Portland, Ore. — With snow-covered Mt. Hood peacefully looming in the east, the competition was fierce in nearby Portland as thousands watched the world’s best riders battled it out during the 2008 Tigé Pro-Am Wakeboarding Championships June 20-22.
Staged at Blue Lake Park, this year’s Pro-Am was the most exciting ever with the addition of the “Tigé $10,080 for a 1080” challenge during the men’s finals round of the contest. Tigé offered the lucrative prize for riders who land the elusive 1080 trick, which has never been successfully performed in competition
Riding behind the Tigé 24Ve official towboat, Rusty “Bone Crusher” Malinoski won his third Tigé Pro-Am title after taking the top spot in Pro Men finals. The now three-time Pro-Am wakeboard champion took on Aaron Rathy two-time wakeboard world champ Andrew Adkison and two-time wakeboard World Series champion and TeamTigé member Daniel Watkins, who respectively rounded out the podium, to clinch the win in the finals.
At the completion of their final set the four finalists were given four chances to land the 1080. Two wild card riders including TeamTigé rider Adam Errington were also given four attempts to land the trick. The anticipation of watching history in the making kept the Pro-Am crowd on their feet for more than an hour of intense riding. Although there were some near misses and breathless moments, none of the six riders succeeded in landing the elusive trick.
In other Tigé Pro-Am action, Nicola Butler, 16, won her fifth consecutive contest, after taking the top spot in Pro Women’s Division.
In the Jr. Men’s finals, Alex Scagliotti of Bend, Ore. took the win his hometown waters.
Bryan Hutton may not have won today, but he didn’t leave empty-handed either. Hutton won the Rockstar Energy Drink Best Trick Award, a $1,000 bonus for landing the most impressive trick of the contest, a Backside 360 onto the funbox to Backside 360 boardslide to 270 out.
In wakeskate action, all eyes were on current wakeskate world champion Reed Hansen as the Florida native was looking to repeat at the contest and become the first pro wakeskater in history to ride away with two consecutive Tigé Pro-Am Wakeboard Championship titles. Hansen looked to be putting on demo but Stuart Shinn managed to pull-off the upset and ride away with the win. Hansen finished in second-place, followed by Brian Grubb (Nashua, N.H.) and Grant Roberts (Alamo, Calif.). Today’s win marks Shinn’s first Pro-Am title.
In the amateur divisions, four riders claimed their first-ever Pro-Am titles today as well. Tyler Heinze finished in first-place in the Open Men’s Division, Kyle Evans took home the Amateur Boys title, Danni Patraitis took the top spot in the Amateur Women’s Division, and Tanner Champion captured the Amateur Wakeskate title.
The three-day event was attended by thousands of spectators including Tigé dealers who traveled from as far away as France. Tigé hosted its dealers and also premiered the exciting new 2009 Tigé line of multi-sport boats at the event.
The 2008 Tigé Pro-Am will be televised on Fuel TV later this summer. Check www.tige.com soon for exact air dates. For more information regarding the event, visit www.kingofwake.com.
