It’s been a great year for Byerly Boards and a huge contributor to this year’s success is Aaron Rathy, who was signed to the team in the off season to make an impact on the competition scene. Aaron recently concluded the main portion of the competitive season by winning the World Championship and the King of Wake Championship. Prior to the Worlds victory Aaron was awarded the “Best Trick” and “Wakeboarder of the Year” award from the annual Wake Awards held during Surf Expo. Impact made.

Catching up with Aaron after everything settled down I learned that the road getting there was long and it had a few bumps along the way.  It all began in the winter with a new home, Byerly Boards and a feeling of having to prove himself all over again.  There was definitely some extra motivation going into the season, riding for Byerly and an entirely new team, Rathy felt some pressure.  The easy part was jumping on the boards according to Aaron, the shapes suited his style.

Aaron Rathy

Aaron traveled to Australia for the 3 stop Aussie Pro Tour where he ended up winning one of the stops and he spent a few weeks on the road filming for Global Warning where he definitely had one of the best video sections of the entire season.  With all of the travel Aaron had to make his riding at home count in preparation for the season.

Winning a Pro Tour event has always been a goal for Aaron and his victory in Pleasant Prairie, WI was the highlight of his season, especially after a very close call in Dallas where he earned 2^nd place.  Winning that first event was huge for Aaron’s confidence and his outlook on the rest of the tour.  The weight had been lifted and Aaron would go on to win the 3^rd stop of the tour in Knoxville, TN and place 3^rd in Kentucky behind Phil and Harley.  Going into the 5^th and final stop of the MasterCraft Pro tour Aaron was in the lead for Tour Title and King of Wake.

Reno was a tough event.  Aaron had ridden well through all heats and was, at first, one of the final 5 athletes on Sunday.  As he was preparing for his the heat to begin he was called to the announcers tower where he was informed a mistake had been made in the scoring, keeping him out of the finals.  At that moment, besides massive disappointment, he was seeing his season disappear, his lead in the overall Pro Tour just vanish, and he felt the race for King of Wake slipping away.  Reno was the low point of the season for Aaron.

A good way to get back on the horse is to head home for a bit, just so happens, the Canadian Wake Stock event was next on the schedule.  Aaron went back to his native land and dominated the tournament.  Although it wasn’t a KOW points event, it got his head back in the right spot.  Before the World Championships even began, Aaron was already the recipient of the two most prestigious awards in all of Wakeboarding, Best Trick and Best Rider.  After the win in Canada his confidence was right where it needed to be for the finale.

Aaron rode well all the way through the quarters and semi final heats.  Rusty took out Phil in their semi so the coast was clear for Rathy and as the top seed he was able to watch the riders before him and know what he had to do and he did it.  Rathy was back, at the top of the podium on Sunday at the Worlds and at the Top of the King of Wake Race.

Reflecting on his season and his accomplishments, Aaron is satisfied.  Now he’s looking at a well deserved surf trip and some down time where he can put some energy into his new house.  I asked what lake he was living on and he just said “Mine”, guess he wants to keep the traffic down there.

Collingwood, ON – The final day at Wakestock was highlighted by sunny, hot weather and calm water, although an early morning thunderstorm threatened to put a damper on the day’s festivities. Once the storm cleared, the day kicked into high gear as the world’s best wakeboarders and wakeskaters took to the water of Collingwood Harbour to battle out the final rounds of the WWA World Series for an overall prize purse of $25,000 and the coveted Wakestock belts.

The action got under way in the Malibu Boats Pro Wakeskate Championships with a six-man semifinal. Leading the way into the final round was past Wakestock wakeskate champs, Stuart Shinn and Brian Grubb. They were also joined by Wakestock rookies Grant Roberts and local Ontario rider Dan Brown. In the end, it was Grubb walking away with the win; his 5th Wakestock title overall.

Up next was the Billabong Pro Wakeboard Championship, which saw a 16-man quarterfinal cut down to an eight-man semifinal. Canadians made a strong showing by filling up half of the field with Rusty Malinoski, Aaron Rathy, Olivier Derome and Raphael Derome all advancing.

The four-man final was comprised of the hottest riders in the world at the moment; Phillip Soven, the WWA World Series overall points leader, Aaron Rathy, the King of Wake overall points leader, Harley Clifford, the PWT overall points leader and Bob Soven, the Jr. Men’s PWT point leader. Buoyed on by the hometown crowd, Aaron Rathy had two flawless passes, which included a Heelside Wrapped Back 7 and a Toeside Backside Off-axis 5 to take home the Wakestock title.

Aaron Rathy

“This is unreal. I’m super stoked to win Wakestock,” claims Rathy. “Especially considering how good everyone was riding here. The Wakestock crowd is so big and so close it really makes riding a lot of fun. Rusty [Malinoski] told me that I’m only the third Canadian ever to win along with him and Jeff.

Wakestock is presented by Monster Energy in association with Billabong, Malibu Boats, Coors Light, Gordon Bar Marine, Paris Marine, SBC Skateboard Magazine and SBC Wakeboard Magazine. Wakestock is owned and produced by SBC Events Inc, an independent Canadian production company specializing in action sport & youth lifestyle marketing, in association with SBC Media Inc., publisher of leading action sports magazines SBC Skateboard, SBC Wakeboard, Snowboard Canada, SBC Surf, SBC Skier, Snowboard Women’s Annual, SBC Ski & Snowboard Resort Guide, SBC Kiteboard, Windsport, SBC Action Sports Business magazines. “Wakestock” “Wakestock Festival” and “Wakestock Action Sports & Music Festival” are trademarks of SBC Media Inc. in Canada, the United States and/or other countries.