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Women's podium from the 2023 Swiss Pro Tricks

2023 Swiss Pro Tricks Recap | Waterski Pro Tour

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Swiss Pro Tricks Recap

Women's podium from the 2023 Swiss Pro Tricks

Women’s podium from the 2023 Swiss Pro Tricks (image: @swissprowaterski)

By Jane Peel

Waterski Pro Tour

The 2023 Waterski Pro Tour launched in style on Sunday 23rd April with the best in the world competing at the first tricks-only competition to be organised under the WPT banner. The inaugural Swiss Pro Tricks, held at the Swiss Waterski Resort in Florida, was also the first pro event of the season in the northern hemisphere. It did not disappoint: there were huge scores, a world record equalled and a couple of PBs.

“We just had the craziest and best tricks tournament of all time,” said Dorien Llewellyn. And that was before the finals!

Full article at Waterski Pro Tour.

Aaron Bartlett, 13, practices his moves on the slalom course

In New Hampshire, Water Skiers Keep their Sport Skimming Along | Boston Globe

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In New Hampshire, water skiers keep their sport skimming along

Aaron Bartlett, 13, practices his moves on the slalom course

Aaron Bartlett, 13, practices his moves on the slalom course (image: Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff)

By Stan Grossfeld

WOLFEBORO, N.H. — The best part of water skiing is the jump, says Aaron Bartlett.

“It’s fun to fly through the air,” says Bartlett, a sun-bronzed 13-year-old who started skiing at age 4.

Bartlett’s last competitive jump on June 25 was heart-stopping. He was leaning on his heels heading into the ramp, but then pressed too hard on his toes while in the air. The ski tips pointed down into the water and he did a face-plant in Lake Winnipesaukee and was knocked unconscious.

Full article at the Boston Globe.

My boat floating for the first time in Veteran’s Park Lagoon

Water Skiing on Veteran’s Park Lagoon in Milwaukee | Medium

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How We Got to be the First People to Waterski on Veteran’s Park Lagoon in Milwaukee

My boat floating for the first time in Veteran’s Park Lagoon

My boat floating for the first time in Veteran’s Park Lagoon (image: Joel Hughes).

By Joel Hughes

Medium

From 2010 to 2016 the quiet lagoon in the middle of Veteran’s Park in Milwaukee would transform into a premier urban waterski venue for one special weekend each year, hosting an elite professional waterskiing tournament called the Malibu Open. This tournament has since moved to another location, but for those 7 summer weekends we had something really special going on with waterskiing in the heart of Milwaukee.

A very long list individuals and corporations contributed time and money to make this amazing event happen. We played a very, very small part in comparison. Here is the story of how we helped out on one cold, windy autumn day in 2009.

Full article at Medium.

Lauren Morgan water ski jump

Lauren Morgan: Scholar, Feminist, and World Games Gold Medalist | CBS 42

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Lauren Morgan: Scholar, feminist, and World Games gold medalist

Lauren Morgan water ski jump

Lauren Morgan exits the water at Oak Mountain State Park after securing a gold medal for the US in the women’s water ski jump. (Photo by Lee Hedgepeth)

By Lee Hedgepeth

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) – Lauren Morgan didn’t know she’d be representing the United States in the World Games until three days before the international sporting competition began. She didn’t have the normal opportunity for planning or for preparation. But the world-class water skier was determined. A little panicked, too, but determined nonetheless. She wanted to win, and she knew she had the skills to get the job done.

Full article at CBS 42.

Ralph Samuelson Pioneer of Water Skiing

100 Years of Water Skiing | BoatUS Magazine

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100 Years of Water Skiing

Ralph Samuelson Water Ski Jump

Photo: The Lake City Graphic

By Zenon Bilas

BoatUS Magazine

July 2022

Way back in 1922, Ralph Samuelson, an athletic 18-year-old Minnesotan, was the first person to get up on water skis. With natural ability combined with ingenuity (and some degree of bravery), he accomplished the feat, skiing upright on Lake Pepin, a picturesque 30-mile segment of the Mississippi River.

Full article at BoatUS Magazine.

Whitney McClintock Rini

The Dawn of a Golden Era? | Waterski Journal

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The Dawn of a Golden Era?

Whitney McClintock Rini

Image: Whitney McClintock Rini (photo: Radar Skis)

By Freddie Winter

Waterski Journal

Amongst the many reasons that sport is such a large part of our culture is the collective excitement we feel when witnessing something that was previously thought extremely unlikely or even unthinkable. In most areas of life progress is reached behind closed doors with few witnesses but sporting spectacle is there for all to experience as history is written in real time. The Malibu Open at the start of last October was one such occasion, as all four women’s slalom finalists ran into 10.25m, marking the first time this had happened. In the minds of many, there was suddenly a new era of competitiveness in women’s slalom.

Read the full article at Waterski Journal

Joel Poland tricks at the 2021 World Championships

Poland Earns Overall Men’s Title at IWWF World Waterski Championships | Inside The Games

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Poland and Danisheuskaya win overall men’s and women’s titles at IWWF World Waterski Championships

Joel Poland tricks at the 2021 IWWF World Waterski Championships (image: Jeremy Stephenson)

By Patrick Burke

Inside the Games

Joel Poland became the first Briton since Mike Hazelwood in 1977 to win the overall men’s title at the International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation World Waterski Championships in Florida in the United States, while Belarus’ Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya earned the women’s title.

Full article at Inside the Games.

Malibu Boats liable for failing to warn of a hazard posed by its 2000 Malibu Response LX

Jury Awards Family $200 Million, Malibu Boats Found Liable | NBC

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Jury Awards $200 Million to Family of Boy Who Died in Boating Accident

Malibu Boats liable for failing to warn of a hazard posed by its 2000 Malibu Response LX

A jury has awarded $200 million to the family of a little boy who died in a boating accident. They found Malibu Boats liable for failing to warn of a hazard posed by its 2000 Malibu Response LX. (Image: IBI)

By Susan Hogan

NBC Washington

A jury has awarded $200 million to the family of a little boy who died in a horrific boating incident.

The Florida family and their lawyers called the verdict a major victory.

A Georgia jury found Malibu Boats liable for failing to warn of a hazard posed by its 2000 Malibu Response LX, a boat that 7-year-old Ryan Batchelder and his family were riding back in the summer of 2014 on a lake in Georgia.

Full article at NBC.

Neilly Ross Trick Skiing

The Future of Tricks | Waterski Journal

Repost

Future of Tricks

Neilly Ross Trick Skiing

Image: Neilly Ross (ph. Vincent Stadlbaur)

By Freddie Winter

Waterski Journal

April 30, 2021

Tricks are for kids. Or at least that’s what one might think when examining the last decade of competitive trick skiing. Previously it was not unheard of for precocious teens to take on and beat their more seasoned rivals: in 2001 fairly well known slalom skier Regina Jaquess won a World Trick Championship shortly after turning 17. However, recently teenagers conquering the world on their trick skis is not just more prevalent but more or less the norm.

Read the full article at Waterski Journal