Lacanau Always delivers Insane Scores!

As the sun set on the pristine beaches of Lacanau last Sunday, the lakes of (Lacanau Ski Club) finally settled from the excitement of the Lacanau Overall Cup and the Malibu Open. Both of these professional events brought about incredible skiing and hard-fought victories, with the Malibu Open representing some of, if not the highest scores ever seen in a professional slalom event. In order to move on to the finals on the men’s side of the competition, skiers had to finish with a score of 3@10.25m or higher. Continuing on the high-scoring trend, the finals displayed a three-way tie for the lead between Dane Mechler, Jon Travers, and Brando Caruso at 4@10.25m with only one skier remaining on the dock, namely top-seeded skier Nate Smith. Nate, who has been in incredible form this entire year, turned the first 3 buoys expertly at 10.25m and did not hesitate to turn the 4th buoy, seemingly never considering the possibility of skiing for a tie, and comfortably swinging out around the 5th and 6th buoys to run through yet another 10.25m pass.

In the women’s slalom event of the Malibu Open, there was a tough three-way North American battle between Canadian Paige Rini and Brooke Baldwin and Ali Garcia from the United States. Sandra Bottas was the only skier from another
continent to qualify for the four women final. Despite skiing quite well, Sandra wasn’t able to overtake the other three, who had each finished with a score on the 10.75m in at least one round. With the requirement to start at 13m, leading to a tailwind 11m pass, both Ali and Sandra were unable to clear the rope length, finishing with a score of 3.5 and 2 buoys respectively. Next up, Brooke Baldwin, who had been increasing her scores at 10.75 each round of the competition, styled her way through the 11m tailwind pass and finished with 3@10.75m, the highest score of any woman in the event. Coming off the dock as the top seed, Paige Rini handle the pressure well and also made fine work of the 11m line length. Yet, the prospect of needing 3 buoys proved challenging, as Paige turned the 1st buoy too hard for her to be able to hold the angle through the wakes, leaving Paige short inside 2 ball and on the second step of the podium.

As the skiers move on to the next stop of the European circuit, the skiers look back on their time in Lacanau and reminisce on a truly unforgettable experience. The site, the people, the city, the beach, all in all, the memories will last a lifetime and we are already looking forward to next year. If you have not been to Lacanau this city and ski club need to be on your bucket list, they are truly one of the best on the planet. Lacanau is not just an incredible ski site, but with private villas available for rent, a pool, and an incredible restaurant right at the dock with the friendliest staff you can imagine, it is truly a special place. If you want to get a moment outside of the resort the ocean is 10 minutes away with endless restaurant options right on the beach where you can watch some of the best sunsets imaginable. But as the sun sets on Lacanau, WWS is off to Calgary, Canada, for the second stop of the WWS Overall Tour. On July 29-31 the battle continues to see who will take out the Overall Tour Title.

See full WWS Lacanau Cup Overall Story

A Special thank you for all the long hours it takes to put on an event of this level. Hats off to Geraldine, Christophe, the Jamin family, the staff, judges, volunteers, and especially to the sponsors, which are special friends of the water ski community that wants to give back. So please check out the names at the bottom or on the Event Page and drop a personal thank you for their support, it is what builds a stronger foundation for our sport!

Thanks to Eudes M-Tivier for the great shots all weekend –

Friday – Saturday – Slalom

Sunday – Overall finals

This club is the real deal, not just world-class coaching – a full pro shop, marine sale and repair, Villa Rental, and dockside Restaurant (Lèau à la bouche), and a world-class beach 10 mins away.

Lacanau Ski Club

Visit The Tournament Page