Red Bull Wake Lab to Make Big Splash in Arizona

Circle K Tempe Music Festival to Host Innovative Wakeboarding Competition

TEMPE, Ariz., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ — On April 3 and 4, the city of Tempe will play host to the biggest and most innovative wakeboarding event ever devised as Red Bull Wake Lab descends on Tempe Town Lake. Red Bull Wake Lab made its debut in Orlando, FL in September 2008, and was an instant success with riders and fans alike. Created as an experiment to see how far the boundaries of the sport of wakeboarding could be pushed, the groundbreaking event will now move to Tempe and will take place in conjunction with the Circle K Tempe Music Festival. Influenced by the design of the modern skateboarding skatepark and snowboarding snowpark, a massive “wakepark” was constructed to include a mix of hand and transfer rails, sliders, an elevated pool and a 16-foot high wall ride/quarterpipe. The result, a massive floating skatepark, dubbed “The Wake Lab,” allows riders to perform sets of tricks that were once impossible, raising the sport to new levels.

“Red Bull Wake Lab is pretty much a skatepark on water – something that’s never really been built before. We wanted to do an experiment in wakeboarding with multiple water levels, several rails, various transfer lines and a huge wall ride, so you could do pretty much whatever you want,” said Red Bull Wake Lab co-creator and world-renowned wakeboarder Parks Bonifay. “The event in Orlando was amazing – truly the next level in wakeboarding, and I’m excited to take it even further in Arizona.”

In order to evolve the sport and create new experiences for riders, a new technology needed to be introduced to take full advantage of the revolutionary wakepark structure. This came to fruition when the “The Wake Lab” was coupled with the Sesitec System 2.0 overhead pulley system. No boats are needed to tow the wakeboarders, as this revolutionary pulley system allows athletes to take two full runs (back and forth) across the wakepark’s various rails, pools, sliders and wall. The system made its US competition debut at Red Bull Wake Lab in Orlando.

Parks Bonifay, X Games Gold medalist and five-time Pro Tour Champion, hand-selected 24 wakeboarders to compete in this new format. Twelve of the 24 riders, known as the “invitees,” which include Red Bull athletes JD Webb, Adam Errington and Parks Bonifay himself, will automatically advance to the semifinals. The other 12 “qualifiers” will compete in two rounds of qualifying sessions with only the top eight advancing to the semifinals.

Four Arizona locals will also get a chance to compete with wakeboarding’s best at Red Bull Wake Lab as “wildcards.” The Lodge Urban Rail Jam on March 7 in Scottsdale will award the top four competing athletes with entry into the qualifying round of Red Bull Wake Lab. Arizona’s top wakeboarders, from the “Outlaw Riders” to the Arizona State University WakeDevils, will throw down on a water course in the parking lot of The Lodge in Scottsdale. The four top locals will advance to compete as wildcards against the 12 “qualifiers” for one of the eight spots in the Red Bull Wake Lab semifinals. For more info on The Lodge Urban Rail Jam visit www.scottsdalelodge.com.

Athletes participating in Red Bull Wake Lab include:

    INVITEE LIST
    1.  Parks Bonifay
    2.  Aaron Rathy
    3.  Oliver Derome
    4.  JD Webb
    5.  Keith Lidberg
    6.  Collin Harrington
    7.  Shawn Watson
    8.  Shane Bonifay
    9.  Chad Sharpe
    10. Danny Harf
    11. Adam Errington
    12. Tom Foshee

    QUALIFIER LIST
    1.  Gabe Lucas
    2.  Yannick Tibo
    3.  Keith Lyman
    4.  Robbie Jacques
    5.  Rusty Malinoski
    6.  Erik Ruck
    7.  Philip Soven
    8.  Clay Fletcher
    9.  Mike Ennen
    10. Shaun Murray
    11. Kevin Henshaw
    12. Jimmy Lariche
    13. Local Wildcard
    14. Local Wildcard
    15. Local Wildcard
    16. Local Wildcard

A ticket for the 2009 Circle K Tempe Music Festival is required to attend Red Bull Wake Lab. Tickets can be purchased at www.livenation.com, www.tempemusicfestival.com, Dodge Theatre Box Office, Tempe Market Place Guest Services or by phone at 1-800-594-TIXX. Advance tickets will be priced at $35.00 and will increase to $45.00 the week of the festival. Special VIP tickets are available for $100 each day. Promotional discounts of up to $5.00 off tickets are also available at local Circle K stores. For complete ticketing information go to www.livenation.com.

For complimentary images post-event, visit www.redbull-photofiles.com. A brief video overview of the Red Bull Wake Lab event in Orlando can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpcZJDcFkWw

SOURCE Red Bull North America