Five athletes won titles Saturday at BoardUp! Miami, Miami’s first premier Pro-Am Wakeboard Championship, at the Miami Marine Stadium in Miami, Fla. Phillip Soven (Longwood, Fla.) was the big winner at the event clinching the title in Pro Men and taking home the $10,000 cash prize. The tournament, sanctioned by USA Wakeboard, featured some of the world’s top wakeboarders competing for more than $17,000 in cash prizes. Male and female riders competed in divisions, including 13 and under, 14 to 18, Open Amateur and Pro.
“Miami was the place to be this weekend to see wakeboarding’s top professional and amateur riders compete for titles at BoardUp! Miami,” said Steve McDermeit, executive director of USA Water Ski. “Congratulations to Phillip Soven and the amateur riders winning titles at the event.”
Soven won the title in the head-to-head night finals with Rusty Malinoski (Orlando, Fla.) placing second and Danny Harf (Orlando, Fla.) finishing third. Malinoski and Harf were awarded $5,000 and $2,000, respectively. In the amateur divisions, Steel Lafferty (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) won the title in Boys 13 & Under with 56.89 points; Heather Johnson (Orlando, Fla.) won the title in Open Women with 47.99 points; Jimmy LaRiche (Boca Raton, Fla.) won the title in Junior Men with 57.78 points and Chris Canuel (Winfield, B.C., Canada) won the title in Open Men with 50.57 points.
The event also included a music festival featuring DJ Irie, Atomic Tangerine, The Linx, The Spam AllStars and DJ Jazzy Jeff. There also were Extreme Sport Demos and a Kids Fun Zone throughout the day. For complete results from the event, visit USAWATERSKI.org.
USA Wakeboard is one of nine sport disciplines of USA Water Ski. USA Water Ski was formed in 1939 as a non-profit organization promoting water skiing in the United States. USA Water Ski is affiliated with the International Water Ski Federation (world governing body) and is recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and Pan-American Sports Organization as the national governing body of organized water skiing in the United States. With more than 40,000 members, USA Water Ski is the largest water ski federation in the world.
