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WATERSKI MagazineB With Gregg Necrason, Ryan Siebring and Darin Shapiro out due to injury, wakeboarding has become a race for those who can stay in one piece the longest. Or, as the case was during round two of the '99 pro wakeboard tour, it's a perfect opportunity for a newcomer to break into the limelight.
Out of the 12 finalists in Fort Lauderdale, seven were under the age of 19, and the winner, Shane Bonifay, captured his first pro win at just 15. In his rookie tour season, Shawn Watson (a scant three years older than Shane) rode to a stunning second-place finish. Brannan Johnson rounded up the podium triple to put himself in the driver's seat on the Indmar Pro Tour. Canadian Chad Sharpe, 18, just missed the mad cash, but still went home with a fourth-place finish in what was our youngest group of finalists in the history of the sport.
B Avenging her fourth-place finish in Lauderdale last year, Tara Hamilton took the title this time around. And once again, Emily Copeland was hot on her heals as the runnerup. Charity Merriman stood on her first podium of the year with a third. We are going to see a great deal of these two throughout the year. The women's level of riding has taken an impressive leap forward with the increased difficulty of tricks, as well as the intensity in which these girls are riding.
Is age beginning to be a factor in competition? Dean Lavelle and Cobe Mikacich, both 27, were the only two old men in the finals. After this tour stop, they might be closer to over the hill than we thought. Five of the Lauderdale finalists competed in the Junior Triple Crown series last year. Can these young riders hold the weight of the sport, going to school by day and traveling with their parents on the weekends? We shall see …
