Just one day after wrapping up the pro division qualifying rounds, the top amateur wakeboarders on the planet hit the waters of the Orlando Watersports Complex today for their opening rounds of the 2011 Nautique Wake Games, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink. Over 100 riders competed within 13 amateur divisions to qualify into the remainder of the contest and join a team through the Nautique Wake Games Draft.
The Draft places both pros and amateurs on one of 10 teams, in which each rider contributes points toward a team score based on their individual placement within their own division.
Only 90 eligible riders qualified into the Draft and were selected by their team’s captain –a preselected pro rider. Phillip Soven, Harley Clifford, Bob Soven, Danny Harf, Rusty Malinoski, Austin Hair, Josh Palma, JD Webb, Olivier Derome and Trevor Hansen each served as a team captain and drafted the following riders to their respective teams.
Team P. Soven: Phillip Soven, Chad Sharpe, Nick Jones, Oliver Moore, Nicola Butler, Barrett Perlman, Rob Corum, Ben Albright, Shota Tezika, John Rodriguez.
Team Clifford: Harley Clifford, Sam Thompson, Jeff Weatherall, Forrest Risner, Taylor McCullough, Anna Hajek , Dylan Prideaux, Kevin Duffy, Darren Holsey, Braden Tautkus.
Team B. Soven: Bob Soven, Aaron Rathy, Ben Greenwood, Matt Hayden, Amber Wing, Melissa Marquardt, Freddie Wayne, Carolina Rodriguez, Noah Fleigel, Gonzalo Renosto.
Team Harf: Danny Harf, Nick Galotifore, Jeff House, George Daniels, Jen GilanFarr, Emily Copeland Durham, Jason Soven, Arnie Watkins, Dylan Branch, Josh Twelker.
Team Malinoski: Rusty Malinoski, Shaun Murray, Scott Stuart, Danny Hampson, Kat Laird, Megan Ethell, Daniel Powers, Will Green, Craig Buss, Dustin Abel.
Team Hair: Austin Hair, Steel Lafferty, Danny Thollander, Grant Roberts, Charlotte Bryant, Raimi Merritt, Jaren Nilson, Tracy Baynham, Massi Piffaretti, Justin Gratzfeld.
Team Palma: Josh Palma, Andrew Adkison, Jason Bannatyne, Stuart Shinn, Rahcel Orgill, Giorgia Gregario, Ryan Harris, James Loisel, Brooke Grassman, Jeongwook Kim.
Team Webb: JD Webb, Adam Errington, Jimmy Trask, Brandon Thomas, Larissa Morales, Paula Fay, Leif Lacey, Kade Kasey, Tripp Brown, Tyler Worrall.
Team Derome: Olivier Derome, Adam Fields, Danny Burnstein, Brian Grubb, Susan Sheehan, Maria de Armas, Mark Norwell, Carter Mather, Hunter Henderson, Robbie McMillan.
Team Hansen: Trevor Hansen, Dean Smith, Alex Brown, Reed Hansen, Kristine Gagnier, Krista Burns, Kevin Michael, Mitch Allen, Jim Branton, Gus Shuller.
Riders will begin accumulating points for their team score, beginning tomorrow, Saturday, April 30. The ticketed event will begin at 8 a.m. and run until 5 p.m. The Games will wrap up on Sunday, where a winning team will be decided.
