Girls4Sport Sponsors Florida’s Fastest Rising Wakeboard Stars, Chloe and Raimi Merritt

Santa Cruz, California based performance clothing manufacturer Girls4Sport is proud to sponsor two of wakeboarding’s fastest rising stars, Chloe and Raimi Merritt.

Santa Cruz, CA. (PRWEB) January 5, 2006 -- Santa Cruz, California based performance clothing manufacturer Girls4Sport is proud to sponsor two of wakeboarding’s fastest rising stars, Chloe and Raimi Merritt.

Chloe, 15, and Raimi, 12, have only been competing since 2004, but the sisters from Lantana, Florida, have dominated the awards podium from the start, beating out their division’s reigning champion to clinch first and second place in their first competition: Tommy’s South Florida Wake Board Tour. Between them, they’ve since claimed four national titles, two world championship gold medals from Seville, Spain and Moscow, Russia, four first-place overall wins on the Florida Gravel Tour, first and fourth place at the 2005 Pan American Wakeboard Championships, and first and third at the 2005 U.S. Pro Am Wakeboard Championship.

Despite their competitiveness in the water, the sisters have avoided competition between themselves. “We go out there to have fun,” said Raimi. “We don’t get mad when one of us wins because we tend to switch off. Sometimes Chloe wins and sometimes I win, but we both usually place at the top.”

For the Merritt sisters, wakeboarding remains first and foremost a way to have fun, and they enjoy sharing their sport with their friends. “I really like teaching friends how to wakeboard,” said Chloe. “I enjoy watching the look on their faces when they make it up.”

Chloe, who is in ninth grade, and Raimi, who is in seventh grade, are both home-schooled, which provides greater flexibility for training and traveling for competition. “We just bring our school books with us,” said Raimi. Chloe excels at math while Raimi likes language arts.

The sisters train twice a day at Lake Osborne with their coach, Dean Lavelle. They are both working on perfecting their 360s, adding more tricks to their repertoire, and hoping to turn pro within the next few years. Their role models include Jimmy Trask, Dean Lavelle, Tara Hamilton, Barrett Pearlman, and their mom and dad. “They’re all positive people who encourage us to be better in the sports that we do,” said Chloe.

“Girls4Sport’s mission is to inspire girls of all ages to lead confident, active lives,” says Kim Ruby, President of Girls4Sport. “Chloe and Raimi’s winning attitudes make them exemplary Girls4Sport team riders. By effectively balancing school, sport, and life, they are inspiring role models for other young women.”

In addition to Girls4Sport, the Merritt sisters are also sponsored by Liquid Force Wakeboards, Ten 80 Vests, Fly High Wakeboard Gear, State Farm Insurance, Goodyear, and Real Estate Mastery.

About Girls4Sport:
Girls4Sport is dedicated to creating performance clothing with the female body in mind. Girls4Sport's water wear line includes rash guard sets designed for women by women with SPF 65 rating, built-in shelf bras, super comfy fabrics, great styles, anything-but-ordinary prints, and a feel-good fit.

In addition to its products, Girls4Sport has established the Girls4Sport Foundation, a charitable arm of Girls4Sport to support organizations that work to create events and real contributions for both learning and inspiration for girls of all ages to lead active, confident lives.

Girls4Sport products are distributed through a variety of retail outlets and online. For more information about Girls4Sport products and the G4S team riders, please visit www.girls4sport.com or call 831.423.8755.

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