Kentucky Tour Stop - Sovens Win

Day 1 Results: http://www.wakeworld.com/getarticle.asp?articleid=2348
Day 2 Results: http://www.wakeworld.com/getarticle.asp?articleid=2349

congrats to Soven, nice to see him on the podium again.

If Rathy hits a 9 on the dub, is he still in first? I see why it's got to be tough to be the first to hit a 10 in a comp, high risk, high reward. Congrats to him for trying to stick it.

"Riders didn't hold anything back in the semis, especially rookie phenom Harley Clifford, who laid down an impressive run featuring 17 different tricks."

Holy s*#%!! I'd like to see the list of what he threw in that semis run. Thats impressive.

Updated Pro Tour Rankings: http://www.wakeworld.com/getarticle.asp?articleid=2260
Updated KOW Rankings: http://www.wakeworld.com/getarticle.asp?articleid=2206
Updated Jr. Pro Men Rankings: http://www.wakeworld.com/getarticle.asp?articleid=2261

I believe that the reason Rathy went for the 10 today is that he knew he was behind in tech and rails and had nothing to loose. A 9 on the double-up or even a successful 10 would not have made him number 1.

+1^^ At that point he had nothing to lose. I believe that that the first 1080 in a comp will be landed under similar circumstances. A rider who is contending for the top spot on the podium won't go for such a high risk trick, because first and foremost they want to go for the win. The ultimate glory of landing the 10 is nice, but money in the bank, and protecting your ranking is even nicer.

Remember last year when Amber landed the first 7 in a ladies comp. She did it on her bonus trick, which is analogous to the men's double up. Amber got the glory, but Nicola got the win. It was the same situation here. Rathy probably would not have won even with a 1080.

A very impressive semis and finals. I have to admit I am not a fan of throwing lots of tricks. As impressive as it was that Haley threw 17 tricks it was not that great t watch. Give me Dean's or Rathey's huge tricks into the flats any day to a slalom course type run with lots of tricks.. Soven looked great and Rusty too.

I know a lot of the fans who aren't that up on tech tricks like the big trics much more than the techie no air tricks. Reminded me of trick skiing.

Harley told me before he left that he had been riding within himself and that he was really going to throw down this weekend.

How you throw 17 tricks in 2 passes and still hit both obstacles is beyond me??It's normally around 5,maybe 6 tricks a pass.How long was the course?

I agree with Roger as well. From a spectators point of view people like Dean are much more exciting to watch. Not going to make a living though .

Looking at the overall standings, how is it that AA is only in 5th place?? He has made the podium in EVERY stop except Kentucky and the Wake Games, where is placed 4th. I don't see how Soven or Rusty should be above him in the rankings.

It's because of the Chase points that the top 10 are given after Nationals. Basically, what it does is tighten up the top ten at that point in the season. It ends up favoring riders that do better after they add the Chase points and hurting riders that do worse after the Chase points are added. Andrew would have been much better off to miss a final before the Chase points were added rather than after.

As you can see from the rankings we put in the parentheses, Andrew would still be ranked #2 if the Chase points weren't involved. He definitely got the biggest shaft (lost 3 spots) while Phillip and Harley gained (1 and 2 spots respectively). Trevor Hansen gained the most by jumping up three spots from #9 to #6.

I don't understand that either. Has Rusty even made the podium?

Rusty won Wake Games, didn't he?

I remember the merits of the Chase pts being discussed last year on WW. I think it is both stupid and unfair. Why can the results not determine the standings? (like in every other sport)

Maybe somebody can explain it. Is it to stop somebody running away with it?

I might be wrong, but I think the basic concept is to make sure there is still a race for the top position all the way through the end of the season. I think it's modeled after NASCAR where the season is sort of broken into two halves. The first is a race to make the top ten and the last is the race amongst the top ten. However, it gives the #10 guy a new opportunity to win the whole thing even though he wouldn't have had that chance otherwise. I'm not sure what the motivation is for any drivers/riders that are out of the top ten after they re-shuffle and add the Chase points.

I can see how this would add some excitement at the top if there were one or two riders running away with it every year, but I'm not sure that's the case with wakeboarding. I know that if I were Andrew Adkison, I would not be too pleased that all my hard work got flushed down the toilet!

Harley went home and skipped the Nationals and is 20 points off the leader? And Andrew? Having the season of his life and has dropped down to 5th. Terrific system.

i agree, doesnt make any sense at all to me. Bit of a slap in the face to the riders who earned their rankings all season