A professional wakeboarding championship is coming to Warsaw Aug. 4.
Organizers behind the Supra Boats Pro Wakeboard Tour have secured the use of Center Lake for its championship event.
Warsaw Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer told park board members about the event Tuesday during their monthly meeting.
Wakeboarding is similar to water skiing, but uses a board in which competitors kneel while doing an assortment of trick moves.
He said the group is often looking for new locations and sought permission from the city after surveying the lake.
Supra Boats hosts four events a year and Warsaw will serve as the championship event.
Plummer said they reached out to the Center Lake Conservation Association to see if members were OK with it after the city was approached by the group. He said the association agreed with the plan.
He said they are aware of one area along the lakeshore where sandbags might be placed to reduce the impact of waves.
Plummer thinks the event has the potential to attract a big crowd at Center Lake beach.
“We thought this would be another way to showcase Center Lake,” Plummer said. “The lake association is all for it. It’s a golden opportunity.”
Supra Boats says the Wakeboard Tour is the longest-running professional wakeboarding circuit in the country and has been in existence for 26 years.
Center Lake, organizers said in an email to the parks department, provides “great conditions for athletes and spectators.”
Unlike other stops on the tour, the Warsaw event will be the only one with no admission charge.
Two factors worked in favor of the location – a relatively calm lake and a beach front for spectators, Plummer said.
The contestants will be traveling on a path that will be about 150 feet from the beach that will ensure a good view for spectators, Plummer said.
Organizers will begin setting up several days before the event and will bring with them a jumbotron video screen, sponsor booths and tents.
Plummer said the wakeboard event is the first of its kind for Center Lake.
