The Australian Pro Tour of Wakeboarding Begins Third Season
Friday 7 January 2005

Some of the world’s best wakeboarders are currently arriving downunder to compete in the 2005 Australian Pro Tour of Wakeboarding, the nation’s biggest extreme sports event.

The APTW is a six-event circuit which takes place at national locations during January and February 2005. The event’s first stop launches this weekend in Mulwala NSW, which has attracted international and local riders to compete for the prestigious title.

In addition to the Mulwala stop, the 2005 APTW will hold events in Adelaide, Melbourne, Port Macquarie, Gold Coast and Nowra attracting thousands of wakeboarding enthusiasts to attend each stop.

Fans will not only see the best wakeboarding in Australia but will get to view the best athletes in the world compete on tour.

International riders Daniel Watkins, Brett (Ike) Eisenhauer and Josh Sanders have all travelled to Australia to compete in this year’s event. Young hotshot Dean Smith (Cronulla) will be trying his hand again in 2005, after blowing minds in ’04 when he won the first event of the season in his rookie year against his idols. Since then, Smith has won the Asian X Games and finished an amazing 5th on the APTW.

Current world series and world cup champion wakeboarder, Daniel Watkins will be competing to defend his title in the APTW and believes that the tour is essential for the survival of wakeboarding in Australia. "Nothing beats coming home to compete on the APTW. This is a great way of giving back to the young riders and guiding them in their dreams of travelling the world doing what they love doing, just like I’ve been lucky enough to do." Watkins started his wakeboarding career in VIC and currently holds the titles of 2 x APTW Champion, 4 x Australian National Champion, WWA World Series Champion and IWSF World Cup Champion.

Director of the Pro Tour, Bruce Robson is a major influencer in the sport and has been an ambassador in the wakeboarding scene since the sport began more than 15 years ago. "From its humble beginnings of surfboards behind tinnies, wakeboarding has grown to be a legit action sport in a short time. We now have 4 Australian riders in the world’s top 10, including the number 1, we’ll produce 6 x ½ hour TV specials of the tour’s action this year and more than 30,000 fans will come and witness our events live. Plus, it all revolves around water, boats and the Aussie summer!"

Dates of the APTW events are as follows:

8 January – CUB Freestyle Sports Expo Mulwala NSW

16 January – Wake Adelaide, Glenelg SA

6 February – J Star Ride & Slide, Melbourne VIC

13 February – Ride & Slide Stoney Park, Port Macquarie NSW

20 February – Planet X Wake Slam Jam, Gold Coast QLD

26 February – Australian Open of Wakeboarding, Nowra NSW

About The Australian Pro Tour of Wakeboarding: The APTW is now in its third year, with six national events gathered under the wing of the APTW. Attracting riders from around the world to compete, the Australian Pro Tour is the most important proceeding for the sport outside the USA.

For more information on the Pro Tour, visit the APTW online wakeboarding directory at www.wake.com.au or the Australian Pro Tour website at www.wakeboarding.com.au