(THIS CONTEST ENDED ON 9/1/10)
Riders Choice Awards Archives:
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It was another great month of August where we got to listen to your opinions about the best riders and products in the wake industry. You made the 10th annual WakeWorld Riders Choice Awards presented by CWB Board Co. our biggest ever, so we're going to reward you with some great prizes! We've thrown all your ballots into the computer, the tabulations have been run and the winners have been determined. We'd like to thank you for voting and letting your voice be heard by the entire wakesports industry!
As if speaking your mind and steering the direction of wakeboarding were not enough motivation to get involved, all participants had the chance to pick up some great prizes from our presenting sponsor CWB Board Co. The generous folks up there in Washington kicked in the following prizes...
- CWB Wakeboard of choice
- CWB Bindings of choice
- CWB Wakeskate of choice
- CWB Wakesurf Board of choice
- CWB Life Vest of choice
- CWB Handle and Mainline of choice
Voters also had a shot at winning one of 10 pair of sunglasses from Oakley or one of 10 cases of Monster Energy Drink! Check your email inbox to see if you're a winner!
So what do the results look like for 2010? Some will surprise (we had two of the biggest upsets in Riders Choice history) and others were probably expected.
For the second year in a row we've got a rider making a huge leap from the bottom of the Top Male Wakeboarders category to the very top as Harley Clifford becomes the first Australian to ever take top honors in this category.
We've only got one newcomer to the top ten with Bob Soven coming in at #7. Back in the top ten after taking a break are Chad Sharpe (#8), Randall Harris (#9) and Austin Hair (#10). These riders found a spot in the top ten at the expense of Parks Bonifay, Ben Greenwood, Andrew Adkison and Keith Lyman.
In the Top Female Wakeboarders category, we have the first of our two major upsets for 2010. Dallas Friday has been at the top of this category for the first nine years of the Riders Choice Awards. However, her streak will end there as Amber Wing has taken over the top spot. That makes for an 
Australian sweep of our two pro wakeboarding categories! Other than Amber’s move to the top, the rest of this category remained unchanged.
Brian Grubb continues to lead the Top Wakeskaters category and has done so every year except for a break in 2008 courtesy of Aaron Reed. Aaron slipped to #3 while Reed Hansen occupied the #2 spot. Nick Taylor and Brandon Thomas round out the top five.
Just like last year, the one newcomer to the Top Wakeboarders category is also the winner of the Rookie of the Year category. Bob Soven made quite a splash in 2010, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Bob Soven also picks up the Most Improved Rider award, which gives him three trophies for 2010.
Shifting from riders to products, this year's Wakeboard of the Year goes to Rusty Malinoski's pro model, the Hyperlite Marek, for the second year in a row. The Marek is followed by perennial winners, the Liquid Force Watson and the Ronix One. The Watson/One battle also continues in the Binding of the Year category as the Ronix One manages to keep the top spot for two years in a row after four years of back and forth with the Liquid Force Watson.
Earning its first spot at the top of the Wakeskate of the Year category is the Liquid Force SST with the Hyperlite Vinyl and Ronix Zariel grabbing the second and third spots.
There was a big shakeup in the Wakesurf Board of the Year category for 2010 with all of the top three from 2009 getting knocked out. Leading the way is the Liquid Force Venture with the Hyperlite Coex and CWB Blackjack rounding out the top three.
Our second “huge” upset of 2010 is in the Boat of the Year category. The MasterCraft X-Star has been dominating this category since the current hull hit the market back in 2003. However, 2010 sees the X-Star overtaken by the Malibu Wakesetter VLX, giving Malibu its very first Boat of the Year award after nine years of second place finishes! The Correct Craft Super Air Nautique 230 held onto the third spot.
The Innovation of the Year brought another win for Malibu Boats as their new Illusion G3 tower topped the voting. Also picking up honors for innovation were the Tige Touch dash interface and the Boost Box sound attenuator coming in second and third respectively.
Last, but not least, is the Video of the Year category. There were not a lot of wake DVD’s released this year, but the winning video probably would have won even if there were. The Parks Documentary beat out Slick City and Aquafrolics to win this category.
Be sure to click on the links below to see the full results for every category and jump on the links at the top of each page if you want to see the Riders Choice Awards for the previous years. Thanks to everybody that submitted a vote and to all the sponsors that provided such great prizes!
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