No more women & jrs on tour!

Originally Posted by Nordicron

Yep total crap for sure. Seems terribly greedy by what I already feel is a terribly greedy company.
I took both my girls 15,9 at the time to the Worlds last August in Milwaukee and my girls loved seeing the women compete! They actually cheered and payed way more attention to them than that did the pros! They asked me several questions about who was who and where this girl was from and how old type stuff but not once did they ask about the pro men! Not even when Rusty rode. Sure they ewed and awed and some of the tricks the men threw down but my girls were engaged when the females were riding and to be honest so was I. Poor decision MC.... I won't be taking my family to any events without women.


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Greedy company!?!?! What do you think they are in business for?!?!

Yes, please stick to women only events....

Originally Posted by jason_ssr

Its another step in the impending crash of the wakeboarding market. We have needed a market correction for far too long.

When we stop buying these products they will be forced to drop prices and pick up events as advertising, or they risk going under. If they do go under, great! Someone will buy the molds pennies on the dollar, produce a product with plain guages, basic sound, and builders grade vinyl, and sell them for $40k.

Did 2008-2011 not happen?
People pretty much stopped buying wake gear and boats. The market was flooded with repoed boats and they sold extremely cheap. Wakeboard companies and boat brands responded by building less. The boats that continued to sell were the top of the line because those people were not effected as much. Thats why the companies are building bigger and more expensive boats. They are trying to make product that their actual buyers want.

Also, remember Standard boats? Plain boats that made a good wake. Wakeworlders begged for a boat like this. They failed. People want big expensive boats with every options.

Did you know you can actually buy an Axis in the 40s? No one orders them. People want every option. You dont have to have the options to ride, but boat buyers want them and raise the price themselves.

The wake industry is not for the masses. It is a sport that from the beginning was for privileged people. Cable can get people into the sport though.

Check out this New York Times article. It helps explain it
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/03/bu...=tw-share&_r=1

No ones going to argue the business case, but that doesn't make it good for out sport....

Only a matter of time before 'pro riders' are formally re-labeled as brand reps. You won't be a sponsored pro, you'll be a rep. Get product and get paid, but little more honesty behind it. Take the mystery out of it. Can you ride? Can you sell products? It's only the second question that really matters. Plenty of people can ride, well.

Here is a little more information on opportunities for Jr. Pro Men riders. Hopefully, we'll see some similar opportunities for women riders. I did confirm that women will be able to compete in the "Pro Men" division, but it's not easy to get included in the 32 riders that will be competing.

http://www.wakeworld.com/news/latest...xperience.html

Amber Wing's response:

http://www.wakeworld.com/news/blogs/...oard-tour.html

It seems like mailbu is doing it right

It's sad to see the PWT getting smaller as we move past this recession. I know talking to a lot of the riders over the past years that it has been tougher on tour with less prize money and paying out to less riders. We had a great turn out at the Grand Rapids, Michigan stop last year but unfortunately the stop only included Pro Men and Jr Men. I was hoping this year we'd get the Pro Women in town for the event as well. I helped host the PWT stop last year but by no means am I an expert on how the financials work. However, here are my thoughts and observations.

Last year Overton's was the title sponsor of the Jr Mens Division. From working at a shop myself, I can't imagine the expense that takes. Props to Overtons for stepping up the last few years to title sponsor the Jr Mens Division. It was always a bit painful last year seeing Overtons logos all over the event near our shop in Michigan, but they paid the bill not us so, I wasn't complaining!

I think the last time the Pro Women's division made all 8 stops the title sponsor was Mona Vie.

My last thought is it seems like everyone is claiming the Red Bull Wake Open is now the marquee event of our sport. I've heard riders claim this as well. However, it's run the same way the tour is now, where you have 32 invited riders to compete for the top spot. No Jr Mens, no Pro Women. I could be wrong, but if this is the direction we are trying to push the sport, I can see why sponsors are backing away from the tour.

After getting to know the crew that puts the tour together, I can tell you that pulling the PWT/ King of Wake series together is a lot more work than you think. I've got mad respect for that group and hope that this raised awareness will help bring out some more sponsorship dollars from other Manufacturers. I 'm not even 100% sure all the wakeboard companies are sponsoring all 8 stops of the King of Wake Series!

Here is some more info about the format of the new Pro Tour. It's actually going to take a lot more time to get through this format, so the Pro Men will be riding a lot more at each event. Should be interesting to see the new format in action.

http://wakeworld.com/news/latestinwa...en-riders.html

Again, I'm a little confused by Malibu not adding women to these stops especially since these events host amateur divisions. I feel its another slap in the face to the women riders. Again, I'm still looking for the answer to the million $ question "How much more does it take to add on the womens division to an existing site". The women entry fee will cover a very large chunk of the prize money. If finding that little extra is the problem, then why not do what motocross does for their "A Class" and pay the purse back 100% where the prize money is paid back based on 100% of the entry fees paid by the women division. That way if 25 girls show up then its a large purse and if only a few...well you get the point. I can't see how these divisions going their own direction is good for our sport. It means less attendance at each event, which means less sales for onsite sponsors (food, clothing, board/product), which leads to less sponsorship funding. I just don't see this as a step in the right direction for our sport.

Looks like Nautique is adding a bunch of events....http://nautique.com/Blog/index/nautique-wake-series

I don't believe that MC is solely responsible for cutting out these divisions. Of course they are a large contributor to funding the Pro Tour, but there are many other sponsors of the tour that I'm sure made some cut backs as well.

Is it a good thing? No. This is a key indicator that this spectrum of the sport is dying off.

Is that a bad thing? No. The young men and women that have the desire to make it big in wakeboarding still can. With social media growing exponentially as it is, I would say that a rider has a better chance standing out with a strong online presents vs. riding in a contest. Alliance does a great job featuring new videos almost everyday, and personally, that's where I notice riders the most. That is how I become a fan of a rider too. You get to see how his or her styles/uniqueness differs, and I believe that impacts the sport more positively than contests. Don't get me wrong, contests are great, but I believe that this cut back will allow riders that are not on the tour to focus his/her energy/time more on progression vs. focusing solely on his/her contest run for 3-4 months of the year. Which, in theory, should take riding to the next level that we never would think is possible.

I'm 100% positive that some will disagree with me about how contests aren't that important anymore (5-10 years ago they were), but if I were a wake-dad that had a young son or daughter upset about the decision too, I would push them to forget about contests, focus on progression to become the best, and create a strong online following. Times change, wakeboarding changes. It's part of it. Look at the positives of the situation and don't get stuck in the past. Don't be a Kodak when everyone else wants digital.

Happy riding,

Brad Riddick

Awsome! Way to step up Nautique!

oops forgot my e in awesome