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Team will compete in world championships, Oct. 27-31

POLK CITY, Fla., Oct. 9, 2015 – USA Wakeboard, a sport discipline organization of USA Water Ski, is pleased to announce the selection of the 2015 U.S. Wakeboard Team. The 10-member team will compete in the 11th IWWF Wakeboard World Championships, Oct. 27-31, at the spectacular new Mayan Water Complex in Cancun, Mexico.

Divisions for competition at the 2015 IWWF Wakeboard World Championships will be as follows (all ages taken as of Jan. 1, 2015): Boys/Girls (14 and Under); Junior Men/Junior Women (18 and Under); Masters Men/Masters Women (30 Years and Over); Veteran Men/Veteran Women (40 Years and Over); and Open Men/Open Women (Open). For the first time at an IWWF world-titled event, a cash purse will be available for Open Riders totaling $50,000.

Athletes selected to the 2015 U.S. Wakeboard Team were: Flynn Bullock (Mebane, N.C.), Boys; Hollie Waldrop (Orlando, Fla.), Girls; Jimmy McClure (Ruther Glen, Va.), Junior Men; Mike Dowdy (Pinckney, Mich.), Open Men; Steel Lafferty (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Open Men; Dallas Friday (Orlando, Fla.), Open Women; Meagan Ethell (Orlando, Fla.), Open Women, Adam Fields (Littleton, N.C.), Masters Men; Chad Lowe (Sebastopol, Calif.), Masters Men; and Zane Schwenk (Winter Haven, Fla.), Veteran Men. Selected as alternates were: Daniel Powers (Orlando, Fla.), Open Men; Raimi Merritt (Belle Isle, Fla.), Open Women; and Zoe Luquette (Las Vegas, Nev.), Girls. Mike Ferraro (Orlando, Fla.) is the team coach. The team was chosen based upon an approved selection criteria.

Riders who compete in the 2015 Wakeboard World Championships in Cancun will have an extra bonus. They may later be considered for invitation to the 2016 and 2017 IWWF Water Ski & Wakeboard World Cup Series. This provides $95,000 cash prizes, travel subsidies and hotel accommodation for contestants. There have been 45 events in this IWWF series to date. The 2016 MasterCraft X-Star boat will tow this year’s world championships. MasterCraft also is the official Water Ski & Wakeboard World Cup Series towboat provider as well as a Premier Sponsor of USA Water Ski.

The United States earned the silver medal behind gold-medal winning Australia at the 2013 world championships.

About USA Water Ski
USA Wakeboard is one of nine sport discipline organizations of USA Water Ski, which was formed in 1939 as a non-profit organization promoting water skiing in the United States. USA Water Ski is affiliated with the International Waterski & Wakeboard 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 and wakeboarding in the United States.