Cable wakeboarder Ian Reed takes flight. (Photo courtesy USA Water Ski)

Cable wakeboarder Ian Reed takes flight. (Photo courtesy USA Water Ski)



POLK CITY, Fla. — The American Wakeboard Association, the wakeboarding sport division of USA Water Ski, has announced plans for the first U.S. Cable Wakeboarding Tour. The series of competitions will travel through four cities this summer and feature the nation's top cable wakeboarding athletes.

Cable wakeboarding is a hybrid of wakeboarding that uses a continuous loop cable system, typically on a man-made lake. Although only a few cable parks exist in the United States, there are more than 80 cable parks in Europe, where cable wakeboarding tournaments attract as many as 20,000 spectators.

Dates and locations for the 2002 Cable Wakeboard Tour are: May 11 at Ski Rixen in Deerfield Beach, Fla.; June 8 at Smith Lake Water Park, in Fayetteville, N.C.; August 4 at Orlando Watersports Complex, in Orlando, Fla.; and September 14 at Texas Ski Ranch, in New Braunfels, Texas.

"The purpose in launching the tour is to build interest in the sport of cable wakeboarding in the United States," said David Cornwall, the series organizer. "The first season will be pretty casual, but if we do well, [the event] will get bigger and better each and every year — that's my vision."

The events will be open to participants of all age divisions, as well as Open Men and Women. Cash awards will be given at each tournament. In addition, an athlete's points will carry over to each tournament they participate in, and overall awards will be awarded at the end of the tour.