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
| 1st Place Team: | $5,000 |
| 1st Place Team: | $5,000 |
| 1st Place Team: | $5,000 |
| 2nd Place Team: | $2,000 |
| 2nd Place Team: | $2,000 |
| 2nd Place Team: | $2,000 |
| 3rd Place Team: | $1,000 |
| 3rd Place Team: | $1,000 |
| 3rd Place Team: | $1,000 |
| Total: | $24,000 |
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.
