Watercross Tripe Crown unveiled
In other APBA news, the association announced the unveiling of its new national competition platform — the APBA Watercross Triple Crown, formed as a three-stop series of events at locations that attract a large number of spectators, that can be expanded for the 2005 season, and that help bring in out-of-industry sponsors to the sport.
While funding and sponsorship for a true U.S. National Tour was not in the cards for the 2004 season, the APBA says its Watercross Triple Crown will provide an opportunity to further showcase the sport. Plus, all three of the events are run in conjunction with major festivals that attract a large spectator base.
The first round of the APBA Watercross Triple Crown will take place in downtown Panama City, Florida on July 3 and 4 as one of the feature attractions of “The X-Treme” extreme sports festival.
The second round, featuring a special night race, will be held in the historic town of Benicia, Calif., located 40 miles East of San Francisco, July 30 – August 1. The event is run in conjunction with the 11th annual Benicia Waterfront Festival that attracts over 20,000 spectators.
The final round will take place August 21-22 at Lake Ontario’s Ontario Beach Park in Rochester, N.Y, as a highlight of the Summer X-Games extreme sports festival.
With rider sponsorship also down right now, the APBA Triple Crown schedule is more feasible for racers to attend. The APBA Watercross National Championship in Nashville is scheduled one-week prior to the Triple Crown finale in Rochester, New York, but the APBA says it believes that will help with travel expenses for riders wanting to attend these major events.
Overall APBA Watercross Triple Crown Championship Titles and Awards will be awarded to the top riders in the following classes: Pro-Am Ski Superstock, Pro-Am Ski Stock, Pro-Am Runabout 1200 Superstock, Pro-Am Runabout 1200 Stock, and Pro-Am Runabout 800 Superstock. The IJSBA has allocated additional spots for the World Finals in all Expert and Pro-Am classes for those riders choosing to run the APBA Watercross Triple Crown. psb
