The Regatta might have a strong emphasis on getting water time in but having so many riders together from so many different places gives us the opportunity to highlight some of their accomplishments from the past season with everyone there to enjoy! So with that in mind, we put on the Regatta Awards Dinner to show our appreciation for the team that lives and breathes Phase 5! Check out the awards that we gave out below and the full ceremony at the video above!
NEW TEAM MEMBERS
We started the Awards Dinner with a special introduction of all the new Phase 5 riders that we brought on for 2025. These eight riders all bring a unique aspect to Phase 5 and we’re stoked for all of them to represent us. These riders include grom riders Declyn Van Der Riet, Phupa Sitabutr, Collins and Heidi Jo Neal, Emma Proudfit, Victoria Moroski, Conrad Crichlow, adaptive rider Anna Taylor, Sutton Smith, and recent world champ Sammy Goncalves.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS & PODIUMS
Next, we wanted to highlight the 2024 contest season that showed that Phase 5 is at the top of most podiums! Check out a list of the highlights below to see for yourself:
WSWS World Championships
- Jett Lambert - World Champ Pro Skim Men
- Rob McClelland - 3rd Place Pro Skim Men
- Whitley Stewart - World Champ Pro Skim Women
- Ashley Inloes - 2nd Place Pro Skim Women
- Cade Lybeck - World Champ Semi Pro Skim Men
- Faith Byram - World Champ Semi Pro Skim Women
- Kaelyn Hellemn - 2nd Place Semi Pro Skim Women
- Aria Hellemn - 2nd Place Amateur Skim Women
- Dana Wright - World Champ Masters Women
- Mark Walser - 3rd Place Masters Men
CWSA World Championship
- Bailey Rush - World Champion Skim & Surf Women
- Maja Smietana - 2nd Place Pro Skim Women
- Tatiana Ryhzak - 3rd Place Pro Skim Women
- Afton Bank - World Champion Semi Pro Skim Men
IWWF World Wakesurf Championships Hong Kong
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Team P5 riders who represented their country
- Jett Lambert - USA
- Whitley Stewart - USA
- Sean Silveira - USA
- Bailey Rush - Canada
- Jolene Allen - Canada
- Songkrod Jomboon - Thailand
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Team USA took home Gold with the help ofWhitley, Jett, and Sean bringing home Gold Medals
SPECIAL AWARDS & SOCIAL MEDIA STAND OUTS
With our riders making the trip down to Florida, we thought it would be fun to give props to the rider who made the longest journey to be at the Regatta. We had multiple international riders come but the rider who took the cake was Maximillian Willner who came all the way from Germany! We were stoked for you to be there Max!
And with social media being such an integral part of daily life now, we wanted to highlight the male and female riders who have the strongest online presence that gets Phase 5 out to more and more people! The top honors went to Ashley Inloes and Parker Payne who had multiple viral videos but their top posts had 3.9 million views for Ashley and 1.5 million views for Parker! That’s a whole lot of eye balls on Phase 5!
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
The Rookie of the Year award goes to a rider that really pushed themselves their first year on P5 and showed us that they’re hungry and ready to push themselves on the water. The Rookie of the Year award went to none-other-than Luke Hutcherson. Cade hit the contest scene hard this past season, racking up solid podium finishes in the Pro Men’s skim division at multiple contests. Nice going, Luke Hutcherson!
- 3rd Place Pro Men’s Skim - Southern Surf Fest
- 2nd Place Pro Men’s Skim - King of the Lakes
- 2nd Place Pro Men’s Skim - Volunteer Wakesurf Classic
- 2nd Place Pro Men’s Skim - The Come & Take It Conroe Classic
INTERNATIONAL RIDER OF THE YEAR
The International Rider of the Year award is all about a non-US based rider consistently killing it! This decision was pretty tricky since we have so many riders abroad but the one who really shined this past season was Bailey Rush! Bailey always has a great attitude and rips when she’s on the water. And with the debut of her “Rush” pro model board, she has really stepped it up! Keep it up, Bailey! We’re here for it.
- Double Gold Medals at CWSA World Championship (Skim/Surf)
- 2nd Place Pro Women Skim - IWWF World Wakesurf Championships
- 3rd Place Pro Women Surf - IWWF World Wakesurf Championships
RIDER OF THE YEAR
The Rider of the Year award goes to the P5 athlete that sits in a league of their own. Whether it’s consistently taking wins at contests to stomping NBD’s and everything in between, this rider has been pushing himself hard ever since he hit the scene. And if you’ve been keeping up, it should be no surprise that the Rider of the Year award goes to Jett Lambert. His second time taking the honor, Jett somehow seems to step it up each and every year. What will he do for 2025? We’ll have to wait and see! But for now, congrats Jett!
- WSWS Pro Skim World Champ
- PWT Overall Pro Wakesurf Champ
- WWA NationalWakesurf Champ
- WWA Master’s Wakesurf Champ
- IWWF Hong Kong World Champ
- IWWF China World Cup Champ
- IWWF Rider of the Year
- IWWF Hammer Trick of the Year- (9 Big)
- USA Waterski Ski Association- Team USA Team of the Year
- 2025- World Games - China Invitation
LEGEND AWARD
The Legend Award is meant for the person who truly embodies what Phase 5 is all about. Being stoked and having fun on the water! The rider who took this award has been in the P5 family for a while and we couldn’t be happier to have him. The award goes to Mr. Matthew Smith! Thanks for being a Legend, Matthew!
VISIONARY AWARD
And last but not least, we wrapped up the ceremony with a new award – the Visionary Award. This award is meant for the person who has pushed Phase 5 into the future and continues to do so, day in and day out. It’s only right that for the inaugural Visionary Award to go to Mr. Phase 5 himself – Bob Smetts. If you didn’t know, Bob built Phase 5 from the ground up over 20 years ago and continues to push the envelope on what’s possible in shaping boards. His “family first” approach also gives Phase 5 its awesome reputation and his idea of keeping manufacturing in the USA not only guarantees quality in everything Phase 5 makes but helps build community from the ground floor. We wouldn’t be here without Bob!
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