Tuesday, June 17

The Word In Wake -- 06.17.03

By Dean Turcol
EXPN.com

Two-time X Games champion, three-time Pro Tour champion, two-time national champion. You would think an athlete with those credentials would have a guaranteed spot in this August's X Games in Los Angeles. For the first time since wakeboarding joined the X Games in 1996, Parks Bonifay does not have an automatic bid to the party. He finished fourth on last year's Pro Tour, one spot short of a free pass.

"After being invited to seven X Games without having to qualify, I knew this would come up one day," said Bonifay, who won gold in 1996 and '99. Only four pros automatically qualified: defending X Games champion Danny Harf and the top 2002 tour finishers, Erik Ruck, Darin Shapiro and Shaun Murray.

"After being invited to seven X Games without having to qualify, I knew this would come up one day." Parks Bonifay, on his recent need to qualify for X Games IX.

Still, with five spots on the line at the X Games qualifier in Detroit on June 6, Bonifay was considered a favorite to earn an invite to the big dance of competitive wakeboarding. But these were uncharted waters for him, literally. The qualifier, featuring 50 of the best riders, was held at Four Bears Water Park north of the city, a new site for the Pro Tour. If Bonifay failed, there was still hope. "I knew there was a wild card yet to be announced, and I was pretty sure I would get it if I didn't qualify in Detroit," he said.

He didn't have to worry about the wild-card entry, because he finished second in Detroit. "I'm happy I did it now," Bonifay said. "That last wild card will be wide open for someone else -- hopefully my brother." Shane Bonifay has yet to qualify.

With the X Games, Pro Tour finals and the Worlds still ahead of him, Parks Bonifay is serene. He recently told Wake Boarding magazine, "Every week is different; sometimes you feel it and sometimes you don't, whether it's competing or having fun. I've learned to balance what's important to me."

In addition to Bonifay, a mix of X Games veterans, including Shawn Watson, and first-timers have qualified. If the Games were held today, Watson would be the favorite. He's undefeated on Tour this year, and he's leading the pack on the World Cup standings.

Australia's Brett Eisenhauer also got a return ticket to the X Games, and Chris Law, the 2001 Rookie of the Year, will make his second trip to X. The big surprise was second-year pro Keith Lyman nabbing the fifth and final spot at the qualifier. He beat top pros Daniel Watkins, Rob Struharik and Froggy Soven. Lyman, who has never finished higher than ninth at a pro competition before this year, is considered one of the most style-heavy riders in the sport. A New England rider, Lyman moved to Orlando and camped out on a friend's lawn for nearly a year so he could wakeboard every day.

Shaun Murray, who injured his right leg while practicing in April, made his first competition appearance of the season in Detroit.

The rest of the 16-man field for the X Games will be determined in the next two months. In addition to the automatic qualifiers and the riders who made the cut in Detroit the only other qualified athlete is Thailand's Bunyalo Jumruang, the surprise winner of the Asian X Games last winter. The next two spots will be determined after the Portland, Oregon, Pro Tour stop. The highest ranked pros not yet invited will go to L.A. Right now, Daniel Watkins and Chad Sharpe hold those precarious spots.

Shaun Murray, who injured his right leg while practicing in April, made his first competition appearance of the season in Detroit. Murray, an automatic qualifier for the X Games, won his quarterfinals heat but finished last in his heat in the semis. Murray, who has won virtually every title in wakeboarding except the X Games, hopes his injury doesn't hamper his try for X Games gold.

On the women's side, three have automatic bids: defending champion Emily Copeland, Dallas Friday and Maeghan Major. The women will hold their qualifier June 28 in Portland. Expected to have a strong showing there is two-time X Games champion Tara Hamilton, who, like Parks Bonifay, is usually automatically qualified through the standings list. An injury last year eliminated that chance.