DailyWake

[Champion Wakeboarders Shane Bonifay and Shaun Murray to Compete]

Date: 10/16/07
Step Up Productions Press Release

NEW YORK – The AST Dew Tour, the world’s premier season-long action sports tour, will host a Wakeboard Rail Jam as a specialty competition with coordination from MasterCraft during the upcoming PlayStation Pro in Orlando, Florida. Ten talented riders will show off their best tricks during the rail jam from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 19. The fifth and final stop of the 2007 AST Dew Tour, the PlayStation Pro, takes place October 18-21 at Orlando’s Amway Arena.

“With the best riders in the country and largest transportable pool, this is bound to be the featured attraction in Festival Village,” said Wade Martin, President of the AST Dew Tour.

The wakeboarders will compete in a pool that is 102 feet long, 50 feet wide and 4 feet deep. Located in the Festival Village area outside the arena, it will take about four days to build the pool and fill it with nearly 120,000 gallons of water.

AST Dew Tour Rail Jam invited athletes include Shane Bonifay, 23, of Orlando, who recently completed the first ever toeside backside 720 in competition. He will join fellow Orlando competitor Shaun Murray, 31, who is known for his ability to boost huge airs. Bonifay won Best Trick for his move and Murray won Biggest Air at the recent Parks’ Double Or Nothing contest in Lake Wales, Florida. They will join riders Collin Harrington, 25, Josh Palma, 22, and Shawn Watson, 25, of Orlando. Canadian Aaron Rathy, 19, Australian Brett Eisenhauer, 30, Keith Lidberg, 26, of Twin Cities, Minn., Australian Josh Sanders, 26, and Jeff House, 20 of Lenoir City, Tenn. are among the athletes competing.

There will be two heats with five riders each. Each rider will be allowed three pulls, and the best run counts. The top two riders from each heat advance to the finals, where the best score wins. First place takes home $3,000 out of the total $10,500 prize purse in this World Wakeboard Association sanctioned event.

Currently in its third year, the AST Dew Tour is the most watched and attended action sports property in the world. Attendance for the 2006 AST Dew Tour totaled nearly 250,000 and an average of 38 million viewers tuned in via NBC and USA each year.

The top athletes in the world will take part in this year’s Tour, all competing for the highly coveted Dew Cup which will be awarded in Orlando at season’s end to champions in each of the six disciplines. The 2006 Dew Cup winners include Nate Adams (Freestyle Motocross), Jamie Bestwick (BMX Vert), Anthony Napolitan (BMX Dirt), Daniel Dhers (BMX Park), Bucky Lasek (Skateboard Vert) and Ryan Sheckler (Skateboard Park).