The October 2006 issue of Wakeboarding Magazine has a great review of the June 6, 2006 New Jersey East-West Wakefest. It's republished right here in its entirety with permission from Wakeboarding Magazine's Editor, Matt Hickman.
REGIONAL REPORT
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| ROBB REID |
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GARDEN STATE
JERSEY RIDERS EAST/WEST WAKEFEST
What began as a wakeworld.com discussion topic slowly morphed into a shape far beyond our wildest dreams. New Jersey riders, including myself, were bummed that there had not been a legitimate event in the Northeast since the 2003 X Games. So we decided to take matters into our own hands. We wanted to get like-minded riders together to share a day on the water. The date was set for June 3, responsibilities were undertaken and finally a name was given to the first gathering of its type around here: The Jersey Riders East/West Wakefest.
Riders from surrounding states were excited about coming. What started out as a handful of people quickly grew to hundreds showing interest. With this grew the day's ambitions. A full stage was built, T-shirts were made, raffle items were collected from generous industry members, and two high-profile riders, Brett Eisenhauer and Parks Bonifay, signed on to join us for our day of riding and revelry. It was truly the real deal.
WHAT STARTED OUT AS A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE QUICKLY GREW TO HUNDREDS SHOWING INTEREST.
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"WHAT WE LACKED IN SUNSHINE, WE MADE UP FOR IN ABUNDANCE WITH SMILES, LAUGHTER AND CAMARADERIE."
- ALEX KINON
After years of discussion and planning, the day finally arrived. Unfortunately, along with it came uninvited intermittent showers. Weather be damned, the event was still a huge success, with a few hundred dedicated wake fans dropping by throughout the day. "Everyone at the Wakefest was so psyched to be there." says event organizer Alex Kinon. "What we lacked in sunshine, we made up for in abundance with smiles, laughter and camaraderie. I was truly happy to see just how well everyone got along. Wakeboard enthusiasts are very special people."
Brett Eisenhauer, Men's II world champion Austin Langston and big-air legend Robb Reid managed to get out between the down-pours and put on a display of high-end riding, while back on shore Parks Bonifay acted as the celebrity dealer for our poker tournament, which had local Dean Perry taking home Ike's board and bindings. Others, like Massachusetts ripper Jeffrey Zukowski and Jersey native Connor Morris, found themselves the proud owners of new boards through our raffle giveaways. In all, more than 150 people left the day with at least a free T-shirt or hat and the knowledge that we'd taken the first step forward for the future of organized wakeboarding events here in the Garden State. - Jeff Barton
Thanks to Liquid Force, Anarchy Eyewear, Hyperlite, Red Bull, Spy Optics, Billabong, Jet Pilot, Pro-Tec, Globalboarding.com, Island Surf & Sail, J Star, CWB, wakeworld.com, Surf & Offshore, Off Shore Marine and WBM. For more information see www.njwakefest.com.
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