2025 Boardstock Cable Wakeboard Event Recap at Bli Bli Wakepark
The 2025 Boardstock Cable Wakeboard event at Bli Bli Wakepark was a thrilling weekend full of action-packed moments, impressive performances, and some truly unforgettable tricks. With riders pushing the limits of what's possible on the water, this year’s event was one for the books!
Event Overview
Held at the much loved Bli Bli Wakepark on the Sunshine Coast, QLD. The event brought together Australia's most talented wakeboarders with a number of overseas riders also competing. Whether you were there in person or following the live stream, the atmosphere was electric, with spectators lining the park to cheer on their favourite riders.
Riders to Watch
Before the event, several Pro Mens riders had been identified as favourites to take the win, based on their consistent performances at past events and their reputation in the wakeboarding world.
A strong list of Australian Jetpilot team riders: Busty Dunn, Benny Heatley, Lachlan Fort, Tom Heatley and Connor Lawton were chomping at the bit to take the title from 2024 returning champion Rudy Tallboys from the UK. Fellow UK rider Joe Battleday has lived and worked at Bli Bli for many years so he is always ready to throw down some heavy runs. The field was rounded out with Australian James Windsor back in the mix, the young Gold Coast gun Sam Kenyon stepping out and International riders Nils Ritzmann and Mats Vanhauer.
Pro womens was headlined by the Queen of Boardstock, Courtney Angus who was looking for an unprecedented 15th Boardstock title. International guests were Katinka Buiting and Theresa Karl.
The junior categories always surprise with the level of talent and the future is looking bright with the quality of riders coming through the U/17 & U/13 ranks.
The Events
The Weekend saw 2 days worth of events. Saturday was the action packed Jetpilot King of Kickers event and Sunday was the Liquid Force Features Only comp.
Jetpilot - King Of Kickers
There is no holding back in this comp. No such thing as safe run. Just straight hammers required with back to back tricks required to get the highest score possible. Big, technical tricks not for the faint hearted were on steady display with eventual champions in the Pro Categories listed as below:
PRO WOMEN
1st: Courtney Angus
2nd: Katinka Buiting
3rd: Tilly Evans
PRO MEN
1st: Joe Battleday
2nd: Mikayo Mundy
3rd: Busty Dunn
Liquid Force - Features Only
Qualifiers
The qualifiers featured riders giving their all to make it into the finals. There were some tough heats with only the top 2 riders from each heat advancing to the Semi-Finals. Some tight scoring lead to some exciting and unexpected results with only 8 riders advancing.
Semi-finals
The semi-finals had a new head to head format which made for some tough, pressure filled battles. Riders were given 2 x runs of only 3 laps to put down their best lines and a fall was devastating with the rider having to exit the water and make it back to the dock to catch the same carrier and potentially miss a lap.
Some super close scoring in the head to head saw some big names drop out of the finals. There was 4 x head to head battles with only 4 riders making it through.
Finals
The finals did not disappoint, with each rider giving their best performance yet.
Courtney Angus proving once again why she is the Queen of Boardstock taking out another big win in Pro Womens. Katinka Buiting in 2nd and Theresa Karl in 3rd.
It was an all foreign final for Pro Mens: Nils Ritzmann (GER), Mats Vanhauer (GER), Rudy Tallboys (UK) & Joe Battleday (UK). This was one of the closest finals we had witnessed for a long time and the level of riding was insane. No one wanted to be a judge for this one!
The Winners
In the end, it was Nils Ritzmann who took home the trophy, proving his dominance in with a stunning final round performance. Here are the results:
- 1st Place: Nils Ritzmann
- 2nd Place: Rudy Talboys
- 3rd Place: Joe Battleday
Down the line and big shout out to:
Matts Vanhauer, Busty Dunn, James Windsor, MIkayo Mundy, Benny Heatley, Lachlan Fort and Connor Lawton.
Closing Thoughts
The 2025 Boardstock Cable Wakeboard event at Bli Bli Wakepark was an incredible experience for riders, fans, and everyone involved. From the competition to the atmosphere and we hope 2026 will be back to continue on the legacy that this event has for the Australian Cable scene,
Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to all the competitors for putting on such a fantastic show!
