Wow, Rathy makes his mark for Byerly Boards!
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 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 2nd 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 3rd stop of the tour in Knoxville, TN and place 3rd in Kentucky behind Phil and Harley. Going into the 5th 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.
-Staff
Photo: Rodrigo Donoso
Photo: Rodrigo Donoso
