LANTANA, FL [August 17, 2007]--Fourteen-year-old wakeboarding extraordinaire Raimi Merritt has already nabbed four first-place wins this season and is looking to collect two more this month in back-to-back tournaments: the USA Wakeboard Nationals and the WWA World Wakeboard Championships.
This weekend, Merritt competes at the USA Wakeboard Nationals at Eastwood Lake Metro Park in Dayton, Ohio, August 18 – 19, where she'll defend last year's first place win and work to secure her spot on the USA Wakeboard Team. Team members selected at the tournament will compete at the ISWF World Championships in Doha, Qatar in October. Merritt has been selected for the USA Wakeboard Team every year since she was 11.
Next week, Merritt heads to the WWA World Wakeboard Championships to defend her title as the reigning girls' division world champion. The tournament runs August 23 – 26 at Sparks Marina near Reno, Nevada.
Merritt is excited and ready for both tournaments. Under the watchful eye of her coach, Mike Ferraro, Merritt has been progressing quickly this year. "Something just clicked for me this summer," said Merritt. "I started learning tricks faster. I'm getting much more comfortable with the wake, and so instead just doing flips, I'm doing spins with flips. I'm gaining more consistency with my tricks, perfecting my Heelside Five and KGB Wrap, and learning new tricks."
Merritt began wakeboarding at the age of nine and won the very first WWA National Championship she competed at in 2004. She's been on top of the awards podium ever since. Merritt's goals for 2007 are to win the IWSF World Championships in Qatar in October and turn pro next year.
Merritt is sponsored by Liquid Force Wakeboards, Girls4Sport, MonaVie Nutrition Beverage, R3 Global, and Fly High Wakeboard Gear. For more information about Merritt, visit: www.raimimerritt.com.
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