Waterways Ireland WakeJam 07 takes place at the Broad Meadow in Enniskillen this weekend, Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th July.
The first rider will take to the water at 10.00am each morning. With the fabulous backdrop of Enniskillen Castle for the event, there will be an amazing spectator vantage point of the entire course, with no trick or crash missed by anyone attending.
The aim of the Erne Wakeboard Club was to showcase a level of wakeboarding never seen before in Ireland. After hosting the Irish Wakeboard National Championships in 2006 and drawing a crowd of approximately 3,000 over the weekend, the EWC were asked by Waterways Ireland (the main WakeJam sponsor) to host an international wakeboard competition. The EWC jumped at the chance to put Ireland on the international wakeboard map.
Wakeboarding in Ireland has grown at a staggering rate over the last three years. When the EWC set up the club in 2004, there were only a handful of wakeboard boats in Ireland. Now nearly every speedboat you see has a wakeboard tower on it and a young kid flipping and spinning behind it. Wakeboarding is one of the most exciting and fastest growing extreme sports on the planet and the EWC are very proud to display this in Enniskillen.
Ten international pro wakeboarders from the US, Australia, Argentina and Europe will be competing in Enniskillen. All riders compete on the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour and include the following.
Josh Sanders (Australia), International Red Bull athlete: NSW rider Josh Sanders has built a huge reputation as one of the best wakeboarders in the world. He has taken wakeboarding to new levels. In 2005 - he was Australian National Champion and 2005 - APTW - Rider of the Year.
Daniel Watkins (Australia): In 1997, Daniel clinched his first of three Australian national titles. In 2004, he added World Series Champion and World Cup Champion to his list of titles. While back in his homeland, he remains to be unbeaten in three back-to-back Pro Tour titles. Along with his double backroll, 900s and signature melon roll to blind, his trump card is consistency.
Brett Eisenhauer (Australia): Brett has been wakeboarding on the World Tour for eight years and has a fair share of memorable finishes, including winning at Wake Stock (Canada), Podiums on X Games, Gravity Games and US Masters.
Chad Lowe (US): Head coach at Wakeboard Camp, Clermont Florida.
UKcompetitors: Jonty Green, Richard Hiney, Dan Nott, Marc Rossitor, John Tully, Stew Mackie and Will Christien.
Robbie Rendo (Argentina).
Top 4 Local riders include: Pete Stewart, Gavin Prunty, Paul Johnston and David Coates.
The Pro men division will be a highly fought contest as four riders from Ireland take on the best in the world. Home advantage could play a huge part in the competition, which has a prize fund of $4,000!
Joey Meddock has been involved in the sport of wakeboarding since its very inception. He is currently editor of 'The Standard' wakeboarding quarterly magazine, which distributes worldwide.
He also contributes to all the major wakeboard publications, including the American editions of Alliance Magazine and Wakeboarding Magazine every month. These are the largest circulating magazines in the sport worldwide. Joey's work – having worked with every major professional in the sport – is highly sought after in the industry and he is guaranteed access to all of the above publications and more for feature spreads and photo diaries of his whole trip to the Waterways Ireland WakeJam.
The exceptional standard of action photos produced by Joey and also his industry contacts will guarantee an unprecedented level of exposure in the action sports world for the Irish waterways, Waterways Ireland and wakeboarding in Ireland.
International commentator Dano Amir will be in attendance for WakeJam to provide the voice behind the sport. Dano Amir has worked as the MC for the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour for the past three years. His voice being associated with all pro wakeboard tour events in the States and beyond. His energy, charisma and in-depth knowledge of the riders and the sport will add a new, and, to date unseen, level of professionalism to the event for both spectators and contestants alike. With Dano's vast experience of commentating at world class events, the crowd are guaranteed to be kept enthralled by all the action on the water and are sure to be 'rooted to the spot' for the entire event.
Spectators at Waterways Ireland WakeJam will have the experience of attending a pro wakeboard event similar to anywhere in the US even if the climate doesn't match!
Open Men = Top 12 non-pro riders from Ireland.
Ladies Open = two pro ladies + three Irish non-pro riders
Junior Men = five U-18 non-pro riders
Trolls = three U-14 non-pro riders.
The youngest rider at the event is six years old.
Waterways Ireland WakeJam will be documented across the world with magazines including Wakeboard Magazine, Alliance Wakeboard Magazine and Standard Magazine all covering the story for US and UK release. Jet skier Magazine will also be at WakeJam, as well as local and national press, UTV and BBC. 2FM are broadcasting live from the shores of Broad Meadow.
The format of WakeJam is very traditional. Each of the 40 riders will have two rounds on Saturday with the final round on Sunday. A 'round' is one pass of the World Class course. From the castle start dock to the end of the course and back to the castle is taken as one pass. Qualified judges score each round and the best two rounds are added together to produce the final score for the rider.
The prize-giving ceremony and photos of the winners will take place on site on Sunday afternoon.
During Waterways Ireland Wakejam, there will be many demonstrations of different water-sports, including barefoot skiing, wake skating, wake-surfing and celebrity riding, where the club will coach two celebrities (Jeremy McWilliams
X British Super Bike Champ and Cool FM DJ)
On shore entertainment includes music, slingshot bungee (Saturday only), mini moto bikes (Sunday only), face painting and a children's play area. There will be a host of stalls selling water sport equipment, food and refreshments.
MasterCraft Ireland is the towboat sponsor for WakeJam and they will provide two wakeboard towboats and an on shore boat show.
There will be prize draws throughout the event to win wakeboards, bindings, wet suits and many other prizes. There is also the chance to win a lesson from one of the world pro riders.
Waterways Ireland WakeJam will be an extreme weekend of fun for all the family.
Event sponsor: Waterways Ireland.
Towboat sponsor: MasterCraft Ireland.
Board company sponsor: JStar Jobe
Support sponsors: Fermanagh District Council, Kilmore Jetworks, and SeaDoo.
Special thanks go to: Susie at Irwin's Island Total Audio; Cox Food Market; Cool FM; Stat Oil; 2FM; Red Bull; Impartial Reporter; Sign Design; Fermanagh Herald; Balcas; Western Cars; First Trust Bank; and Pat's Bar.
For more information check out www.iwsf.ie and register for forthcoming details.
Contact the Erne Wakeboard Club for info: ernewakeboardclub@yahoo.ie or contact Jamie on 07815 786 2234.
