<!--StartFragment-->

Summerski Lake, Newmarket Ontario: This past weekend riders from across the province dusted off the winter cobwebs to hit up the first contest of the season, the Boardsports Open presented by Malibu and Gordon Bay Marine. The stoke level was at an all time high as riders rolled in with their gear to witness tent city, welcomed by the voices of Ontario veteran Dave Tsuyuki and Brian White from Hurley and Dakine. Summerski Lake, a private waterski and wakeboard club in Newmarket known for consistent glass water and big wakes is always the ideal site to host the first contest of the year. It's close to the GTA and, because it's so small, the water temperature feels just like Muskoka in July.

The day started off with the young guns gracing the water in the Newbie 12 & Under division, pulled by Gordon Bay Marine’s own Axis boat. It's always great to see the young kids out there ripping it up, smiles on their faces coming into the dock. Harrison Jacobs, Jesse Jarrett and Michael Evans all walked away with some great prizes including a brand new set-up from Liquid Force for first place.

The weather held strong all morning for the Beginner Boys and Girls Wakeboard divisions followed by the Hurley Amateur Wakeskate division. Jamie Panter, Jenn Evans and Jordan Long all had amazing passes taking the cake in their respective divisions, Jordan even managing to win himself a brand new longboard courtesy of Sector 9 and Boardsports Toronto.

All eyes were focused on the water as the announcement was made for the Open Men’s Wakeboard qualifiers. The level of riding in Ontario has stepped up a serious notch over the past year, and with a lot of the local talent spending the winter in Florida the level of suspense was at an all-time high. Early season contests are never predictable, and 2011 Rookie of the Year Christian Primrose’s uncharacteristic fall on a TS 7 was proof of this.

The qualifiers were definitely interesting to watch with a lot of top riders falling on in-the-bag tricks, making room for variation in this year’s series standings.

Just as the Open Men’s qualifiers were halfway to completion Paul Roberts, Summerski’s own weatherman predicted a downpour, and downpour it did. At this point we would like to thank our sponsors, not only did they make this series possible, but they also provided all the riders with well-branded coverage throughout the storm. Luckily it passed fairly quickly and the contest was able to continue with the Open Men’s Wakeskate division. All the wakeskaters had been spending most of their day over at the Ranch Wakepark where Jono Boysen had set up a brand new skate rail. Scotty B was chauffeuring riders out to the middle of the lake in his 4hp tin boat, setting them up on the winch to throw down for best trick of the day. Most of the skaters rocked their boat set, then headed right back over to shred the winch. 2010 Roots Series Champ Brady Hicks showed the judges he still owns the boat walking away with $200 in first place, followed by Chris Hau winning $100 for second and Laurie Leblanc taking $75 in third.

The Open Ladies division made a comeback this year, and all the girls were landing multiple inverts vying for the first place cash prize. Veteran Billabong rider Leslie Sparkes took a break from her duties as Head Judge to grace the podium in the top spot, followed by Susie Mallory in second and Throwitdown.com Editor Ally Boothroyd in third.

The Dragon Optics Intermediate division showcased some great riding by Ontario’s up and comers, tossing down two inverts and 360s in their passes. Robby Hicks, Sebastian Santacroce, Logan Enright and Harrison Carter all got their golden ticket into finals, but it was Harrison Carter stomping both his passes clean who walked away in first place with the series lead.

The day came to a close with the Open Men’s Wakeboard Finals. All eyes were on Dave Tsuyuki and Robbie McMillin, both top qualifiers in their heats, however no one was underestimating Gavin Hicks, Mark Norris, Mike McBrearty and Andy Milovanovic. Both Mike McBrearty and Dave Tsuyuki stomped their runs with bangers, while last year's leaders Gav and Robbie both struggled on a few of their stock tricks. In the end it was the Legend Dave Tsuyuki standing on the top step of the podium in first place, followed by Mike McBrearty in second and Andy Milovanovic in third. Overall the day was a huge success despite the rain, and everyone was pumped to see the level of support from the sponsors and the Ontario Wakeboard committee for this year’s series.

A huge thank you goes out to committee members Leslie Sparkes, Jono Boysen, Ally Boothroyd, Dave Tsuyuki, Sean Flemming, Jay Poole, Erika Langman, Paul Roberts, Jacklyn Stockie, Creative team Dan Hughes, Andrew Curr, Kat Bensler, Ally Boothryod, Blake Tilly, Scotty Boysen, Mike Case and Jason Petznick on Logistics, Mike Donald, Mitch Lowry and Andy Milovanovic on the Mic, Leslie, Candice Chaput, Matty Sacc and the judging crew and everyone who helped make the day a success. The Boardsports Open was brought to you by Muskoka Wakeboarding, Ronix, Hyperlite, Byerly, Dragon Optics, Liquid Force, O’Brien, Boardsports, Summerski Lake, Xcel Wetsuits, Malibu Boats, Gordon Bay Marine, Metab Clothing, Hurley, Dakine, SBC Wakeboard Magazine, G&G Electronics, Red Bull, Coors Light, The Ranch Wakepark, JBR Designs, Speakercraft, Vans, Sector 9, Sanuk, Analog and Waterski-Wakeboard Ontario. Full contest results are listed below.

<!--EndFragment-->