Six of the top professional wakeboarders and wakeskaters in the country, along with some of the best riders in Texas, will converge on Gilley’s Dallas tonight for the “Boardshorts, Bulls and Bikinis” slider contest presented by Malibu Boats and Geiger Media.

The events start at 8 p.m. in the Gilley’s parking lot, and then the pros will move inside for a little bull-riding, followed by a concert featuring Texas singer Roger Creager and the finale, a bikini bull-riding contest.

Flying in from Florida in conjunction with this week’s Dallas Boat Show at Market Hall will be pro wakeboarders Shane Bonifay, Chad Sharpe and Tino Santori, in addition to pro wakeskaters Scott Byerly, Brian Grubb and George Daniels. While each of these riders has won multiple events, Byerly is often referred to as “The Godfather” of the sport and is credited with much of the progression and innovation in both wakeboarding and wakeskating tomorrow.

“We have some of the best and most well-known athletes in the sports of wakeboarding coming in for this contest, so it should be a great event,” event organizer Bill Geiger said. “All of the athletes will be at a meet and greet and autograph session at the Dallas Boat Show Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. to talk to fans before the night’s event.”

Representing the DFW Metroplex will be local pros Brian Sasser, Richie McKee, Joey Arcisz and Joey Bradley. Each of these riders is nationally sponsored and has previous experience on the Pro Wakeboard Tour.

This slider contest is a unique event that demonstrates the progression the sport of wakeboarding has taken in the past few years. Riders will be pulled by a high-speed mechanical winch across a series of pools that have sliders, or rails, built into them. Each rider will perform tricks on the sliders and will be judged on execution and style. Unlike other wakeboarding contests where the riders are hundreds of feet away from spectators, the rail jam format allows spectators and fans to watch a few feet from their favorite riders.

“2006 will be the year of the rail jam,” Bill McCaffray, publisher of Alliance Wakeboard Magazine, said. “It’s the most exciting new aspect of the sport.”

The bull-riding contest is open to anyone, and there will be a $250 cash prize for the winner. The slider contest will be free to the public, but there will be a $7 cover charge to get into Gilley’s for the bull riding contest and the Roger Creager concert. Please visit www.texaswakeboardtour.com for more information.