2025: Chattawake Wakesurf Comp @ River Games 2025!
Chattawake 2025 was an absolute BLAST! As a part of River Games 2025 in Chattanooga, there was action everywhere you looked all weekend long. Wakesurfing, Death Diving, High Diving, Speed Rock Climbing, Kayak Launching, and nightly live music and dance parties kept this place hoppin' all weekend long!
Up front of course was the reason we were there to begin with, the Chattawake 2025 Wakesurf Competition hosted by Kennon and Vanessa Owensby's Pure Wakesurf and Wake Outfitters
Ross's Landing in Chattanooga makes for a beautiful backdrop in all directions.
And right in the spotlight every time that beautiful Mastercraft tow boat came in for a refuel that had to be fast and efficient to keep the contest on schedule.... was The Smart Ass Fuel Mule Gas Caddy filling the competition boat and jet-skis used for delivering and retrieving riders.
Chattanooga lit up when #ChattaWake splashed down at Ross’s Landing, turning the Tennessee River into a high-octane arena for the World Series of Wake Surfing. Across three sunny days (Aug 15–17), each with a touch of thunderstorm mixed in for good measure, thankfully after the competition though and generally shortlived!
Believe it or not, occasionally Jett Lambert would touch the board on the water too!
Elite riders carved massive, glassy waves with the city’s iconic bridges framing every run—Chatt made an amazing photogenic backdrop for this event. Over 100 of the biggest names in Competitive Wakesurfing were there competing in this World Series of Wake Surfing (WSWS) and World Wake Association (WWA) sanctioned event. Of course our own Smart Ass Fuel Mule athletes Sean Silveira and Jett Lambert were there tearing up the waves that Mastercraft boat was putting down. The comp ran mornings into mid-afternoon, drawing big crowds along the riverwalk for heats that actually mattered in the WSWS points race, since ChattaWake was a late-season tour stop.
And ChattaWake wasn’t alone—it was the marquee watersports piece of the Chattanooga River Games, the South’s largest extreme-sports + music festival. As the festival’s first-ever sanctioned wakesurf event in the city, it delivered stacked divisions, international riders, and a serious prize purse, elevating Chattanooga onto the global wakesurf map. Nights pivoted from wakes to pounding rhythms and bass as the riverfront turned into somewhat of a mini-rave in the evenings as the River Games rolled out a curated electronic lineup with names like Dirt Monkey and Jason Leech that kept the waterfront buzzing until late.
Between heats, spectators feasted on a buffet of “only-in-Chatt” adrenaline: death diving and trampoline diving splashing down by the steps, highliners dancing a wire over the river, skateboard and bike launch ramps firing contestants into the drink, even Red Bull Creepers’ deep-water solo climbing making a U.S. debut format under the Market Street Bridge. The whole thing felt like an outdoor action-sports theme park—free, family-friendly, and ridiculously watchable.
On the water, the vibe was pro-tour crisp—tight scheduling, big wakes, and locals shoulder-to-shoulder with traveling supergroms and seasoned podium hunters. Organizers (Pure Wakesurf with WSWS sanctioning) ran heats 8am–4pm daily, and the festival’s media crew pumped out clips and livestreams that captured the city’s skyline backdrop and the crowd roar from the steps. For Chattanooga, it was a statement weekend: this riverfront can host world-class watersports and make it look cinematic.
We met a number of other vendors at the event and made some new friends. Jason and Libby Knott of Suay Hats made great neighbors and make some amazing hats. If you're a fan of Melin hats, I think you're going to like these even better.... check em out! The team at Sewlong Custom Boat Covers were super cool and I had some good discussions with one of their teammembers down at the docks while fueling up that beautiful Mastercraft! We also met Ronnie and Nicole Colle and crew from Sasquatch Surf Co wakesurf apparel and they were super hospitable neighbors, and they make some really cool shirts as well!
Super cool event, and super cool people. I can't wait to go back next year!
And congrats to our own Jett Lambert for taking P1!
All photos credits to Raegan Jarema and Sterling Moore