Shafer ranked 10th in world coming into event

Bentlee Shafer has always loved the water.

She was crawling onto waterboards and enjoying water sports by the time she was 4 years old. She learned to wake surf before reaching 10 years old.

Wake surfing grew out of water skiing — think snowboarding on water without the rope from the boat.

Shafer might argue it’s a way cooler version of water skiing.

Around that time she took up the sport, Shafer was taking a surf lesson at Lake Pleasant and her coach suggested she try competing in an upcoming competition.

“I did it and immediately I was hooked. I’ve been competing ever since,” she said. “I love everything about being on the water, whether it’s surfing in the ocean or behind a boat at Lake Pleasant,” she said.

All that love is manifestin

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