The Changing Face of Pro Tour 2000 – Women Skiers Back, Wakeboarders Sliding to New Heights
Orlando, FL – Marking its 17th season as the premier professional
water-sports tour, the U.S. Pro Water Ski & Wakeboard Tour is launching a
whole new look and feel for ‘Pro Tour 2000.’ With the reemergence of the
superstars of women’s skiing and wakeboarders now hitting launch ramps and
rail slides, the U.S. Pro Water Ski & Wakeboard Tour presented by
MasterCraft promises sports action never seen before.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will host the season opener April 1-2 at
Mills Pond Park. The tour picks up two weeks later with the Hang Ten Open in
Orlando. Pro Tour 2000 will have eight stops throughout the U.S. and Canada,
with the finals slated for Vancouver, British Columbia, in late July.
Three new cities are on dock for the New Year. Greenville, North
Carolina, will host the Overton’s Water Ski Classic on Lake Kristi. Athletes
can expect to see world-class record-breaking conditions. Oklahoma City and
Hartford return to the Pro Tour schedule. The last time the Pro Tour visited
Hartford was 1998, but it’s been 11 years since Oklahoma City has hosted an
event.
The marquee events of men and women’s wakeboarding, men’s jumping
and men’s slalom will be joined this year by women’s slalom and women’s jump
in most cities.
‘The consensus was that the ideal time to launch the women skiers
back on the Pro Tour would in 2000,’ says Terrence Dorner, head of the Pro
Tour. ‘We think this is an exciting time for women’s sports and specifically
women’s water skiing. The talent level is out there. The level of
competition will be extremely high.’
Women stars you can expect to compete include Kristi Overton
Johnson, Toni Neville and Susi Graham. Rhoni Barton, April Coble and Karen
Truelove comprise a list of young stars looking for a break-out year.
Four-time world champion Helena Kjellander will also be a factor as she
battles her way back from injury.
The change in the format for wakeboarding will take the sport to new
heights. Beginning this year, the course will include three obstacles for
the riders to ‘hit’ in addition to their air trick runs. On a course
designed similarly to a street course in skateboarding, the rider will have
access to a slider, a kicker and Pro Tour’s jump ramp converted to an
intense takeoff platform for the riders.
The new format may make it difficult to predict a winner each
weekend, but defending champion Shaun Murray and 18-year-old Parks Bonifay
— the rider Time magazine once compared to Tiger Woods — should be near
the top. In women’s wakeboarding, Tara Hamilton and last year’s two top
rookies, Emily Copeland and Maeghan Major, will fight it out for the title.
Men’s slalom star Andy Mapple will go into the 2000 season with more
than 125 career wins and looking for more. And in men’s jumping, a group
known as the ‘Fab Five’ will again battle it out for the title. This elite
group of jumpers includes Jaret Llewellyn, Bruce Neville, Scot Ellis, Curtis
Sheers and Freddy Krueger.
For more information on Pro Tour 2000, visit our Web site at
www.prowaterskitour.com or www.prowakeboardtour.com.
U.S. Pro Water Ski & Wakeboard Tour presented by MasterCraft – 2000 Schedule
Dates City Venue
April 1-2 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Mills Pond Park
April 15-16 Orlando, FL (Hang Ten Open) Orlando Watersports Complex
May 20-21 Greenville, NC (Overton’s Classic) Lake Kristi
June 3-4 Oklahoma City, OK Lake Draper
June 10-11 Hartford, CT Batterson Park
June 17-18 Detroit, MI Island Lake State
Park
July 15-16 Portland, OR Blue Lake Park
July 22-23 Abbotsford, Vancouver, Canada Albert Dyck Park