Finals of 2003 MasterCraft European Wakeboard Pro Tour

Where has the year gone? Is it just me or has it really whizzed by so fast, still you know what they say "time flies when your having fun" and we have been having loads of fun this summer at great events all around Europe, then to put the icing on the cake we all gathered at La Grande Motte, France for the finals of the 2003 MasterCraft European Wakeboard Pro Tour. With top riders from 13 countries being represented, we knew we were in for some spectacular action …. and we were not disappointed!

The resort of La Grande Motte is located in the South of France about 5miles from Montpellier. On arrival the weather was just as predicted, 'hot' 'hot' 'hot' and a forecast of it getting even hotter, which it did, in fact the only two 'cool' spots on site were the air conditioned BIG RED MasterCraft Event Unit and of course, the mighty MasterCraft X-Star making its runs up and down the lake.

This was a Pro Tour finals with a difference, as well as the introduction of obstacles on this years tour, the first ever European Wakesk8 Championships were also being held at La Grande Motte and they had hooked up to join the Pro Tour making it one 'BIG Wakeboarding Extravaganza' giving the spectators a real treat, who by the way definitely had the best seats in the house, all sat in the shade of the tree lined lake, nice and cool and on-water action throughout the day, what more could anyone want? Oh yes of course, the fit young athletic men strutting their stuff for the girls and the bikini clad babes for the boys! - Oh Yeah, they were all there too!

By Thursday we had 80 riders on site and the air was buzzing with excitement as more riders arrived, registrations were being completed, practice sessions were being booked and baggage was being stored. The usual Pro Tour Team were all on sight, the X-Star was launched and fuelled, the obstacles anchored and generally ready to rock, although speaking on behalf of the whole team, setting up a sight in that kind of heat was certainly testing and huge amounts of bottled water were consumed by one and all, through the daytime hours at least, at night we usually opted to change our liquid intake to that of a different type!

A good number of the riders had opted to take the opportunity of riding in both events, giving themselves a great weeks riding and a double hit at the podium spots. The Wakesk8 events were run Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings and the Pro Tour in the afternoons, quite a schedule for officials and riders alike, but absolutely awesome for the spectators who had come to watch.

The Pro Tour heats kicked off at 1:00pm prompt each day and it wasn't long before the crowds were on their feet cheering on their favourite riders. In the Open Men's division Julien Bonnet (BEL) and Michael Callebert (BEL), strong contenders for the title were not quite having it all their own way, young Gael Kholi (SUI), Cedric Dhoedtd (BEL), Nikita Martianov (RUS) and two new faces to the tour Martin Blondel (FRA) and Tom Hannelius (FIN) were fighting hard, these boys were really going BIG!

The Pro Ladies division was well represented and whilst all the girls are good friends on the dock, it's pure adrenaline that kicks in when they get on the water. Caroline Jansson (SWE) rode well during the semi-finals but a disappointing run in the finals stole much needed points leaving her to settle for 5th place, leaving Andrea Fountain (NZ), Justine Charriere (SUI) and Emilie Gafner (SUI) fighting for 2nd, 3rd and 4th place whilst Louise Moore (GBR) rode her way to the head of the queue and take gold.

The Pro Men's division delivered every bit of excitement that was promised, all eyes were on the water as the big boys battled it out in the finals. Hot favourite and fresh from the number one podium spot at The Quays was Craig O'Meara (AUS), but try as he might and despite some awesome riding, Craig couldn't quite pull it all together and the top spots were left for Yann Calvez (FRA), Morgan Krasue (RSA), Mattias Koben (SUI) and Cyrille Cornaro (SUI). Being a 'home boy' the crowds went ballistic when Yann's name was called out as the winner of the Pro Men's division.
Still there were no hard feeling between any of the riders, the competition was hot, every single rider deserved a place at the top and everybody knew that just one mistake in their run could change the whole order of the day.

A huge amount of thanks are extended from Ian and myself for the whole team that worked together with us to bring this fantastic event to fruition. Colin Hart (Chief Judge), Alain Nieles (Assistant Judge), Giovani Bellini (Judge), Natalia Garcia (Judge), Stefano Duranti (Calculator), Martin James (Boat Driver), Sarah Murray (Jetty Marshall and very own personal Tour Translator), Johan Callebert (Boat Marshall), Tony Briggs (Tour Crew Co-ordinator), Lorenzo Dingen, Oliver Huntsman and Pat Byrne (Commentators), Lee Marsh (DJ & Sound Technician) and last but not least THE RIDERS, we don't have a tour without your support….Thanks everyone !

All in all this was a finals to remember and I have to say we were all sad to leave the beautiful town of La Grande Motte, but as they say all good things must come to an end, and the reason for this is so that you can go back and reflect on a wonderful week in the sun and then start to prepare for next 'Good Thing' the next 'Year' and the next 'MasterCraft European Wakeboard Pro Tour'….. See you then!