Author: Dean Turcol

World Sports & Marketing announces that Vans Inc., a leader in the active-casual footwear and apparel industry, will title-sponsor the debut of the "Triple Crown of Wakeboarding" in 1998. The Triple Crown will consist of three events, making the series the premier event in wakeboarding.

The Triple Crown kicks off in Orlando, May 29-31, with the first stage. The final two events will be the Wakeboard Nationals in Denver (Aug 26-30) and the Wakeboard Worlds in Dallas (Oct 16-18). (See the complete tour schedule for '98).

The agreement between World Sports & Marketing and Vans is historic for the sport of wakeboarding. Vans becomes the first major non-endemic sponsor to tie itself to wakeboarding on a significant financial level.

"This is a great moment for wakeboarding," says Terrence Dorner, vice president of World Sports & Marketing. "With the Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding, the sport can flourish to new levels. Everyone is a winner with this agreement. The riders will see a bigger purse, and the fans see a crown-jewel event for the sport that's never been done before."

Vans is heavily involved in alternative sports. It is the co-title sponsor of the Triple Crown of Skateboarding. Vans owns and sponsors the Triple Crown of Surfing and currently is planning to debut the Triple Crown of Snowboarding in winter 1998. Their involvement and support of these sports and these top-level competitions make the Vans brand one of the most important and influential in alternative sports.

See the complete tour schedule for '98.

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