Vans WWA Wakeboard World Championship

Lake Elsinore, CA - As the professional riders took the water in the Vans WWA Wakeboard World Championships, the relaxing environment that is normal for the qualifying rounds was in stark contrast to what is really at stake, over $80,000 is prize money.

Most of that will go to one man and one woman who takes home the World Championship and the Vans Triple Crown overall Championship behind the Correct Craft 2001 Air Nautique wakeboard boat.

For the men, the bonus could be as much as $30,000 for the winner of the event and the Vans Triple Crown. For the women, the payout can be as high as $16,000.

With all this on the line, the world's top professionals let it rip in Women's Semifinals and Men's Quarterfinal action at Lake Elsinore on Saturday.

In the Women's Semifinals, one familiar face was back on top. Tara Hamilton, defending Vans Triple Crown Champion, won her semifinal heat, giving her one of the top spots in Sunday's Finals.

For Hamilton, this event is particularly big since she has been sidelined for much of the season due to injury. A World Championship would signify that one of the best female wakeboarders in the history of the sport is indeed back.

Sunday's Final will not be easy. Hamilton will face an uphill struggle against both Dallas Friday and Emily Copeland who won the Ford Ranger Wakeboarding Pro and the Mountain Dew WWA Wakeboard National Championship respectively, the first two events of the Vans Triple Crown. Copeland finished third in Heat #1 and Friday won Heat #2 on Saturday.

Both Friday and Copeland have the best shot at the winning the Vans Triple Crown and the year end bonus of $8,000. In the season points standings, Friday leads Copeland with 180 points to Copeland's 165. No other women are in sight for the season championship, so Sunday's Final takes on even more importance.

For the men, the battle for the Vans Triple Crown, became a little clearer on Saturday, but it will still come down to the final few riders off the dock on Sunday to decide.

Of the top ten riders in the Vans Triple Crown standings, four advanced into Sunday's Men's Semifinals and Finals. Those four have been at the top of the professional wakeboard standings all season.

At the top of the list is the man who has won just about everything in 2001, Parks Bonifay. Bonifay sits in second place in the Vans Triple Crown season standings after winning the National Championships in Orlando last month. Bonifay took a strangle hold on the Triple Crown Championship after Vans Triple Crown points leader Chris Law failed to advance to Sunday's Finals.

With Bonifay sitting in the top spot of remaining riders, there are still a few other riders with a chance at the Triple Crown. Erik Ruck sits in third place in the season standings with 100 points, trailing Bonifay who has 120 points.

Two veterans who have moved into the action on Sunday, Zane Schwenk and Darin Shapiro, still are very much in the race, sitting in fifth place and eighth place respectively with 85 and 65 points.