Wakestock’s final day in Collingwood, Ontario Canada couldn’t have been scripted any better by Hollywood. The Super Finals of the Wakestock WWA World Series Pro Wakeboard presented by Monster Energy, Billabong and Nautique Boats came down to four past Wakestock champions: Bob Soven, Harley Clifford, Aaron Rathy and Phil Soven. And the Wakestock Billabong Pro Wakeskate Finals presented by Monster Energy and Nautique Boats came down to a battle between past Wakestock champions Grant Roberts vs Brian Grubb!
First off the dock was Boysen followed by Balzer. With Canadian fans cheering their home boys, Boysen and Balzer threw down their best tricks, but were unable to stomp clean runs. Then it was Grubb’s turn! He had struggled in his qualification heat, but delivered his trademark smooth style for the finals with the highest scoring run of the event so far, an amazing 83.33. With the pressure on, Roberts delivered another consistent, strong run, but it was not enough to out point Grubb. And so Brian Grubb nabbed his incredible 6th Wakestock Billabong Pro Wakeskate title, with Roberts 2nd, Balzer 3rd and Boysen 4th. See full results below.
The Wakestock Billabong Pro Wakeskate holds a special place in wake history as wakeskating’s first major pro event back in 1999 helping to legitimize and elevate wakeskating in the early years, and so its status and its prestigious Wakestock Championship belt had special meaning for Grubb. “I’m always stoked to come back to Wakestock. I always like to support the original wakeskate contest,” said Grubb. “The conditions were a little variable throughout the weekend, everybody in the finals got out there and put a few tricks down. It was a fun weekend for sure and I’m happy to get my first win of the year up here at Wakestock.”
With a break for Swollen Members and the Miss Wakestock Bikini Contest it was time for the Wakestock WWA World Series Wakeboard Finals between the Soven bros, Clifford and Rathy. Each had claimed the Wakestock title in the one of the previous four years, and Clifford and Phil Soven were neck and neck in the 2011 World Series Championship ranking coming in to Wakestock.
Rathy was first off the dock. Just back from major knee surgery Rathy has been on a tear of late making finals in his last three pro events. Rathy scored76.67 in the semi-finals, the 2nd best result behind Phil Soven’s high score of 85.00. So Rathy knew it would take a bigger run to win, but now there was some wind chop to deal with. On his first trick he threw a massive cab 720. He stuck it but then sketched out as he tried to control his speed out through the flats bouncing off some chop. That fall caused him to missed the big funbox rail, and he was consequently forced to jam in the rest of his tricks plus hit the rails. He nailed his Toeside 540 on the start of his 2nd pass and hit both rails clean and smooth, but fell on his last trick, a Toeside 7. His score was 50.00.
Next was Clifford who had been smooth and consistent through all of his qualifying. Like Rathy, Clifford went for a big trick off the get go with a huge nose grab crow mobe 5, but crashed, which like Rathy, caused him to forgo the funbox rail. But undeterred Clifford stomped the rest of his run clean, including a Toeside 9, Backside 7, a crow mobe 5, and was ultra smooth and tech on the rails. His score 76.67 – the new high score to beat!
The always dangerous Soven brothers hit the water next, Bob first, then big bro Phil as the last rider. Bob stomped a run that was combined both tech and style throwing down a toeside 9, toeside 7, heelside 7 and crow mobe 5, but his score of 60.00 was not enough to catch Clifford. Now it was down to Phil a 2-time past Wakestock champ and one of the most consistently dangerous contest riders on the planet. But with two falls, one in each pass, Phil had a rare off run falling on a toeside 7 and a crow mobe 5, settling for a score of 50.00 points, his lowest of the contest and 4th place in the finals. See full results below.
Harley Clifford claimed the Wakestock win and a commanding lead in the WWA World Series Championship rankings! “I’m super pumped on the win,” claimed Clifford. “The event was awesome; Wakestock is always one of the biggest events of the year, so it’s always fun to come up here. I’m stoked to be in the lead in the World Series going into the last stop. Phil [Soven] ended up fourth so I have a pretty big lead; hopefully I can win the overall title. With the win last weekend at the WWA US Nationals and the win this weekend, I’m feeling confident right now and riding well so I’m looking for the win at the WWA Worlds at the end of the month.”
“It was a great weekend; there was a good turnout of riders and it was the biggest crowd the year I’ve ridden in front of,” said Aaron Rathy. “It was myself, Bob [Soven], Phil [Soven] and Harley [Clifford] so it was a stacked final and everybody threw down. I’m stoked on third place with such a high quality of riding.”
In between the final wakeboard and wakeskate rounds Wakestock fans had plenty to keep them occupied including:
The WWA Wakeboard World Series is the solely owned property of the World Wakeboard Association (WWA). The WWA also owns and operates the WWA Wake Park Triple Crown, WWA Wakeboard National Championships, WWA Wakeboard World Championships, WWA Wake Park World Series, and WWA Wake Park Nationals. With 27 affiliate countries worldwide, the WWA is the global leader in the sport of wake. The WWA is a rider-formed organization dedicated to promoting and growing wake sports worldwide. It is the leading source for riders, event organizers and competitive standards. For more information on the WWA and its events, check out www.thewwa.com
