Swiss Pro Tricks to Open 2025 Waterski Pro Tour

Swiss Pro Tricks to Open 2025 Waterski Pro Tour

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Swiss Pro Tricks to Open 2025 Waterski Pro Tour with Elite Lineup and Historic Momentum

Swiss Pro Tricks to Open 2025 Waterski Pro Tour

Image: @swissprowaterski

By Jack Burden


The Waterski Pro Tour is back—and it’s trick skiing that gets first dibs.

For the third straight year, the Swiss Pro Tricks will kick off the season, and if recent history is any guide, this Central Florida showdown won’t be easing into anything. With a field stacked top to bottom—28 of the world’s best, representing 12 countries, and featuring every world trick champion from the last three world championships—this is more than an opener. It’s a statement.

Trick skiing has often played third fiddle to slalom and jump. Not here. Not anymore. The Swiss Pro Tricks is tricks-only, and unapologetically so. No warm-up acts. No side stages. Just the most technical, most explosive discipline in the sport under the full glare of the spotlight.

In 2023, the tournament made history with three athletes scoring over 12,000 in the same event. In 2024, fans saw pending world records. In 2025, they may see something even rarer—consistency at the top in a discipline known for chaos.

Trick Skiing’s Renaissance Season

While details of the 2025 Waterski Pro Tour are still being finalized, one thing is already clear: this will be trick skiing’s biggest season yet. For the first time ever, four trick events will appear on the Pro Tour calendar—more than any previous year—alongside at least three additional non-tour trick events.

For a long time, tricking was underrepresented in pro waterskiing. Now, it’s starting to lead the charge.

“It’s really important for us as trickers to have events; we’ve been lacking a little bit recently,” said former Swiss Pro Tricks champion Joel Poland. “Tricking’s coming back! I’m getting goosebumps saying it.”

What’s Next on Tour?

After the dust settles in Florida, the Tour shifts gears. A six-week break allows space for the always prestigious US Masters and its contentious qualifying series. Then, it’s back to the Pro Tour with the Lake 38 ProAm in the Florida Panhandle.

Men’s slalom will draw its share of attention this season following a turbulent 2024, but all eyes—for now—are on the tricks. With the format built for livestreams and athletes who thrive on the edge of control, this discipline is custom-made for modern viewing.

The 2025 Swiss Pro Tricks opens the Waterski Pro Tour this weekend in Central Florida, and if the past is any clue, the only guarantee is greatness.

For more details visit the swissprotricks.com or waterskiprotour.com

Poland Renews Calls for Trick Score Revision

Poland Renews Push for Trick Scoring Overhaul

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Poland Renews Push for Trick Scoring Overhaul

Poland Renews Calls for Trick Score Revision

Image: @mcboatcompany

By Jack Burden


Speaking at an IWWF World Waterski Council meeting earlier this year, world record holder Joel Poland called for a long-overdue overhaul of trick skiing’s point system. Citing current scoring as a barrier to innovation, Poland argued that high-difficulty tricks—like his own recently approved “Matrix” and “UFO”—aren’t making it into tournament runs because the reward doesn’t match the risk.

“The point values for high-difficulty flips are crippling trick skiing,” said Poland. One of the sport’s most creative and technically gifted athletes, he has been increasingly vocal about the need for reform. He points to discrepancies such as the “Matrix”—a frontflip with a ski-line 540—earning just 150 points more than a basic frontflip.

The Tricks Working Group, formed nearly two years ago to address point disparities, has yet to deliver a proposal. That responsibility now falls to Sergio Font, who will lead the review and deliver recommendations at the September Water Ski Council meeting.

While there is broad agreement that the current system needs revision, progress has been slow—largely due to competing interests among athletes. Council Chair Candido Moz has voiced support for reform, but the IWWF has so far deferred to the skier community, whose inability to reach consensus has stalled change.

With elite runs becoming increasingly repetitive, Poland’s push adds renewed urgency to a debate many in the sport feel is long overdue.

2025 Moomba Masters

Moomba Magic: New Champions Rise on the Yarra

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Moomba magic: New champions rise on the Yarra

2025 Moomba Masters

Image: Moomba Masters

By Jack Burden


MELBOURNE, Australia – The 64th Nautique Moomba Masters International Invitational, the longest running event in professional water skiing, delivered another electrifying spectacle on the Yarra River. With its storied history and the festival’s raucous backdrop, no event in the sport draws a bigger live audience. And with it came the unpredictability, the high drama, and a new crop of champions.

The Yarra Claims Its Victims

The Moomba Masters is as much a battle against the conditions as it is against the competition. The infamous Yarra River played its role once again, dashing the hopes of even the most seasoned skiers. The cutthroat LCQ format and brutal preliminary rounds saw big names like reigning under-21 world champion Annemarie Wroblewski and experienced duo Elizabeth and Steven Island miss out on the slalom finals. Trick skiing had its own share of heartbreak, as reigning world overall champion Louis Duplan-Fribourg, along with several other top contenders, failed to navigate their way into the finals after a string of early falls.

Trick Finals: The New Gold Standard

Finals Monday kicked off with a fireworks display in the tricks event, where the women’s showdown was another chapter in the decade-long dominance of Erika Lang, Anna Gay Hunter, and Neilly Ross. Lang, already the Moomba course record holder, set the pace by rewriting her own mark with 10,830 points in the prelims. The final was razor-close, but Lang edged out Hunter and Ross for her third consecutive Moomba Masters crown.

The men’s event was an all-out war, where 12,000-plus was the magic number. Joel Poland, returning to the Moomba Masters after a five-year absence, threw down early with a score above 12,000. Jake Abelson, already riding high from his junior competition victory and course record (12,150), stepped up to take the lead with 12,230. Reigning world champion Patricio Font stumbled in his toe pass and couldn’t claw his way back despite a monster hand pass. Then came top seed Matias Gonzalez, seemingly on the brink of victory until he opted for a wake 180 over a high-scoring risk move, handing the title to Abelson—his first professional win. It also marked the first time in history that all three podium finishers cracked the 12,000-point barrier.

Slalom: A Legend Returns and a New Star Rises

Women’s slalom delivered a storyline no scriptwriter could have crafted better. The two favorites, Whitney McClintock Rini and defending champion Regina Jaquess, had barely survived the LCQs after early-round struggles. But McClintock Rini, skiing first in the finals, set a mark that none of the remaining 7 skiers could beat, securing her tenth Moomba Masters title and cementing her status as the undisputed Queen of Moomba.

The men’s slalom final was another thriller in what has become a wildly unpredictable discipline. Nine different winners in 2024 suggested an anything-goes environment in 2025, and the final reflected just that. Sixteen-year-old Damien Eade took the early lead, before Poland—showcasing his versatility—edged further down the 10.75m line. Then came Freddie Winter, just nine months removed from a broken femur, clawing his way into contention before local hero Lucas Cornale raised the bar to three buoys. It seemed a winning score until the wily veteran Thomas Degasperi managed a piece of four ball, setting the challenge for top seed Charlie Ross. The 19-year-old Canadian skied with a composure beyond his years, securing a full four and his maiden professional title, making him the youngest Moomba Masters slalom champion since Carl Roberge in the early ‘80s.

Jump: A Changing of the Guard

While the conditions kept the scores low in slalom, the jump event was an entirely different story, with personal bests falling like dominos throughout the tournament. The absence of Jacinta Carroll, who had dominated the women’s event for over a decade, left a power vacuum that was quickly filled by Brittany Greenwood Wharton. Making her Moomba Masters debut, the American put together a gutsy performance to fend off a strong challenge from Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya and secure her first professional title.

On the men’s side, the competition was stacked, but the weekend quickly morphed into a two-man showdown between Austria’s Luca Rauchenwald, fresh off a University World’s victory, and Great Britain’s Joel Poland. Poland, already having an outstanding weekend across multiple events, continued his surge by launching a monstrous 69-meter (226-foot) leap to claim his first Moomba Masters jump title. But he wasn’t done yet. Under the Melbourne city fireworks display, he capped off the event with a dominant night jump victory, soaring 68.6 meters (225 feet) off the smaller 5.5-foot ramp, putting an emphatic exclamation point on his weekend.

Moomba Magic Lives On

The 2025 Moomba Masters was a festival of breakthroughs and unexpected turns, a reminder that on the Yarra, past records and rankings often mean little. New champions were crowned, legends continued to build their legacies, and the world’s biggest water skiing stage proved once again why it remains unmatched in drama and spectacle. As the crowds dispersed and the festival wound down, one thing was clear: the Moomba Masters remains the ultimate test of talent, nerve, and resilience.

Trick skiing at the 2024 PanAmerican Championships

Quiz: Trick Skiers to Score More than 10,000 points in 2024

Quizzes

Quiz: Every trick skier to score more than 10,000 points in 2024

Trick skiing at the 2024 PanAmerican Championships

Image: @fotografacamilabernal

By RTB


3 minute play

In this quiz, you need to name all the skiers, male or female, who scored more than 10,000 points in 2024.

The list has 22 skiers, all of whom tricked over 10,000 points at least once in a world ranking tournament in 2024. Although the list is dominated by men, there are three women on the list, two of whom tricked over 11,000 points in 2024. We have mentioned the number of scores over 10,000, as well as the country and top score in the mentioned time period.

Data updated as of October 31, 2024

Dano the Mano rocking a four buckle coast guard approved vest

“Wear the Vest or Wear the Blame”: Dano the Mano Calls Out Trick Skiing’s “Reckless” Culture

News

“Wear the Vest or Wear the Blame”: Dano the Mano Calls Out Trick Skiing’s “Reckless” Culture

Dano the Mano rocking a four buckle coast guard approved vest

Image: @darian_michaela @dare_photography

By Jack Burden


It’s not just a four-buckle vest—it’s a statement. And for Danny Amir, known to the watersports world as Dano the Mano, it’s a matter of life and death.

On a recent episode of the Grab Matters podcast, Amir didn’t just stir the pot; he kicked it over, launching a full-throated takedown of trick skiing’s culture of vestless riding. With a blend of passion and pragmatism, Amir made his position clear: wear a life vest, or prepare to shoulder the blame when tragedy strikes.

The tipping point? A moment burned into Amir’s memory since 2000. Corey Kraut—pioneer of West Coast spins, master of off-axis tricks, and member of the DoubleUp wakeboard team—went for a casual 180 with a grab during a documentary shoot and never surfaced. Kraut, who reportedly only rode without a life vest during photo ops, had the kind of physique that popped on camera. Amir still sees it. “Riding without a vest looks awesome,” he says. “Your abs glisten, you look rad. But then some 10-year-old copies you, and what happens if they don’t come back up?”

To Amir, the argument for mobility—common among trick skiers—is laughable. “If I can land a 540 in a four-buckle vest at 42 years old, fat and out of shape, then why can’t you?” he asks, his voice dripping with incredulity. “You think your sport is so big it can’t adapt? Mary Morgan Howell is out here doing KGBs in a Coast Guard-approved vest. No excuses.”

But it’s not just about individual skiers—it’s about the culture. Trick skiing, Amir argues, has allowed a reckless tradition to fester. Riders cling to a vestless aesthetic, ignoring the risks. For Amir, the solution is simple: leaders like Joel Poland, one of the sport’s biggest stars, need to step up. “Joel wears the vest, Joel makes it cool. You want to grow your sport? Sell a thousand trick ski vests. Market it, profit from it, and save lives.”

Amir doesn’t stop there. He calls out the trick skiing rulebook, which doesn’t require a vest, and the complacency of event organizers. He shares a chilling anecdote about spotting downed riders during competitions, eyes locked on the waterline in case someone doesn’t resurface. “Drowning is real,” he warns. “Nobody thinks about it until it happens.”

The frustration in Amir’s voice isn’t just about safety—it’s about leadership. He’s tired of the excuses, tired of seeing an industry he loves ignore a problem he believes is inevitable. “It’s gonna happen,” he says. “And when it does, everyone’s gonna blame the rulebook. But they’ll have blood on their hands.”

Some might call Amir dramatic, but his message is clear: if trick skiing doesn’t change, it’s courting disaster. His solution? A cultural shift, led by athletes willing to make safety look cool. Until then, Amir isn’t backing down. On his lake, his events, and his terms, there’s only one rule: wear the vest—or don’t bother showing up.

Neilly Ross of Canada world trick record

Watch: Ross’s World Trick Record is Approved | IWWF

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Ross Breaks World Women’s Tricks Record

IWWF


Check out Neilly Ross’ World Open Women’s Tricks Record run of 11,380 points.

Canada’s Neilly Ross has broken the World Open Women’s Tricks Record with a score of 11,380 points. This was performance was achieved behind the World Record-Setting Ski Nautique at Okeeheelee Park at West Palm Beach on 26th October 2024. Congratulations Neilly.

Erika Lang sets a pending world trick record

Lang Strikes Back in Texas, Setting New Pending Record After Ross’ Feat

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Lang strikes back in Texas, setting new pending world trick record after Ross’ feat

Erika Lang sets a pending world trick record

Image: @erikalang36

By Jack Burden


GRANBURY, Texas — Just one week after Canadian water skier Neilly Ross set a pending world record, Erika Lang has reclaimed her status as the world’s highest-scoring women’s tricks skier, achieving an impressive 11,450 points at the Timber Cove Record Tournament in Granbury, Texas.

Lang’s score surpasses the current record of 11,360 and edges past Ross’ pending 11,380-point run, potentially restoring the American’s position at the top of the sport. This comeback follows a remarkable week of intense competition and record-breaking, with Lang adapting her strategy after observing Ross’ innovative hand sequence.

Erika Lang's pending world record trick run

Lang’s world record run

“11,450 points!! So excited to have set a pending World Record at the Timber Cove Record Tournament,” Lang shared after her performance. Her response highlights the fierce, fast-paced competition in women’s tricks skiing, where top athletes continually push the boundaries at each tournament.

Ross, 22, had made headlines just days earlier by setting the pending record in West Palm Beach, Florida. Her 11,380-point score was celebrated for its technical precision, featuring an innovative hand run that split her six flips into a series of wake spins and ski line tricks.

Lang, who also competed at the Okeeheelee tournament in pursuit of a world record, seems to have replicated Ross’ record-breaking run, learning and perfecting the sequence in the few days between the two events.

If ratified, Ross’ record would end Lang’s eight-year streak as record-holder, marking a potential passing of the torch in women’s tricks. However, Lang’s recent achievement could keep her at the forefront of the sport.

The escalating rivalry between Lang and Ross brings renewed excitement to the sport, with each record-setting performance intensifying the competition. Both scores are currently pending review from the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation.

Neilly Ross sets a pending world trick record

Neilly Ross Sets Pending World Record at Okeeheelee Tournament

News

Neilly Ross sets pending world record at Okeeheelee tournament

Image: @neillyross

By Jack Burden


WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Canadian water skier Neilly Ross set a pending world record in women’s tricks with a score of 11,380 points at the Okeeheelee 3-Event Record Tournament this weekend, surpassing the current record by 20 points. If approved, Ross’s score would end U.S. skier Erika Lang’s eight-year streak as the record-holder, potentially marking a shift in the competitive landscape of women’s tricks skiing.

“11,380!! Well, I can’t believe I’m saying this right now, but today I set a pending world record!” Ross exclaimed on social media following the event. “For 16 years, I have put every ounce of effort into the dream of one day achieving this.”

Neilly Ross pending world record trick run

Ross’ world record run

The record-setting run features an innovative hand sequence, in which Ross splits her six flips down the middle to perform a series of wake spins and ski line tricks. However, it’s her toe run that truly sets her apart, breaking 5,000 points—a rare feat for a female trick skier.

Ross, the youngest of the elite trio of Lang, Anna Gay, and herself, has long been considered one of the sport’s top talents. While Lang and Gay have traded off the women’s tricks record since 2013, Ross’s record-breaking performance may signal a changing of the guard, with the young Canadian now pushing the boundaries in an event where she set numerous records through the junior ranks.

If approved by the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation, Ross’s score would exceed Erika Lang’s current record of 11,360 set at the Travers LCQ in 2023.

Auckland Water Ski Club

Cash Prize “Flip-Off” Set for University World Water Ski Championships

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Cash prize “flip-off” set for University World Water Ski Championships

Auckland Water Ski Club

Image: @uniworlds2025

By Jack Burden


AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Spectators at the 2025 University World Water Ski Championships are in for a high-flying treat with the addition of the Moana Festival Flip-Off competition. The Flip-Off will take place on February 28, during the festival’s entertainment evening, part of the larger championships held from February 26 to March 2.

Organizers have announced that while the Flip-Off is not officially sanctioned by the International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (IWWF), it will be a highlight of the evening, showcasing the athleticism of the world’s top trick skiers. The eight highest-ranked athletes from the IWWF world ranking list competing in the World Championships will have the chance to participate in this dynamic, fast-paced event. Each skier will be given 20 seconds to complete as many flips as possible.

The competition is designed as a crowd-pleaser, offering a more relaxed atmosphere compared to the formal championship events. Along with a cash prize, the winner will receive a joyride in a MiG fighter jet over the scenic Coromandel Range. Additional prizes will be awarded to the crowd’s favorite skier, encouraging audience interaction.

Although the Flip-Off is not part of the official University World Championship program, it aims to entertain and engage the audience. Footage from the event may be included in the live stream or used for sponsor promotion. This fun, adrenaline-pumping event will be part of an evening that also features live music and food trucks at the venue.

This marks the first University World Water Ski Championships since 2016, and the first time the event is being organized by the IWWF.

Read more in Bulletin 2