Photos by Larry Robinson / The Daily SentinelTrent Target, 19, performs a trick while being pulled by a rope system at Imondi Wake Zone on June 19, 2024. Wakeboarders around the state and country are preparing for next weekend’s WWA Colorado Nautique State Championship in Imondi. Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel▲
Imondi Wake Zone in Fruita will host the first-ever World Wake Association Colorado State Championships June 28-30.
The event was brought to Fruita with the help of the Grand Junction Sports Commission. Members of the Sports Commission attended a sports tourism conference in Palm Beach, Florida, in October 2023, where they presented Grand Junction and Imondi Wake Zone as a location for a World Wake Association event. After meeting with WWA senior management, the Sports Commission went through a bidding process to bring the event to the Grand Valley.
This is the first year the WWA will hold state championships. Previously, the organization sanctioned competitions at the national and international level. Imondi Wake Zone has held grassroots competitions in the past, but always wanted to be able to host larger events.
The championship competition will take place over three days and will include seven disciplines. It kicks off on Friday with clinics hosted by professional wakeboarders Liam Brearley and John Dreiling. On Saturday and Sunday, 200 athletes are projected to compete in two cable disciplines at Imondi Wake Zone and five boat disciplines on Sweitzer Lake in Delta.
The clinics will give younger riders the opportunity to learn from some of the best wakeboarders in the country. Dreiling, recognized as one of the top wakeboarders in the country, was named Wake Rider of the Year by Alliance Wakes in 2021.
Brearley, a multi-sport athlete, may also appeal to snowboard fans. The 21-year-old Canadian won gold at the Aspen X Games this year and has won multiple Snowboard World Cup events.
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For Imondi Wake Zone owners Victor and Kodi Imondi, it was love and a business venture at first sight.
”There are many similarities between wakeboarding and snowboarding. And there are a lot of athletes who will play both sports, which is why we have such a strong presence of local cyclists,” said Ben Snyder, director of the Grand Junction Sports Commission.
The original plan was to host the boating disciplines on Highline Lake, but following the lake’s recent closure (it’s being drained to try to eradicate invasive zebra mussels), they were moved to Sweitzer Lake.
At Sweitzer Lake, athletes will compete in the disciplines of wakeboarding, skim style, surf style, wakeskate and foil (an elevated board).
At Imondi Wake Zone, athletes will compete in a traditional park discipline and feature category. For the traditional park discipline, one rider at a time uses the entire park to perform tricks, including tricks in the air and in still water. For the feature category, six riders will use the cable system at a time. Riders are judged on the difficulty, execution and extent of the tricks.
But the event is not just about competition. There is a strong focus on building a vibrant watersports community and a positive atmosphere. There will be food stalls, music and a beer garden at the event.
According to Snyder, the projected economic impact of this competition is between $500,000 and $1 million.
Trent Target, 19, performs a backflip straight out of the water while being pulled by a rope system at Imondi Wake Zone on June 19, 2024. Wakeboarders across the state and nation are preparing to next weekends WWA Colorado Nautique State Championship in Imondi. . Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel▲
Explaining how they arrived at these numbers, Snyder said, “we have a calculator from an industry professional that looks at the number of participants, the number of out-of-town participants, the length of their stay, and average (hotel) rates. “.
Essentially, economic impact measures how much additional revenue hotels, restaurants and other businesses earn from athletes and spectators who travel to the Grand Valley to participate in the competition.
However, calculating the economic impact “is not a perfect science,” according to Snyder. Regardless, GJSC aims to have a positive economic impact on the Grand Valley by promoting sports tourism.
In the case of this event, this tourism comes at a time when hotel rates are relatively low. The late June weather in Grand Junction is notoriously hot, which keeps many tourists away. For these reasons, the timing of this event can help fill otherwise empty hotel rooms.
“Sports tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the country,” Snyder said. The Great Valley is ideal for the sports tourism industry, in part due to its stunning and diverse natural landscapes. These landscapes are also one of the reasons Grand Junction is a hub for the outdoor recreation industry.
Sports tourism and outdoor recreation are often complementary. In addition to events such as JUCO and the Special Olympics, GJSC participates in sporting events that take advantage of the Great Valley’s natural landscapes, such as the Rides & Vibes bike races and the Rimrock Marathon foot race.
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The Imondi Wake Zone in Fruita will host the World Wake Association (WWA) Colorado State Championships this summer, welcoming 200 athletes…
GJSC’s role in each event is slightly different. For some events, they are primarily involved in marketing the event, but do not get involved much in the planning. For others, they do most of the planning and provide financial support.
The GJSC has existed since 2013. It is funded through a lodging tax approved in 2018. Funds from the tax also go to the tourism agency Visit Grand Junction and the Grand Junction Air Service Alliance.
The event at Imondi Wake Zone is one of the first brand new events GJSC has recruited to Grand Valley in several years.
“We really want to highlight the great value that the Imondi Wake Zone represents. (Owners) Victor and Kodi (Imondi) have done an incredible job there in conjunction with the city of Fruita to make this facility possible and they have tremendous potential in terms of how much this facility can be used,” Snyder said.
According to Kodi Imondi, Imondi Wake Zone is one of only 25 cable parks of its kind in the United States. It is the only park between Sacramento and Kansas City. For this reason, the upcoming competition is likely to attract athletes from all over the western United States.
GJSC and the owners of Imondi Wake Zone hope the upcoming competition is just the beginning of wake competitions in Grand Valley. According to Snyder, “the next step is national and then even potentially international events.”
Saturday’s competition at the Imondi Wake Zone will begin at 2:00 pm Admission is free.
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