First Year of Between The Bridges Goes Off With a Bang

The Between the Bridges Festival kicked off on the Tennessee River Aug. 12th & 13th with two stages, 14 bands, 100 riders, and a perfect location. There was plenty of seating for the 10,000-person crowd with grassy knolls and seating facing a stage and the water. Wakeboarders rode between the bridges while a variety of live bands played in front of them. Chattanooga, otherwise known as “The River City” literally has everything oriented around the water, making it an ideal place to wakeboard. There was a backdrop of Tennessee’s first bridge ever built and the landscape of downtown Chattanooga.
            Saturday started out hectic and rainy, but once the groms kicked off and the sun came out, the rest of the day went smooth. People traveled far and wide to compete in this contest. A bluegrass band started playing right as the outlaws started and Bryan Hutton won by a landslide after pulling off a 900. Matt Sims and Austin Hair followed close behind in the really tough two heats. In the Outlaw Last Chance Qualifiers, Aaron Hale and Phillip Aslinger squeezed in. Congratulations to Davis Little for winning first place in the Groms division, his first win ever! As the day wound down, people came filing in for Perpetual Groove. They played for about an hour and a half until the city shut down, but the crowd was so dedicated they probably would’ve stuck around for them all night. After parties started up on yachts along the river and boats were milling around in the dark. The Budweiser Budman even jumped off the end of the pier to cap off the night. 
            Sunday started out sunny, not as humid, and the water conditions were a little better. There was a free raffle, free ice cream, more people, and a funnel cake eating contest. The day ran fluidly with Advanced Finals, Outlaw Finals, and wakeskating. Phillip Aslinger’s leaping raley off of his wakeskate where he landed about 15 ft. away from his board was a real crowd pleaser, but Russell Brightwell won the actual heat. Water conditions got a little bit choppier, but it seemed like it didn’t affect Austin Hair’s wakeskate run at all—he still stuck clean wake-to-wake grabs and shuvs. In the Outlaw Finals, Matt Sims clearly took the win after landing huge inverts in choppy conditions. He took home $800 in prize money and was brought on stage minutes before the Violent Femmes played. In the intermediate finals, Jordan Jenkins won a brand new CWB board and bindings for first place. The day ended with the Violent Femmes rocking out for two hours and people were flocking in all day and shaking their booties. The Budweiser Budman got banned from Ross Landings Pier for jumping off of it too many times and the winners of the Advanced, Outlaw, and wakeskate divisions went home with money in their pockets.
The laid-back atmosphere, perfect location, and Tennessee hospitality made Between the Bridges really pop. For the first year that Between the Bridges existed, it proved to be a widely successful event that will only be better next year. The WWA would like to thank Mastercraft, CWB, Budweiser, Oakley, Red Bull, the Violent Femmes and all the local bands that played, Doug Wheelock, David Schwind, and Aaron Long for making Between the Bridges possible. Come back next year for a bigger and better event!
RESULTS:

Outlaw Finals

1. Matt Sims
2. Austin Hair
3. Aaron Hale
4. Phillip Aslinger
5. Bryan Hutton
6. Daniel Walden

Advanced Finals

1. Troy Ogburn
2. Justin Jenkins
3. Cale Middleton
4. Wayne McLaughlin
5. Patrick Dennison
6. Brand Driver
7. Patrick Prantl
8. Samuel Adams

Wakeskate Finals

1. Austin Hair
2. Russell Brightwell
3. Eric Buonanotte

For any questions regarding this release, please contact the World Wakeboard Association at 407-362-7841 or visit www.thewwa.com.