Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By NATHAN HOWELL | Staff Writer

PELHAM – The Supra Boats Pro Wakeboard Tour is set to bring a day of exciting competition and family fun to Oak Mountain State Park on July 10.

This year marks the 29th anniversary of the tour, which is the longest-running professional wakeboard competition in the world.

The tour made their first stop in Katy, Texas on June 12 and now moves to OMSP for the second event on July 10.

The event will see the top 16 professional wakeboarders in the world competing for the championship. Those competing the in the competition include the eight highest-ranked competitors from 2020 and eight who had the best runs submitted through the organization’s digital qualifier.

There will also be a Junior Pro Wakeboard competition that will showcase the talents of younger athletes during the season.

“We are looking forward to the 2021 Pro Tour, the evolution of the online events as well as getting back to seeing these athletes compete live again, nothing beats witnessing that level of riding in person,” PWT Director Chris Bischoff said.

Athletes at the competition include Nic Rapa, the 2020 overall winner; Cory Teunissen, Tyler Higham, Shota Tezuka, Guenther Oka, Fynn Bullock, Jake Hill, Jake Pelot, Harley Clifford, Mike Dowdy, Massimiliano Piffaretti, Thomas Herman, Ulf Ditsch, Sam Brown, Luca Kidd and Tony Iacconi.

After not competing for nearly two years, these athletes are primed get out and compete and provide an entertaining day for guests at the event.

“I’m really excited to get back to live events and feel the fans and feel the excitement, and feeling anxious around an event. There are so many raw feelings that you do feel on a competition day. You miss that without the fans and you miss that without people standing on shore,” Teunissen said.

Bischoff said that PWT chose OMSP to host this event because of its size, beauty and the quality of the lake as a venue to draw an expected 1,000-2,000 spectators.

The event is free to the public with OMSP admission. Those interested in attending can find more information at Prowaketour.com.