Pleasant Prairie, WI (July 17, 2017) – The Malibu WWA Rider Experience North and Regional Championships saw everything from first time rides to career highlights with Tyler Higham taking the overall Jr. Pro Series title! Riders and families from all over the region came out for their chance to ride with the pro’s on Freeride Friday behind the Malibu 24 MXZ, learning some new tricks and getting their runs dialed in. Saturday’s Regional Championships discovered some new talent in the north headed to the WWA Wakeboard National Championships next month! Surfgate Sunday was all about shredding the MXZ’s massive, long wave for a group of aspiring pros and passing by observers turned surfers!

“This is what the Malibu WWA Rider Experience is all about! We met some amazing people new to the sport that are now joining us to compete at Nationals as a family. This is where it all starts and we’re excited to have so many new members in our family of wake. Thank you to Munson Marine and Malibu Boats for making this series happen!” said WWA Executive Director Corrie Wilson.

The Masters division was stacked with talent and good vibes on the dock. Eric Gifford (MO) hit a big backroll and tantrum in choppy conditions to take third place with 46.67 points. Madman Nick Cankar (IL) let his style shine through with a nose H/S 540 and tantrum to fakie for a second place score of 69.17. Division World Champion Tom Pazerunas (IL) threw a big indy glide and a tootsie roll in his run for the win with two stand up passes to score 76.67.

The Masters division was stacked with talent and good vibes on the dock. Eric Gifford (MO) hit a big backroll and tantrum in choppy conditions to take third place with 46.67 points. Madman Nick Cankar (IL) let his style shine through with a nose H/S 540 and tantrum to fakie for a second place score of 69.17. Division World Champion Tom Pazerunas (IL) threw a big indy glide and a tootsie roll in his run for the win with two stand up passes to score 76.67.

The Boy’s Beginner division showed us that the future is bright in the northern region in a super competitive round of competition that didn’t see a single fall. Ryan Will (WI) took it old school with a fashion air and big grabs that earned him a third place score of 66.67. Zachary Hanes (WI) placed second scoring 73.33 with method grab and a melon half cab. Kaden Kelly (MN) made Prior Lake proud in his first WWA Regional Championships taking the win with big W2W 180’s regular and switch along with big solid grabs that impressed the judges for a score of 90.00.

We were joined by some big names and big tricks in the surf competition. Taking the podium in third Zachary Haynes (WI) scored 65.83 with some big turns, slashing the lip with style. In second, Josh Mitchell (MI) threw a 360, a 180, and a switch shuv to score 80.00. One of the top names in wakesurfing Shane Blanton (WI) took the win, putting on a clinic with an alley-oop 360, big airs, a shuv, and a B/S bigspin to score 91.66.

A big shout out goes to Kira Lewis (NJ) who competed in all three events placing first in Surf, first in Wakeskate, and second in Girls Wakeboard.

Surf Gate Sunday was a blast, bringing out a crew of connoisseurs and first-time riders that jumped in on the fun after simply walking by on a whim. The next stop of the Malibu WWA Rider Experience heads to Peterborough, Ontario, Canada July 21–23! To learn more about this exciting rider development series visit https://www.thewwa.com/rider-experience-2017/.

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About Malibu: Malibu Boats is the world’s largest manufacturer of watersports towboats, owning over one-third of the worldwide market share. Malibu sells the Wakesetter, M235 and Response models — as well as the Axis Wake Research brand — through a global dealer network. With approximately 525 employees worldwide and three manufacturing facilities in California, Tennessee, and Australia, Malibu builds boats to help you live a #lifewithoutlimits on the water. [NASDAQ: MBUU] | @malibuboats | #evolutionproseries | Malibuboats.com.

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About The WWA: Developed for riders by riders, the World Wake Association stands as a global network of passionate representatives dedicated to the growth of towed boardsports. Since 1989 our mission and values remain true to the core of our community. Our position as the authority on competitive standards has been earned through consistent development; sanctioning and producing more than 6,000 worldwide events and counting. We are the only organization solely focused on the best interests of the sport, spearheading a collective movement on the journey to discover where wake takes you. The WWA owns and operates the WWA Wakeboard World Series, WWA Wake Park World Series, WWA Wakeboard National Championships, WWA Wake Park National Championships, WWA Wakeboard World Championships, WWA Wake Park World Championships, WWA Wake Park Triple Crown, WWA Pro Card and WWA Rider Experience. For more information on the World Wake Association, check out TheWWA.com.