Riders Choice Awards

How does everyone feel about the RC Awards results this year. Better than last year in my opinion.

Couple of things: (just observations)

Byerly managed to make top 10 wakeboarders. He is da man, but these days, would he even be in the top 50? Beside that, I'm happy with the results but I'm curious what influences these picks. Another example: I think Shaun Murray is arguably the best rider, but, he didn't really ride this year. I guess I can't disagree with giving him 5th place for 2005 out of respect.

Wakeboard of the year: This one surprised me. This week there was a post about Premier Vs. Substance Vs. Absolute, and the Absolute seemed to dominate, yet, CWB didn't have a board mentioned. I don't know many people that like that board, and very few that like the Parks board for that matter.

I was suprised that the Absolute wasn't on there. Also a little suprised that the VLX moved above the SAN. Somebody should tell Wakester that he must have got a lemon aid boat because there are a lot of BU fans out there. As for Byerly, Murray, and heck even Parks being numero uno without the big wins, this shows the respect these guys get due to their impact on the sport. Popularity contest....yes, but it's fun to vote and see how you did. I'd be interested to see the results if Wake.au did something like this.

J-rod ~ I was just going to post up a post just like this. I couldn't agree with you more. How does Byerly make the top ten? I don't know. I also agree with you on the board of the year. Crazy! Another thing was the wakeskate... Who has a Bi-level? They are having so much trouble with these decks and it gets the wakeskate of the year. I'd like to know how many people have had the chance to ride one.

BTW..in the event this gets out of control, I want to first thank Dave for providing this survey/contest. I do enjoy it.

I am not that happy with the RC. There are so many sick riders that had good years that did not even make the top ten(Rusty,Lyman)!!!! Soven with most improved rider??????? Rusty came out of know where and won 3 or 4 pro comps this year!!!! HYPErlite premier board of the year! HYPErlite took all three wakesurf boards????? People need to stop jockin Pointless and HYPErlite and open there eyes!!!!!




Sorry!!! lost it there for a min.

(Message edited by bigpapaf1f on September 01, 2005)

(Message edited by bigpapaf1f on September 01, 2005)

basically how i see this working is: people decide who there favorite riders are, what board/bindings/wakesurf/wakeskate board they have, what boat they have, and thats what they mark down. that makes total sense to me. so everything is very biased. personally i rock a 2003 billy mckee, its probably the best board i have ever ridden so far (i reccomend giving it a whirl), but since its made by blindside, a more not so known company people arent going to vote for it, nor will they buy it. im sure you all saw it this way as well.

hey dont cuss PL theyr still rippin and pushin the sport...does byerly even wakeboard anymore????....if you have ridden the bi level you would know why its the best....mad pop...soven is the most improved rider tho....he shot all the way to the top....took the 1st pro tour...WWA Nationals....2nd at the X-games...has come the closest to landing a 1080 since parks....i do agree tho that rusty should have been on the list....phew....im done w/ my spiel

You only said what many are thinking.

Rusty definitely should have been most improved. Soven improved too, but you're right about Rusty.

I also think Ike should have been in there. If he had a HL pro model, do you think he would be in the top 10?

thats the thing with up and coming riders AND gear companies. everyone still remembers byerly/parks/murray. and names like HL/LF. I personally didn't vote for a skate. I'm sure others picked the lastest thing: bi-level. last year was HL's gate. Inland surfer has best surfer for '04. And I've never ridden a CWB, so even though they were one of the most innovative board companies in '05, w/ their limited market, i havent' ridden one yet. makes them tough to vote for

how did adkison get 3rd on most improved, didnt he win it all last year and sucked it up this year. I think that is most un-improved. I dont know about parks byerly and murray being on the top boarders. Murray doesnt compete, parks sucked this year and when was the last time byerly even strapped on a wakeboard.

I don't think we need to bash the riders.

Parks didn't suck. He was injured and maybe even unchallenged. Didn't he win the tour last year riding switch?

Murray just took a year off and then was injured.

I am suprised with the results, allthough I am a fan of hyperlite as a company an Parks as a rider too I didn't expect to see them at the top in almost every catagegory... I have seen a lot of CWB's coming up and Parks not being on the tour I thought would have given way to other riders...

Also the Wakesurf boards, all 3 hyperlite??? I have ridden a variety of wakesurf boards & hyperlite broadcast is one of my least favorite..

"people decide who there favorite riders are, what board/bindings/wakesurf/wakeskate board they have, what boat they have, and thats what they mark down. that makes total sense to me. so everything is very biased."

exactly my thoughts.
Byerly, Parks, Murray are still some of the most recognizable names in the sport, therefore are still the most popular. I voted for Byerly. not ashamed to say it.

not into it. it's only a popularity contest. tha's why parks wins every year. I mean c'mon X-Star winning boat of the year as voted by the people on this site. What percentage of the people that voted for that boat do you think have actually ridden behind it?

Very dissappointed with the results, but I guess i was fooling myself thinking that Hyperlite wouldnt get way overrated. I am suprised with the boat of the year as well, although alot of people like the x-star personally i cant stand the rampyness of that wake.

You all are right. Just change the name from best rider/best board etc to favorite rider, favorite board.

Does it mean anything? You bet. Can't think of anything better to give a sponsor than being the favorite (best) rider.

i think it really means something when you are hardly seen wakeboarding and you are still ranked #9. way to go scott!!

froggy was well placed in the results. he is a force to be reckoned with already.

nice to see bu gain rank this year in taking second.

i can't believe the parks board made itup there. i have never actually seen a parks board on a obat in person, and hardly ever in pics.

As far as the most improved goes, keep in mind when Rusty and Phillip made their runs in 2005. Phillip started strong and was in the minds of voters when the voting started on 8/1. Rusty's big push actually occurred during the month of August, so many had already voted or didn't realize the full extent of his improvement until it was too late.

I think the win was well-deserved by Phillip, but I'm willing to bet that if the voting started today, it would be a much tighter race in that category.

By the way, positions 11-20 for the male riders are as follows...

11. Rusty Malinoski
12. Josh Sanders
13. Darin Shapiro
14. Erik Ruck
15. Keith Lyman
16. Brett Eisenhauer
17. Trevor Hansen
18. Randall Harris
19. Ricky Gonzalez
20. Ben Greenwood

And positions 6-10 for the women are...

6. Megan McNeil
7. Maeghan Major
8. Amber Wing
9. Lauren Loe
10. Lauren Harf

And the CWB Absolute was fourth in the Wakeboard of the Year voting.

What about the results for Boat of the Year. I would like to know the actual number of votes given to each position

that's why i didn't vote...it's not really an accurate account of what or who's best. it's basically a popularity contest.

Personally I would have voted the Parks the worst improved design of the year. the 03 and 04 was great 05 is one of the crappiest rides I've ever had on a board. just imo though.

I have to say that it should be the Parks Readers Choice Awards and the other 9. I thought tis sport was about pushing the envelope not a popularity contest. Yes Parks is great and easily the most recognized name short of Byerly. But when is "Big Money" going to get his due. Though he didn't win the tour he has been on a tear with the X games,tour, and is winning contests going huge not just technical. And is free riding is amazing not to mention that huge Switch 9 at "Parks" Double Up Contest. I think these are based solely on name recognition and not talent.

And I believe Soven being most improved is BS also. Rusty has made huge strides and tipping the scales at over 200lbs no less.

I just think awards should be given to the guys that are making things happen on the water, not just their namesake.

I keep hearing the same gripe that the results were biased. Um, yeah. Riders Choice, of course there biased, there supposed to be. Keep in mind that everyone on wakeworld doesn't rate a persons skill by the same criteria that you do.

I was surprised to see the parks board in the list. Same with Byerly, but then again the dude has TONS of style, which has lots of merit in my book.

Joe - No vote - your complaint is irrelevant.

I definatley think people should vote for whom they like best. It's the whole point of having riders choice. Tournaments determine the best technical riders while Riders Choice allows for judging on things that a tournament doesn't account for such as: history, style, lifestyle, free ride, energy, and wakeonality.

That last one is my own invention: wakonality ~ personality. Hmm...Cheesy...but I think I like it.

sheesh, I'm glad to see Randall made the top 20!

no kidding, talk about total bs. even though he hasn't been riding he should still be making the top 10. I still gave him the one spot.

You have to keep in mind that there are tons of people who come to this site that do not post in the forums. They typically are the general public who's buying/voting decisions are influenced by the popularity of a rider or advertising saturation of a particular product. They may not be the best products/riders out there but this is the general publics perception.

The majority of the people who post on this board on a regular basis are heavily involved in the industry as a job, hobby, or whatever. We live, breath, and eat wakeboarding as opposed to the weekend warriors who make up the majority of the consumers and people voting on the RC awards.

Its a popularity contest just like voting for the homecoming court in high school.

Wait, So are you sayin that there is ppl in the world that think of stuff other than wakeboarding??????? Thats crazy talk!!!
Next thing you are goin to say is that there is more to life than wakeboard & wakeworld's discussion board!!!!! You are crazy!!!!

(Message edited by bigpapaf1f on September 02, 2005)

It is all personal choice or popularity if you ask me, or even marketing that makes any of these votes come off the way they do. Same with athletes from any sport. The best get the most air time and bigger sponsors. Hyperlite, Malibu, Mastercraft all have major sponsor ships and major advertising campaigns. So you see those product more often...... so more riders know about them and it equals more votes. Randy Harris just needs to buck up more and court the media and ride in more comps....... just kidding! We all just need to face the fact wakeboarding is one of the most corp. driven sports you can be involved in, imo....}

All sports are corporate driven, without them they would not survive. Look at surfing, Andy Irons is one of the best in the world but he is also the most popular because he is marketed correctly by Billabong. Billabong ran a huge campaign about these A.I. hats they made. They said they are collectors items and are selling them for $150 each. http://www.killerdana.com/killerdana/product.asp?s%5Fid=0&dept%5Fid=10056&pf%5Fid=PAIOA DJFMNCIKHCL&dl_id=94& People buy them because they believe the hype. Its all about the marketing and getting people to believe that your products are the best.

Nuckledragger that is true, and happens in sports that have been around for years like baseball or football. I just wonder why it would take anyone as a surprise that voting on riders and gear would be anything other then popularity contest.... It should be enjoyed as just that; a gauge of what is popular.

Way too much HYPErlite!

At least they got the vid of the year right.

i personally thought pre pop should of taken it but thats jus my opinion...

yeah byerly in the top ten was ridiculous. parks was hurt, watson hurt. not that these guys dont rip but heck this isnt a all time favorite riders list. this is an annual thing. oh well, when the lake is full of 50k boats, hyperlite boards, and people struggling to jump wake to wake what can you really expect. not that it bothers me it just is what it is and cant really get to caught up in it.