Danny Harf © Expn.com

MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour: Stop #3

Stop #3 -- Kelowna, B.C. Canada/ July 8-9, 2006

Known for its enormous crowds, Kelowna's Wake Fest is the event with the highest attendance on the Pro Tour. However, challenging conditions on an open lake make for some interesting machups in the rough water. With over 25,000 people in attendance on Saturday (and 5,000 left outside the gate), riders were ready to put on a show and have a good time. The pro riders socialized with the enthusiastic Canadian locals at numerous parties set up throughout the weekend, including a poker challenge for top pro riders set up by PartyPoker.net and a Coors Light sponsored beer tent that raged all day long.

Maintaining the battle for the Junior Rip It JX season title between Adam Errington and Jimmy LaRiche, Errington was victorious in Kelowna, proving he can ride well in any kind of conditions, a valuable asset for an up-and-coming future pro competitor. WakeBoaridng Magazine's 2005 Wakeskater of the Year, George "Goose" Daniels was able to out ride Canadian ripper Aaron Rathy, with a solid 360 shove-it and switch frontside big spin. Daniels proved to his contemporaries that "The Goose Is Loose" -- a now popular phrase in the wakeskating world.

The pro men final ended up a bit anti-climactic, when the first rider, Shane Bonifay, damaged his knee on the transfer box, leaving the door wide open for Danny Harf, who still put on a show for the roaring crowd with a frontside 270 degree spin onto the transfer rail. Danny then rode away to his second straight Pro Tour victory, with the Portland stop just six days away.

Pro Men Wakeboarding Finals (seeds in parenthesis)
(1) Danny Harf def. (5) Shane Bonifay

Semifinals
(5) Shane Bonifay def. (3) Rusty Malinoski
(1) Danny Harf def. (7) Philip Soven

Quarterfinals
(5) Shane Bonifay def. (1) Andrew Adkison
(3) Rusty Malinoski def. (7) Tino Santori
(1) Danny Harf def. (4) Brett Eisenhauer
(7) Philip Soven def. (6) Trevor Hansen

Pro Wakeskate Finals
1 George Daniels   USA    73.33
2 Aaron Rathy       CAN   53.33 Jr Men Wakeboard Finals
1 Adam Errington 57.22
2 Bradey Price 53.44
3 Ryan Anderson 45.67
4 Jimmy LaRiche 44.56
5 Nick Jones 42.56
5 Robby Carter 42.11
7 Danny Thollander 39.78
8 Bryan Hutton 15.67