Wakeboarding professionally is not easy. Having a long career adds its own set of challenges. But winning events and overall titles over a 10 year span where the field has become more and more elite makes this win for Cory Teunissen that much more special.

When asked about how many total victories this makes for him in his illustrious career, Teunissen joked, “My dad is such a geek about this stuff and just told me that this was my 38th pro win and my 13th PWT event win.” 

While one might expect so much longevity and success to manifest itself with ultimate confidence coming into the season, Teunissen’s outlook was not so self-assured. “With the surgeries at the beginning of the year, I felt so far away from top form and I couldn’t prepare the way I wanted to. Battling through the ankle pain on every set throughout the year has been tough and I didn’t expect much out of the season.”

Read Next: More PWT Action!

In a year with four, yes four,  separate winners on the PWT series, the sport has shown that the gap from the usual suspects and the rest of the field has closed dramatically. As a judge on the PWT in the late 20-teens it was more often the case that if Harley Clifford, Corey Teunissen or Nic Rapa didn’t end up on the top of the podium, something went awry in their respective runs. This year however, the phrase “the overall level of riding has gotten to such a crazy place” is more true than ever.

“The final was nuts, everyone landed a complete run with everything they wanted to do. I mean, Thomas (Herman) got last in the finals and he landed a double backroll to the flats, double toeside backroll and a KGB 720 off the double up!” shared Teunissen about his good friend and riding buddy. 

If Cory’s experience was ever going to serve him well, it was going into an event that he had to win if he wanted to take the overall PWT, but that didn’t stop him for pulling for his friends. “I wanted Shota to win almost as bad as I wanted it for myself.” His love of the sport and ability to battle through a rough set of physical challenges was rewarded with what he will file away as one of the most memorable wins of his career. “This one is one of the standouts for me. You always remember your first big wins, but having so much doubt and uncertainty throughout the year, this one means the most.”

Big congrats go to Camden Marsden who took the top spot at his first ever PWT event in the Jr. Pro division and Noah Bollard winning the overall title for the Jrs. Daniel Johnson earns the prestigious Rookie of the Year for the Pro division and will surely be one that will have the tour vets looking out for in the years to come.

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Cresting the mid-season hump and gearing up for an exciting end to the season, the 3rd stop of the Pro Wakeboard Tour returned to Groveland, in central Florida, a spot  many of the competitors call home. 

Would proximity play a factor in this year’s result? Without having to work through the disruption of a flight, hotel stay and transport to and from the site, would we see an advantage for those closest by? 

Yes and no. Last year, the same PWT stop with the same format, at the same venue, boat contest aficionado Supra Boats team rider Nic Rapa was able to sleep in his own bed, go through his normal morning routine and drive 6 miles down the road to Lake David in Groveland, FL. No clear advantage here as he was ousted in the first round in 2023. “I didn’t like the format last year, but this year I came into it with a different mindset and really enjoyed it.” 

Unique to this stop, riders have the chance to showcase their skills outside of the traditional quarters, semis, finals structure with 2-passes, 6 to 8 trick lines and sometimes a double-up in the finals. Here, riders are looking to win 2 out of the 3 categories of 3 trick line, single best trick off the wake (2 attempts), and a double-up. 

“You have to be very strategic going head to head and with this format, if you are first off the dock you are going out on a hunch of what the other guy might do,” said Rapa. Known for having a head for competitive situations over the long haul, he continued, “You need to have belief and bank on yourself and what you are capable of.” 

With a lot of tools in his kit, Rapa was able to get through the first two rounds with a three- trick line of HS FS 9, Switch Back mobe 5, and a double indy tantrum. For his best trick attempts he would boost an indy backside 7 into the flats as well as a mute double cab roll way past the second wake. 

Read Next: More 2024 PWT Action

Starting in the Semis against a rider that any rider would like to have on the other side of the bracket, Corey Teunissen has any boat contest in his grasp. But so does Rapa, as he switched up his run to incorporate the indy back 7 and double cab into his 3 trick line and drop the trick of the contest, a double indy tantrum to blind in both the semi and final rounds. He was the first one to land that trick off the wake in a contest run in 2022 and needed it to secure the victory.

The crew heads straight up to Lenoir City, TN minutes from the Supra Boats factory in Maryville. The race for the overall winner is very much in play for Guenther Oka, Nic Rapa, Corey Teunissen, and Tyler Higham with Shota Tezuka holding a narrow lead over the field. 

On the wakesurf front, Jett Lambert pulled off a perfect 3 for 3 in winning each of the Pro Wakesurf Tour stops as this served as the season finale. He is now a back-to-back overall champion and smart money has him as a favorite in 2025.

The post Rapa Takes 2024 PWT Stop 3 appeared first on Wakeboarding Mag.

“My goal this year was to make the top three a few times,” said Herman. Interesting that the only other top three finish was the unforgettable, historic top spot at the Red Bull Double or Nothing forever marking him as “the Triple Flip Kid”. He is now 2 for 2, but that hasn’t come without the grind.

Herman’s first pro season in 2021 earned him the Rookie of the Year status and yielded results that were respectable, but maybe not exceeding expectations. The following year he ended up 8th overall, then last year with a very solid 6th place overall finish with hard work being the ingredient Herman credits for the improvement. “I’ve just been working so hard and doing every boat event that there is,” Herman reflected. “It is really cool to hear that others are recognizing my hard work. Even riders who I don’t ride with much have said some really supportive things.”

What would surely be a lifetime memory for Herman was magnified by many factors in that the venue was two hours from where he grew up in Fort Wayne, IN. Thomas’s supportive father, TK Herman,  posted a memory of standing on the same starting dock with his son in 2011 when Thomas was only 8 years of age. “This might be the only time I could have my whole family and all my close friends from home in the same spot at the same time, so to have all this happen was something super special,” said Herman.

Read Next: More PWT Stop 1 Results

One of the winningest PWT riders in history just happens to be a very close friend and roommate to Herman. “Cory (Teunissen) has all of his trophies and PWT guitars on his walls and he made some space for me. I had to borrow one of his guitars to even out the space but told him recently that I wanted to give it back to him.” He can now proudly fill out his trophy wall with a well deserved win.

Jr. Pro rider Shion Takaiwa has been turning heads for over a year and the Japan native took the win with technical, unique tricks. On the wakesurf side, Jett Lambert continues his dominance with his ability to make the hardest maneuvers and combos look effortless. His board and body control are second to none and early signs are pointing to another overall PWT title.

The next Pro Wakeboard Tour stop heads to Park City, UT on the crisp waters of the Jordanelle Reservoir.

The post Thomas Herman’s Star Continues to Rise With First Pro Wakeboard Tour Win appeared first on Wakeboarding Mag.

The Pro Wakeboard Tour first stop of 2024 at Indiana saw Supra Boats athlete Thomas Herman (@thomasherman ) take top podium. This marks Herman’s first PWT podium appearance.

The event was held at Lakefront at Keystone (@indyboatco) in Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 22 and 23, 2024.

Sharing the podium with Herman were Shota Tezuka (@shotatezuka) in 2^nd and Luca Kidd (@luca_kidd) in 3^rd.

In Jr. Pro Wakeboard, Shion Takaiwa (@shion.takaiwa) reigned supreme once again, blending crazy tech tricks with a fluid style.

Finally, Jett Lambert (@jettshreds) took home the Pro Wakesurf division win. Jett starts off his defense of his overall title with a bang!

Stop two of the Pro Wakeboard Tour takes place July 11 and 12 at Jordanelle State Park, in Park City, Utah. 

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The Pro Wakeboard Tour dates for 2024 have been set. This year the four-city PWT will hit venues from the Rockies to the heartland and from the Smokies to Florida. Here are the four cities on tap for the 2024 PWT: 

• Indianapolis, Indiana – June 21-22
• Park City, Utah – July 11-12
• Groveland, Florida – August 7-8
• Knoxville, Tennessee – August 16-17

The Pro Wakeboard Tour, which  bills itself as the premier wake event in the sport, sees some of the best watersports athletes in the world compete.  Look for our coverage of the PWT to come.

This video includes action from last year’ s PWT Team Challenge. 

Learn more about the Pro Wakeboard Tour.

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The final Supra Boats Pro Wakeboard Tour event of the season went off in Lenoir City TN with a team oriented format. The Team Challenge has gone through many iterations through the years. At times the teams would be organized by shared sponsors, but this year it was a true “pick who you want on your team” format. 

The top 7 finishers in the Pro Wake division were named team captains with the top seed picking first, then on down the line until 7 full teams were chosen. Team building strategy was certainly in play as the captains could choose from any rider regardless of tour participation. The only stipulations were that the teams had to be made up of at least one female rider and one rider had to compete in each of the categories; Pro Men, Pro Women, Double-up. 

For the Pro Men and Pro Women formats, each rider was given 3 tricks up and 3 tricks back down the course and the Double-Up portion served up two double-ups for the rider in that category. Each category was scored against the others in the division and the rider earned points for their team. The camaraderie and excitement were palatable, “I’d have to say that this event had some of the best vibes for a PWT in years,” stated Chris Bischoff who wears the hats of the Chief Judge, Tournament Coordinator, and Event Operations and has been a key part of major wake events for over two decades and spent years on tour himself as a pro wakeboarder. “We really wanted the riders input and the two unique format events that we had on PWT this year seemed to provide for some of the best riding and engagement from the athletes.”

Team Challenge Payout

Team Ditsch deservedly took the victory as Kai Ditsch and Massi Piffaretti are part of the tight-knit, uber-supportive and exciting crew affectionately named La Familia. Meagan Ethell, who is no stranger to the top of the podium, earned a second place finish against the other women. Ethell posted: “The last 48 hours were way too fun with this group of people, ” on her Instagram, highlighting just how pumped the riders were on the weekend. Massi Piffaretti has been on the PWT for a long time and put down one of his best runs to give his team 2nd place points in his division. It all came down to the team captain and his double-up to secure the win. Placing third gave his team the overall win and the $5k payout for each team member. 

Both the 2nd and 3rd place teams were captained by fellow La Familia crew members Tyler Higham, who had just cinched his first PWT overall title, and 21 year old Sam Brown who continues to blow minds every time he hits the water whether he is in a contest, riding at home or filming a video part. The last time a stylish, progressive crew was this dominant on the PWT was the days of the Pointless Posse, led by legends Shane and Parks Bonifay, Chad Sharpe, Brian Grubb and others. Are the La Familia riders securing their spots as legends in the years to come? Their continued support from their fans and mind-blowing, never-been-done tricks would say so. 

The post 2023 Pro Wakeboard Tour Team Challenge appeared first on Wakeboarding Mag.

The final stop of the Supra Boats Pro Wake Tour took place in the headline sponsor’s backyard in Lenoir City, TN and saw Tyler Higham win the overall PWT title.

All eyes were on Higham, and Jamie Hauser. Prior to the season kickoff in May very few would have expected the final event to feature PWT Rookie Jamie Hauser and free-ride specialist Tyler Higham to be the two going for the overall title. Higham is no stranger to making the finals in boat contests and has graced the podium plenty of times, but his first pro win had yet to materialize prior to the ’23 season.

Hauser was even more of a surprise contender. “I think you’d have to look back to Darin Shapiro or Parks Bonifay in their first year on tour to find the last time that a rookie was in contention for the overall title,” observed announcer Danny Amir, better known as Dano the Mano, who has likely watched more wakeboard contest runs than anyone else on the planet.

While Higham and Hauser were pre-season longshots for the overall PWT title, it was certainly not due to their inability to compete or their lack of top tier tricks. The last 5 years have been dominated by Nic Rapa and Cory Teunissen for the top spots with the two trading wins back and forth. They each suffered injuries that kept them from competing in all 4 events and without strong placings in every PWT stop, one can kiss their chances of the overall title goodbye. Both Rapa and Teunissen are no strangers to putting in the work necessary to win and stay at the top, but also proved that they can come back from injuries with a strong mindset.

“Seeing how Nic couldn’t even jump the wake in the first stop of the year to watch him come back and win by the end was really impressive,” shared Amir. “Shota Tezuka making the finals and placing 3rd in the event and 3rd overall was really cool, he has been doing this for a long time and can still throw down.”

Read Next: Pro Spotlight – Tyler Higham

An overall title can change the course of a rider’s career. It is something that can be leveraged to prove one’s consistency in a competitive environment. This year’s winner however proved a lot more. Higham is not just the guy that can land contest tricks over and over in any condition, he is what all riders hope to be; the rider who does not sacrifice style for consistency but has built a bag of tricks so deep that he can hang with the most technical riders in the world. 

The post Pro Wakeboard Tour Stop #4 Lenoir City appeared first on Wakeboarding Mag.

Progression is the focus of every action sport. On occasion there is a single event that brings that progression to light and the Supra Boats Pro Wakeboard Tour Stop #3 served as that platform. Never-been-dones, rarely seen contest tricks, and an overall competitive lift were all on display on Lake David in Groveland, Florida in between classic Central Florida weather delays and glassy conditions.

The new format heavily influenced by the riders was a head to head, bracket style, single elimination tournament with scores based on three passes which brought a unique feel to the day. The first pass was judged on the best 4-trick line. Next pass gave the chance to land a single best trick off the wake. Finally, they capped off their run with a double-up. 

The heavy tricks coming out the day were multiple different riders landing clean Crow 7s, Tyler Higham‘s wake-to-wake TS BS 900 and Mute HS 10, Luca Kidd’s perfect double grabbed HS BS 900, and a switch heelside 10 off the wake by Kai Ditsch to be the first ever to land it in a contest.

West Coast native Tyler Higham was the perfect competitor to take the win in an event filled with stylish, technical riding. As a high seed coming into the day tied for 1st in overall standings, Higham took advantage of the new format.

“I felt like I’ve had the tricks to win an event for the last few years, but my consistency has really come a long way.”

That has to make the field nervous because a confident rider with a deep bag of tricks that all look perfect is something you don’t want to see in your heat as a competitor.

In a twist of fate, Tyler drew his brother’s name out of a hat for the first round. “I told everyone that I knew I was going to pick his name. It was cool to ride against him but it was a bummer that one of us would be knocked out in the first round,” said Tyler. That was the theme of the day as Tyler continued to go up against his best friends and riding crew. Aptly named “La Familia” the group of riders has a lock on the freshest video content, newest tricks, and overall good vibes in the wake community right now. “We decided the night before to bring out our tent, grill, and music. It felt like we were just riding at home because that is what we do everyday. Grill out food, take a few sets and root each other on. We all just love the sport of wakeboarding so much. It was a bummer that we were all on the same side of the bracket besides Kai.”

That relaxed feel propelled Higham to push the limits of his riding even when he didn’t have to. In the Quarter finals against his crew-mate Sam Brown, all he needed was to land a solid trick off the double up. “Since he went first and fell and he is one of my boys, it didn’t feel right to just do something easy,” explained Higham as he reflected on landing a perfect switch mute heelside frontside 1080. 

Read Next: Pro Wakeboard Tour 2023 Stop 2 Acworth

On the wakesurf side, long-time surf tour staple Sean Silvera came out of competitive retirement to show the young guns that he still has what it takes to win. Edging out 13 year old Jett Lambert was no easy feat but certainly provided some bragging rights. Lambert placed 2nd and secured his first overall PWT Surf title. 

The Jr. Pro division had Beaux Wildman taking the win and extending his lead in the overall standings.

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18-year-old Swiss athlete Jamie Huser takes his first Pro win in only his second Pro event at the Supra Boats Pro Wake Tour stop #2 in Acworth, GA.

“It feels unreal and I haven’t yet fully accepted that it happened,” said Huser after reflecting on his performance last weekend. He continued, “It felt like the judges were rewarding stand-up runs more than going for the hardest tricks, so I played it safe on my double-up and focused on a run I could stand up even in rough water.”

If he sounds like a tour veteran already, you aren’t completely wrong. Huser has numerous Jr. Pro titles under his belt, including US Nationals, and Worlds, so he is no stranger to the competitive scene. He now leads the PWT in overall standings and has fully recovered from a year of challenges.

Read Next: Pro Wakeboard Tour Stop 1

Wise beyond his years, Huser saw the opportunity that presented itself with PWT leader Cory Teunissen and perennial favorite Nic Rapa each going down in the quarter finals. Uncharacteristic falls in the rough conditions made the finals look and feel a lot different than others. “Without Cory and Nic in there, it actually added even more pressure because my chances to win felt higher,” noticed Huser. “My goal was just to get into the finals but then on my 2nd finals run, I just had so much fun with it that I wasn’t nervous anymore.” He looked comfortable and fluid linking tech wrapped spins, stylish grabbed mobes, and a throwback to one of the PWT’s winningest athletes, a whirly-dick a la Phil Soven to top it off. Playing it safe with a backside 7 off the double-up rather than forcing a 9 yet again showed that Huser’s brain and ability to adapt on the fly matches his physical ability, again very reminiscent of athletes who started winning at an early age.

Pro Wakeboard Finals Results

A theme for this year’s competitive boat scene has been return-to-form post injury that Megan Ethell and Massi Piffaretti showed the world at Masters. Now Huser joins that list as he had to overcome a debilitating sickness, followed by a torn labrum in his shoulder, a classic arm-through-the-handle fall that tore muscles in his arm, then dropping an angle grinder on his leg that severed tendons, all within the last year. After only one and half months back from his latest injury, Huser looks like yet another name to be worried about showing up in your heat as a fellow competitor.

Junior Pro Wakeboard Finals Results

Being comfortable around the sport shouldn’t be difficult for Huser. While he and his family currently own the World Wakeboard Center (formerly owned by the family of World Champions Trevor and Reed Hansen), they have visited central Florida for 2 decades on wakeboarding vacations. The first time I met Jamie was when he came over from Switzerland in a baby carrier and played in the sand at The Wakeboard Camp as an infant. It was truly a full circle moment for me to see him win as Jamie reminded me “You taught my Mom how to wakeboard, she still talks about it to this day.”

Pro Wakesurf Finals Results

Another notable finish was Jake Pelot taking his first PWT podium spot with a very strong second place finish. Pelot is no stranger to the finals and has the arsenal of tricks to make a run but “had the run of his life” according to tour driver Trevor Hansen. 

With tight standings and early disruption to any predicted storyline, the PWT is shaping up to be a series to pay close attention to with stop #3 kicking off next month back in Central Florida.

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The first Supra Boats Pro Wakeboard Tour event of the season kicked-off in Groveland, Florida, on Saturday, May 20.

There, the world’s best boat riders took aim at the overall titles in the Pro Wake, Pro Surf, and Jr. Pro Wake divisions. With the 2022 champions each returning in healthy form, there is always an added layer of pressure to make a statement at the first tour stop and let the field know that they are there to defend.

Perhaps the most experienced at rising to the occasion is last year’s overall Pro Wake champ Cory Teunissen. A consummate professional, Cory secured the top seed in the finals and landed a clean run with 3 double flips, a 1080, backside 9 and a few mobe 5s and frontside 900s for good measure. Past overall champ, last year’s runner up and the man most likely to make Cory’s day more difficult, Supra team rider, Nic Rapa, was unfortunately taken down by an injury sustained in training up for the first event. The Cory and Nic battle that we have grown accustomed to seeing will have to wait.

Cory’s day was not a walk in the park by any means.

“Tyler Higham’s run could not have been done any better” stated Pro Wake Tour driver and wakeboard legend Trevor Hansen. “He landed a run that he had never put down, even in practice, stomping a toe-side backside 900. He was so close on his double-up but didn’t ride it away” Hansen continued.

Pro Wakeboard Tour Finals Results Stop #1

1. Cory Teunissen: 93.33
2. Tyler Higham: 91.33
3. Fynn Bullock: 87.67
4. Massi Piffaretti: 85.33
5. Maxime Roux: 80.67
6. Shota Tezuka: 73.67

The final trick could have been the difference in the first and second place spots. 

There were new faces in the mix making noise with first time Pro division competitors Maxine Roux and Fynn Bullock making the finals. Bullock, who competes at a high level in snowboarding as well, made his first pro podium placing 3rd. 

Junior Pro Wakeboard Finals Results Stop #1

1. Beaux Wildman
2. Shion Takaiwa
3. Daniel Johnson
4. Noah Bollard

Beaux Wildman, who is making a name for himself on all types of water sports equipment, made the finals in both Jr. Pro Wake and Pro Surf. Wildman took the victory for Jr. Pro wake and took the first step towards repeating his overall title. 

Youngster Jett Lambert took the win in Pro Surf, riding well beyond his teenage years and holding off the top 3 overall finishers in 2022. 

With the high-flying action on the water and on land with the BMX and Freestyle Motocross demos, the Supra Boats Pro Wake Tour proves to be the place to go to have your mind blown. Stop #2 in Acworth, GA comes up in a few short weeks (June 10)  and with the level of riding continuing to elevate, this season will be one to stay tuned in to. 

Pro Wakesurf Tour Finals Results Stop #1

1. Jett Lambert: 95.67
2. Taylor Swanson: 94.00
3. Camron Swanson: 78.00
4. Beaux Wildman: 71.67

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