 18-20 miles per hour by a circulating, overhead cable system that runs 35 feet above the water.

New for 2010 is the Practice Pond, a second smaller lake with an “easy start” system that makes learning to ride easier than ever before. During its first season of operation, Wake Nation Cincinnati received numerous awards, including prestigious “Best Of” awards from Ohio Magazine, Cincinnati Magazine and Cincy Magazine.

At Wake Nation Cincinnati, both parking and admission are FREE. The park is a “pay as you play” facility with ride time starting at $25 for two hours. Rental equipment, private lessons, group discounts and birthday parties are available. Season Passes are also available for purchase.

For more information, call (513) 887-WAKE? or email info@wakenation.com. Website: www.wakenation.com.

Three out-of-state riders went head to head in the two rounds of riding for the $1000.00 cash prize in the Outlaw Division.  James Fied-IU, Clayton Underwood-IU and Daniel Walden-UT all came out strong in the first round of seeding and posted close scores. Daniel Walden, last off the dock in the finals, didn’t hold back, throwing down hammers toe 7, grabbed KGB, grabbed moby dick, grabbed pete, and indy tantrum to blind to take home the $1000.00 cash purse. Clayton Underwood held it tight in the first round, but fell short in the finals to secure the second spot and was followed by James Fied.

Advanced Division was taken by rider Tom Pazerumas-UI throwing down a stand up run in the finals, landing it all smooth to secure the $500.00 cash purse.  In a close second was UK rider Cameron Steiner-UK, with his signature backside spins and third was Alex Byrum-St. Charles.

Intermediate Division was lead by Nathan Stetter-Cinn St.in second place was local rider Justin Wells-IUS, known more for his wake skating talents borrowed a wakeboard for the tournament and came up with a podium finish. Jon Garibay-U of Toledo rounded out the podium in third position.

Novice Division was packed with twenty-two up–and-coming riders. The largest division showed many riders with a season or two of boarding under their belts and a strong level of progression. Taking first place in this highly contested division was Shuan Leamis-UI, a close second was Zach McMilken-UK followed by Evan Storck- UK.

Women’s Intermediate was secured by Laura Mitchell-UK, who was uncontested to take home the $500.00 cash purse. Laura was the only female athlete of the day to land an invert in the competition.

Women’s Novice was a highly contested division with riders representing three colleges. Coming out on top was Kylie Parker-UK followed by Megan VanMeter-UK and Julie Mize-UK.

Pro Rider Bryan Hutton was on hand representing University of South Florida.  Uncontested in the Pro Division, Bryan laid down the dirtiest moves of the day, hitting every 900 he has under his belt, awing the crowd. Bryan was on site all day giving a few exhibition runs through out the tournament and helping out with Judging. Bryan Hutton is a Kentucky resident attending school and training in Orlando, FL. Some of Byran’s first tournament experiences were on Taylorsville Lake in tournaments hosted by Boatworks.

Video Recap:

Ky Bluegrass Boardfest 2008 from CincyWake.com on Vimeo.

Image Gallery:

[Show as slideshow]

Core Sponsors:

Kentucky Boatworks-Taylorsville, KY-MasterCraft dealer and Kentucky Wakesport Authority provides the largest pro shop selection and wakeboard boat inventory in the state.  Boatworks provided MasterCraft X-Star towboats and staff for the tournament. Boatworks is a sponsor of the UK Wakeboard Club and supporter of Collegiate Wakeboarding in Kentucky. Check the on-line pro shop and current inventory at www.kyboatworks.com.

Wake Nation, a key sponsor of the UK Collegiate Challenge, is soon to open the first cable park in the area in Cincinnati, OH. The park is due to open in May 2009. For more information check out www.wakenation.com

Sam Swope Automatic Group LLC, Louisville, KY-Your source for the finest selection of new Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Saturn, Suzuki, Honda, Toyota, Scion, Smart Car, Infiniti, Mitsubishi, Volvo, BMW. And Lexus available today. Check them out for your next tow vehicle at www.samswope.com.

McCarthy’s Irish Bar in Lexington, KY- a premier Irish Bar with great beer selections, A bit of Ireland in Lexington, KY.

Hyperlite Hypertour- www.hyperlite.com
MasterCraft- www.mastercraft.com
Qakley- www.oakley.com
Red Bull- www.redbull.com
University of Kentucky Wakeboard & Water Ski Club-

Results

Pro
Bryan Hutton            100

Outlaw
Daniel Walden        92
Clayton Underwood        76
James Feid            69

Advanced
Tom Pazerumas        82.5
Cameron Steiner        70
Alex Byrum            69
Kyle Smith            68
Dominic Carucci        47
Trey Parker            39

Intermediate
Nathan Stetter            50
Justin Wells            33
Jon Garibay            29
Blake Summerel        26
Dominick Carucci        16

Novice
Shaun Leomis            65
Zach McMilken        63
Evan Storck            53
Tobias Hafer            47
Jonathan Haye            45
Garrett Moberly        44.5
Bobby Sutherland        44
Nate Stein            43
Collin Bordick            42
Chris Reed            40
Brian Keifer            39
Wes Conn            39
Jordon Leo            39
Mark Hamann            38
Brandon Phillips        29
Jeff Baker            28
Bill Feather            25
Josh Wagner            21
Alex Smith            17
Scott Lurkins            15
Aaron Kleinhelter        10
Matt Evans              0

Women’s Intermediate
Laura Mitchell            65

Women’s Novice
Kylie Parker            48
Megan VanMeter        31
Julie Mize            30
Kathryn Moore        28
Whitley Evans            27
Jessica Bullock        18

Article by: Jason Neagle
Photos contributed by: Jason Neagle, Brian Robertson, and Josh Wagner

MasterCraft will be the exclusive towboat and the tournament will be a Hypertour stop.  There will be prizes for podium finishers in all divisions and a $1000 cash prize for the outlaw division winner.  Two round competition with top finishers of each heat competing at the end of the day.  There are a limited number of spots so register early.  Boatworks Proshop will be on site with closeouts on 2008 gear.  Hang around after the competition for a party that night.

WHAT: Bluegrass Boardfest Collegiate Wakeboard Tournament
WHEN: September 20th, 2008
WHERE:
Taylorsville Lake State Park
1320 Park Road
Taylorsville, KY 40071
Directions: From Louisville, take I-64 to the Gene Snyder Freeway south and KY 155 to Taylorsville; turn east on KY 44 and drive three miles to the park. From Bluegrass Parkway, take KY 55 exit to Taylorsville.

For Early Registration please fill out entry form and mail with check to:
UK Waterski Team
106 Student Center
500 S. Limestone
Lexington, KY 40506-0030

1. From I-65 @ exit 94
2. Travel N Mulberry St/KY-61S for 2.1mi
3. Turn right at W Dixie Ave 31W, go 2 mi.
4. Turn right at Freeman Lake Park Rd

View Larger Map

Contact Chris Walker for more information at:
h2obug@comcast.net
765-744-6310

Start Time: 09:00
Date: 2008-08-03
End Time: 18:00

Directions:
8 miles south of 465 off St Rd 37.
Then turn right or East on Old State Rd 37.
¼ mile on right. 2 rounds $40.

These directions are pretty vague in my opinion so if you have interest in attending be sure to contact Chris Walker using the above information.

Sixteen local riders gathered for the 2nd Annual Willytown Throwdown on Williamstown Lake in the small town of Dry Ridge, Kentucky. The event kicked off at 9:00 AM and riders were segmented in two divisions: Beginner and Intermediate. Each rider had their chance to capture the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in each division, as well as “Best Crash” and “Best Fashion Air”.

This year’s event is particularly special considering the City Council is pushing to ban all wakeboard boats from the lake. “The event is a great way to show how much the lake community enjoys wakeboarding on Lake Williamstown,” says Jason Haines, the event promoter. “We had male and female riders along with spectators of all ages coming out to support the event. We are a family on this lake and it’s great to see everyone come together to support what they love.”

With cash prizes or a new vest and board donated by Plapp’s on the line riders were pumped to go out and take their shot behind the Nautique 210 supplied by Central Kentucky Inboards or Cincinnati MasterCraft’s X-Star. If riders came up short of the podium they at least walked away with a nice t-shirt and some applause from the crowd. In addition all the tough falls and face plants were not wasted as each rider stood to gain the Best Crash award.

Overall the event was a huge success. The weather and wind held off, everyone had a great time, and wakeboarding enthusiasts alike got a chance to come together and support wakeboarding on Lake Williamstown.

The Willytown Throwdown could not have been done without the help of local sponsors. We would like to thank the Phillipo Family, Central Ky Inboards, Cincinnati MasterCraft, Joe Boarder, Plapp’s Pro Outdoors, Entertain Cincy, Optimle Studios, the Williamstown Sports Club and everyone else who helped make this event such a huge success.