The 2021 Wakeboarding Hall of Fame induction class includes some of the sport’s most influential and notable visionaries from wake sport’s earliest years before the sports were accepted as popular action sports of today.

On September 10, 2021, in Orlando Florida, the Wakeboarding Hall of Fame will induct eleven new members including pioneering athletes Shane Bonifay, Emily Copeland Durham, Jeff Heer, Jeremy Kovak early sport innovators Tom James, Doug Dukane, and Tom Carter and a new wake surfing category for surfing visionaries Gary Warren and boat builder Rick Lee.  The 2021 class also includes lifetime achievement recognition for pioneering wakeboarders Cathy Williams and Todd Weatherill.  Images can be downloaded here.

Each year, the Wakeboarding Hall of Fame fields nominations and through a panel of veteran industry leaders confirms the prestigious class of inductees that will be bestowed the eternal honor of becoming a Wakeboarding Hall of Fame member.

The Wakeboarding Hall of Fame will permanently enshrine these new members into its hallowed halls with well-known current members such as Scott Byerly, Herb O’Brien, Jimmy Redmon, Shaun Murray, Parks Bonifay, Walt Meloon and Darin Shapiro just to name a few (view the complete list here).

The induction ceremony honoring both the 2020 and 2021 classes as well as unrecognized members from previous classes will be held at Harry Buffalo Bar and Restaurant 129 W Church St, Orlando, Florida on Friday, September 10 at 7:00pm. The Wakeboarding Hall of Fame Facebook page will livestream the ceremony for those that cannot attend.

The Wakeboarding Hall of Fame incorporates the freedom and free spirit of the sideways stance movement.  The IRS designated 501(c)3 non-profit is managed by its Board of Directors, which currently includes industry veterans Mike Weddington, Jeff Barton, Shaun Moore, Tommy Phillips, Corrie Wilson, Chris Bank, Brannon Meek, Jimmy Redmon, Robert Absher, Shannon Starling, Joe Pearson, Jim Emmons and Steven Fisher who among others have pledged to honor wake sport’s iconic history including its most influential participants and contributors and to honor and preserve the legacy of wake sports for generations to come.

Anyone interested is encouraged to visit WakeboardingHallofFame.com where they’ll get more information about the Wakeboarding Hall of Fame mission, its current members, entertaining archived content and how philanthropic contributors can make an annual tax-deductible donation that will one day lead to a museum enshrining inductees and housing wake sport’s most historical memorabilia and artifacts. For more information, contact Mike Weddington at (919) 673-7393 or Jim Emmons at (407) 719-8062 or info@WakeboardingHallofFame.com.

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About the Wakeboarding Hall of Fame:  The Wakeboarding Hall of Fame’s mission is to honor and preserve the history of wakeboarding sports and to celebrate its pioneers and innovators while displaying significant artifacts for admirers to view and commemorate, both digitally and in physical locations.  The Wakeboarding Hall of Fame was established in 2014 by industry visionaries that saw a need for honoring and preserving the history wake sports.  In 2017, the Wakeboarding Hall of Fame received IRS non-profit 501(c)3 status as an educational institution with a tax-deductible designation.  Donations are encouraged.