WWS Update for Pro Overall Skiers

Despite challenging slalom conditions today, we witnessed some incredible skiing. However, due to strong wind gusts and the cancellation of the jump event, WWS has decided to move all 9 pro skiers directly to the finals on Sunday to ensure the best and fairest conditions. This sets the stage for an epic showdown, where athletes and fans alike will experience the competition at its peak!

With high winds expected on Saturday, the finals have been rescheduled to Sunday, starting at 9:00 AM with jump, followed by slalom, and concluding with tricks.

The traditional overall format—slalom, trick, jump—will challenge skiers to adjust their strategies as they fight for the ultimate title. This promises to be a thrilling conclusion to the WWS Overall Tour, and we can’t wait to see these athletes deliver their best in the final battle!

Come join us in the Red Bull tent to relax with appetizers and drinks while watching the action unfold, and meet these incredible athletes. If you can’t make it in person, catch the live webcast directly from the Fluid Cup event page. Subscribe now to stay updated and avoid any further weather surprises!

 

Update for the Tournament Skiers

Hi Skiers,

Today was a tough day on the water!
The forecast for tomorrow isn’t much better, but we are optimistic that we will get some decent skiing in!
We will be starting at 7:30 AM with OW Jump, followed by more 5.5 ft jumping, 6ft, and then 5ft if the conditions allow. Slalom will follow, but please arrive early in case jump is shortened. Slalom will start no earlier than 9:30 AM.

We are hoping conditions will be skiable, but regardless, this will be everyone’s first round.
Tricks will follow slalom, but will start no earlier than 12:30 PM.
All rounds of tricks will be completed tomorrow afternoon. If you would like to exchange your round of jump or slalom tomorrow for tricks, you are welcome to do so, as long as you let us know by 10:00 AM.

The updated schedule and running order has been attached and published on WorldWaterSkiers.com, IWSF, and USAWaterski Live Results.
Thank you for your patience, and fingers crossed the weather cooperates!

Regards,
Kyle Eade
Owner/Operator
Ski Fluid LLC
+1 (407) 625 4139
Kyle@SkiFluid.com
www.SkiFluid.com

World Water Skiers Overall Tour Concludes at the Fluid Cup

Presented by Dream Makers

October 18-20, 2024 – Polk City, FL

 

The 2024 World Water Skiers Overall Tour will conclude with an epic final showdown at Fluid Ski and Sports from October 18-20. The WWS Fluid Cup, presented by Dream Makers, serves as the 4th and final stop of the tour, where the Overall Tour Champion will be crowned.

Schedule Update: Due to higher-than-normal winds, and following the challenges brought by Hurricane Milton last week, Ski Fluid is prepared to host the world’s top athletes despite the weather. To ensure safe and fair competition, we’ve adjusted the event schedule, including moving the Overall Finals to Sunday, October 20, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. We appreciate your understanding as the athletes dig deep to deliver their best performances under these conditions.

• Preliminaries will begin on Friday, October 18, at 9:00 AM, starting with Slalom, followed by Jump.
• Trick prelims are scheduled for Saturday, October 19, at 9:00 AM.
• The finals will now take place on Sunday morning, featuring the top 9 men from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

The battles at each stop have been incredible, and the TRAVERS Cup was raced at a world-record pace in every round. If you haven’t watched the live webcast yet, you can now catch up on the highlight show and get up to speed on the fierce battle leading into the Fluid Cup.

Despite the weather challenges, the world’s top overall skiers—vying for the year-end bonus—including Joel Poland, Dorien Llewellyn, Louis Duplan-Fribourg, and Martin Kolman, are poised to compete across all three disciplines: Slalom, Trick, and Jump. With only 20 points separating the Tour Podium contenders, this season-defining event will push the athletes to their limits as they battle for crucial tour points and the ultimate title.

The WWS Fluid Cup offers not only thrilling competition but also an exciting fan experience. We invite spectators to join us in the VIP tent for appetizers and drinks while enjoying the action up close.

While the finals will be live webcast, we encourage fans to attend in person for the full experience, including an after-party with the athletes.

Please keep checking the Schedule Tab for any time changes.

The Official Running Order is downloadable under the Start List Tab on your computer or on your phone scroll all the way left and downloads PDF link.

The WWS Travers Cup 2024 Wrap-up

Performing better than anyone in the history of sport is typically a rarity, something that so few have the privilege to achieve, yet when waterskiing comes to Jack Travers Sunset Lakes, the chances of witnessing a World Record increase dramatically. Looking back to the 2021 World Championships at Sunset Lakes, Joel Poland, and Dorien Llewellyn were both pushing the boundaries of the Overall World Record during the preliminary round, with Joel taking over the top seed and setting a new World Record in the process. Fast forward 3 years and throughout the WWS Travers Cup, 3 World Records were broken again here at Sunset Lakes, yet this time both in the Open and U17 category within the Pro event.

With the most competitive Overall field to date, the WWS Travers Cup preliminary round was immediately action-packed. The slalom round started off the fireworks with 3 skiers, namely Joel Poland (GBR), Edoardo “Edo” Marenzi (ITA), and Dorien Llewellyn (CAN), running through the 10.75m line length and many personal bests, all the competitors knew that they would need to bring their top form to make it through to the next round. Moving into the trick event, there were many top scores, with Joel, Dorien, Louis Duplan-Fribourg (FRA), and Martin Kolman (CZE), skiing strong enough scores to separate themselves from the rest of the field, but the battle for the last 2 spots in the final would be hotly contested between young guns Jake Abelson (USA), Martin Labra (CHI), and Edo. With Martin and Edo having a lower-than-expected trick score, they knew their jump scores would need to far surpass Jake’s, as the current World Trick Record holder put out a superb score of 12220. In the end, Jake would miss out on the spots in the finals, but jumping at a slower speed and lower ramp height typically designated for the U17 division, he instead set a new Pending U17 Overall World Record. In addition, Joel would join Jake in the World Record endeavor, as he set another Pending Open Overall World record as well.

As the skiers reset for final day, many of the skiers had aspirations of undoing Joel’s current dominance on the Overall crown, seeing the perfect conditions of Sunset Lakes as a chance to put their own mark in the history of waterskiing. Beginning once again with the slalom event, many of the previous days’ personal best were seemingly hard to come by. Among the biggest upsets of the final round of slalom were Dorien Llewellyn falling at the first buoy at 10.75m, which would prove a massive hole to climb out of for the Canadian, Louis Duplan-Fribourg missing the 11.25m line length, and Martin Kolman finishing with a score of 3@10.75m. With Edo Merenzi midway through the 10.75m line length and Martin Labra missing his 11m line length pass, the field was understandably frustrated with their slalom performances, knowing the monster that was about to come. Joel Poland smelt blood in the water and powered his way through 10.75m, as he often does, to give himself a commanding lead straight out of the gate, finishing with 2@10.25m. Now it was up to the field to catch up through tricks.

Overall is often considered to “live or die” by the trick event, with the potential swing of scores anywhere from 0 to over 12000 points. One mistake can completely upend an overall round. Thus, standing up both trick passes was critical for all the finalists, which almost every skier was able to do. Outside of a frustrating fall for Marenzi, all of the finalists finished with a trick score between 11520 and 12030, which created a dramatic podium race with only one problem, Joel’s score was the 12030-point lead. On another World Record pace, Joel would have to make a large mistake in the jump event to relinquish his hold on the Travers Cup title, yet, the battle between Dorien, Louis, and Martin was increasingly tightening and would come down to whoever won in jump, with Dorien and Martin virtually deadlocked and Louis just behind, needing to make up about 2m in distance to surpass them for 2nd place.

Once again, Sunset Lakes proved to be one of the premier jump sites on the planet, with beautiful conditions allowing the skiers to push themselves to the limit. Young superstar Martin Labra found the stronger wind challenging, looking frustrated with a personal best 207ft jump, knowing there was much more to be found on such a great jump lake. Martin would finish 5th off the podium, but for a 2024 debut from the 18-year-old, it was certainly a mighty strong showing for the future to come along with Jake Abelson. Martin Kolman would be the first to take the water of the podium hopefuls, looking his strongest on tour and finishing with another personal best of 213ft, signaling to the rest of the field that he would not go down without a fight. Next, Dorien Llewellyn, who has struggled to find his form in jump so far this year, showed a glimpse of his old self on jump number 1, flying 219ft through the air a given a small fist bump, which looked to be equal to parts of relief that he had finally found a rhythm or the excitement that he landed himself ahead of Martin Kolman.

Coming down to our final 2 competitors, everything would still be on the line for Louis Duplan-Fribourg. Thriving in strong headwind conditions due to his physical strength, Louis rounded the 600ft buoy and charged into the ramp with ample speed, letting the strong boat pull him to another personal best score of 227ft, a new French National Record and also the lead ahead of Dorien. Finally, it was Joel’s event to lose. Coming into his turn a bit slower than Louis, Joel turned extremely patiently for the ramp, making his approach to the ramp increasingly later with each passing millisecond until the boat roared him through the top of the ramp and a solid opening jump of 222ft. The win was his, but he would need to find a little bit more for a second consecutive Overall Record. With Dorien Llewellyn as the only person to ever break an Overall Record twice in the same tournament, Joel pushed himself to the limit on each jump to join Dorien on that list. Building speed and float on each jump, Joel would finish jumps 2 and 3 with scores of 225ft and 228ft, giving him his second World Record of the weekend and capping a run of sheer dominance this year with only one WWS Overall Tour Stop left to go.

With his 3rd consecutive WWS Overall Tour title secured, Joel’s dominance in the sport continues. But the battle for the remaining podium spots is far from over, as Dorien, Louis, and Martin are all in contention for year-end bonus money and bragging rights, with only 20 points separating them.

All water ski fans are invited to be part of this electric atmosphere at the next stop—WWS Fluid on October 18-19. Get ready to witness more world-class performances and record-breaking moments! Check the WWS Fluid Event page for all the details and come out to support these incredible athletes as they push the sport to new heights.

A special thanks goes out to the incredible team that made this event possible! Huge shoutout to the Travers Crew: Lelani, Jack, Chris, Jon & Nati Travers, Mary & Ron Koenig, Shannon & Branden Waters, Becky Lathrop, Martin Bartalsky, Dan Abrascia & Deb Gradick, Kerry & Mike Morgan, Emily Dammeyer, Christina Delka Rocca, Cole McCormick, Kyle Eade, Cyndi Benzel, Jaimee Bull, Rob Hazelwood, Lauren Morgan, Jenna Morgan, Giannina & Dane Mechler, Felipe & Rodrigo Miranda, and Stevie Collins—what a team!

Also, a big thank you to our WWS team: Tom & David Grey, Alastair Byrd, Steven Farley, Johnny Hayward, Curtis William, Britta & Jaret, who work tirelessly behind the scenes to build a platform that strengthens the foundation of the sport we all love!

 

WATCH THE LIVE-STREAM AGAIN and HIGHLIGHT SHOW

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Travers Cup -3rd Stop on WWS Overall Tour 

Presented By Girl Loves A Sunset

The stage is set, the athletes are primed, and the world’s top waterskiers are heading to Groveland, Florida for the third stop of the WWS Overall Tour—the Travers Cup! Held at the legendary Jack Travers’ Sunset Lakes on September 21-22, this is your chance to witness the most thrilling waterski competition of 2024.

Why should you be there?

Sunset Lakes is universally hailed as one of the best waterski venues in the world, and for good reason. With limit-pushing performances and top athletes competing at their peaks, this event is set to be an all-out battle for the title. Joel Poland GBR, fresh off a Pending Overall World Record and a dominating season, is looking look to further cement his grasp on the tour title with another victory. But, the Travers Cup will also play host to the highest quality of challengers seen this year, with Dorien Llewellyn CAN, Martin Kolman CZE, and Louis Duplan-Fribourg FRA, all looking stronger than ever in practice this week. Even further, young superstars Martin “Tincho” Labra CHI, and Jake Abelson USA, will make their 2024 tour debuts on Sunset Lakes and are ready to shake things up. Joel may be in peak form, but with the strength of his challengers turned up to the max, this event looks to be anyones for the taking!

But the WWS Travers Cup is more than just an elite competition. It’s a family-friendly event that gives you the chance to meet your favorite skiers, enjoy the beautiful lakeside atmosphere, and dive into the world of waterskiing. Come experience the energy, meet the athletes, and get in on the action both in person and online. Not in Florida? No problem! Catch all the heart-stopping action live on the webcast on September 22 for the finals. You won’t want to miss a second of it.

So mark your calendars for September 21-22, head out to Sunset Lakes, and be part of the action. This is waterskiing at its finest—where legends are made, and records are broken.

For all the details, visit the WWS Travers Cup event page

or find all the stops of the tour at WorldWaterskiers.com/tours.

 

The Jump Off: A Passing of the Torch or a Glitch in the System?

Two jumpers remain. As they watch the coin fall they already know what they will choose if they win the toss. Go out first to put pressure on their singular opponent? Or go out knowing the score needed to win the inaugural Canada Cup in front of thousands of cheering fans, eagerly awaiting the jump-off to crown a champion. As the coin fell only one could win, only one would take home the glory of one of the best jump finals in recent times.

As the skiers landed on the shores of the Saskatoon Water Ski Club for practice before the WWS Canada Cup, the wind conditions were less than cooperative, both the men’s and women’s jumpers found it challenging to simply go over the ramp, battling upwards of 40-60kph (25-35mph) wind gusts. Yet as the event window started, glimmers of hope continued to appear through the proceeding days, requiring both skiers and event organizers to be on their toes at all times, ready to jump into action as soon as nature allowed for ramping.

 

The first round of competition saw the top women jumpers in the world take to the water first. Hanna Straltsova continues her domination, having just come off a win at the California ProAm only days before, with a 54.3m (178ft) jump. Following her were the girls who have been fighting it out all year, namely Aliaksandra “Sasha” Danisheuskaya, Brittany “Britt” Greenwood, and Lauren Morgan, all roughly 2m apart, with Sasha leading the hunt for second with a 49.1m (161ft) jump. Rounding out the finalists was Valentina Gonzalez, who is making her return from injury late last year and continues to improve each round, edging closer and closer to the leading girls with each jump on her comeback.

On the men’s side of the field, Freddy “The Nightmare” Kreuger, also fresh off a Cali ProAm win, only needed one jump to secure the top seed, namely a 65.5m (215ft) jump. Kreuger was followed closely by red-hot Joel Poland and up-and-coming superstar Luca Rauchenwald. Rounding out the top 8 for the men were many of the tour veterans and names we have come to expect, such as Jack Critchley, Igor Morozov, and Taylor Garcia.

 

Moving into the finals, the women were faced with a tough mental challenge as the wind conditions picked up throughout the day as the event moved towards the 5 pm start time. Despite some nervous looks, the women braved the wind in front of a huge crowd of Canadians, who were being guided through cheers both from announcer Curtis Williams and DJ Steve Kushman. Once again, Hanna proved her might, winning on her second jump with a strong 52.6m (173ft) jump and even going back out to give the electrifying crowd a victory lap 3rd jump, which should be noted, was also far enough to take the title. Once again the fighting trio behind Hanna had a shake-up from the preliminary scores, with Britt leap-frogging Sasha to seal second place on a 49.7m (163ft) leap, which only slightly edge out both Sasha and Lauren, both finishing the event with 49.1m (161ft) scores.

As the crowd became more accustomed to the adrenaline of the jump finals, the men took to the water, starting with the Overall event jumpers. To the crowd’s delight, Canadian local heroes Thomas Daigle and Lucas Pinette kicked off the show, both nearing the 60m mark with each jump. Then the fireworks really began as Luca Rauchenwald set the lake on notice with a huge 66.1m (217ft) jump, the farthest of the tournament thus far. Then as the event moved into its final two jumpers, it didn’t appear as though Joel Poland would be able to best his Austria friend, coming into his last jump well short of the score, but, amid a building Viking clap from the fans, Joel found those precious centimeters to edge out Luca as the 66.3m (218ft) score appeared on the screen. Finally, Freddy Kreuger took to the water. Having been in fine form this year, many were surprised that Freddy was lagging behind both Joel and Luca coming in for his final attempt at the ramp, yet he too seemed to come away from his 3rd jump with the lead, only to throw his hands up in the air as 66.3m once again appeared on the scoreboard. Thus, ladies and gentlemen, we had a jump-off.

The 2 jump head-to-head jump-off would start off with Freddy choosing to go first, having won the coin toss. Once again turning in for the ramp with the Viking clap building as Freddy blasted into the bottom of the ramp, many cheered in admiration as the scoreboard read 66.6m (219ft), the furthest jump off the event once again. Then, as the sun continued to set, Joel returned to his arena, slipping on his first jump and leaving everything to one final cut, one final kick, and one final flight. The crowd cheered and clapped as Joel came flying into the bottom right-hand corner of the jump, soaring into the air, the jump was huge, everyone was thinking, but one man knew it. One man knew it so well that in the midst of his jump, Joel began to pump his fist into the air before he even landed. Screams filled the lake as both the crowd and Joel felt they had witnessed something special, regardless of who won. Yet, most everyone still eagerly awaited the score, not being as convinced as Joel that it was enough until the numbers hit the board, 6… 6… 9. Joel had jumped 66.9m (219ft) and had claimed the first-ever WWS Canada Cup crown.

 

As the champagne flowed from all directions on the podium, the crowd looked on in admiration, eagerly awaiting any announcement of the return of the WWS Canada Cup the next year. To their delight, event organizer and Canadian jumping legend, Jimmy Clunie, declared there would be a rematch between all these great skiers next year. Thus, as the sun went down and the skiers packed their bags, many were reminiscing, but many were also already mentally preparing for the next stop of the tour, namely the Mastercraft Pro at Ski Fluid on September 26-28. With the battles we have seen so far this year, every tour stop will be must must-watch action that you will certainly not want to miss.

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MEN’S AND WOMEN’S JUMP EVENT
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THE MEN’S OVERALL EVENT 

 

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Who Will Step Up to Break the Cycle?

When considering an Overall event, let alone an Overall tour, you are bound to experience a rollercoaster of emotions. There is rarely a day when all 3 disciplines end up exactly how you wanted or expected, thus, mental strength is of the utmost importance. For these reasons, Joel Poland’s dominance over the past year and a half has been remarkable. His skiing ability is known throughout the world, allowing him to compete at the very pinnacle of waterskiing in all 4 events. So the question must be asked, who will be the one to challenge Joel’s reign on tour and at the WWS Canada Cup? Who will find a way to rip the tour title from his hands, which seem to be firmly reaching at the possibility of another repeat title?

Will it be a local young gun? Both Lucas Pinette and Thomas Daigle (CAN) put on a great show at the WWS Canada Cup, finding multiple personal best or near-best scores in order to find their way into their first pro finals, knocking out the man who finished 3rd on tour in 2023, Italian Edoardo Merenzi. Both of the Canadian skiers would then move on to post even better final scores, Lucas skiing a personal best in slalom with 4@11m and Thomas just behind at 3. Alas, these two would not yet have the firepower to take down Joel, both looking for more in the jump event with scores of 58.7m for Lucas and 57.6m for Thomas. In the end, Lucas and Thomas earned valuable tour points, finishing 5th and 6th respectively, while also gaining invaluable tournament experience, which they will need to capitalize on right away as they will get another crack at the field at the Travers Cup in two weeks.

Thus, looking past local talent, let us move on to the tour veterans, to the World Champions, to the continuous threat that has been chasing Joel for the past years. Are Louis Duplan-Fribuorg (FRA) or Martin Kolman (CZE) the in-form skiers to take down Joel? Both skiers have put up some amazing scores this year and continued to do so at the Canada Cup. Despite difficult preliminary round conditions, both skiers eased their way into finals, proving they are dominant contenders on tour. Then in the finals, Louis would improve his Overall score but unfortunately missed the 11m pass, putting himself at a deficit right from the get-go. He would recover well in trick with a score of 11360 and a solid jump of 63.9m. Yet with the top 3 skiers left on the dock, Louis was visibly reserved as to his chances at his first title of 2024.

 

On the other hand, the 2019 Overall World Champ, Martin Kolman continued his recent resurgence to not only his top form, but past his former best, improving his prelim slalom score to 2@10.75m, only 2 buoys off the lead in slalom, and following with a tournament-leading 11520 points, putting himself in the lead in Overall heading into the Jump event. Finally, he finished with a jump score of 61.7m, which would have put him in the Jump finals had he posted the score in the prelims. Martin showed his commitment to improve in the jump event and also sent a clear signal to the rest of the field that he too, no longer has a weak event. He would take the lead with only Dorien Llewellyn and Joel Poland left to go.

 

Speaking of Dorien Llewellyn-CAN, he has emerged as somewhat of a dark horse on this year’s tour, despite being a former tour winner and fighting for wins at every tour stop only 2 years ago. After a strong 2nd place finish at the WWS Salmsee Cup in Austria, Dorien showed he still has the skills to be back on top of the podium, despite his injury and absence from the 2023 tour. However, his skiing seems somewhat restrained and wanting for another gear. In the challenging weather conditions of Saskatoon, Dorien stayed within one buoy of the lead in slalom with 3@10.75m. Known for his consistency in tricks, Dorien looked to capitalize on the conditions with two solid passes to pressure the field. Yet, an unusual slip at the very end of his second-hand pass cost him his last two tricks, leaving him with 10,780 points and trailing Kolman heading into the jump event. Needing a jump of 63.3m to take the lead, and with frustration building, Dorien couldn’t quite find his signature air form, landing just shy of the lead with a jump of 62.7m. This placed him ahead of Louis but behind Martin, with only Joel left to compete.

 

So here we are yet again, looking out on the lake at the current World Record Holder, at the man who has won the last 5 tour stops, at Joel Poland. As is his nature, Joel looked strong in the slalom event, taking the lead straight out of the gate with a score of 4@10.75m. Then, tricks is where the fireworks began to shine, as Joel fumbled through the middle of his first run in toes, losing balance, but recovering time and time again. Until his body hit the water, rope still attached to his foot, dragging for mere moments that seemed to stretch on for eternity, his pinner not letting go until he knew that even Joel couldn’t pull out another miraculous save. Thus, Joel sat in the water, only just past halfway through his toe run, knowing he would need every single point he had in his hand run. Despite doing exactly that and nailing his hand run, many didn’t think that he would have enough points to pull out his 6th win in a row, given Martin Kolman’s commanding lead at 11520. Yet, his 10120-point score was just enough to keep himself in the game, but needing a big jump in the finals. Joel would have to surpass Kolman’s jump score by roughly 4m to win. 

 

Joel took to the water with a clear mind, knowing he would need the best jump of the tournament to win Overall. After failing to take the lead on his first two attempts and only bringing himself onto the podium in 3rd behind Dorien and Martin, Joel turned for the ramp on his final jump, the crowd’s clapping growing increasingly faster and louder as he neared the red surface of the ramp, and to their delight he soared off the top of the ramp. Everyone knew they had seen a big jump, possibly the biggest of the event, but was it enough? Had Joel done enough to retain his grasp on the crown? The scoreboard flashed his distance as the crowd roared out and Martin Kolman threw his hand up in the air, but not in celebration, rather, in defeat, in disbelief that his incredible skiing didn’t get him the title. Joel Poland had done it, he had taken the Canada Cup crown and a commanding lead in the 2024 WWS Overall tour standings.

 

So the question must be asked again. Who will stand up to Joel’s reign? Will it be an up-and-coming skier like Lucas Pinette? Will it be seasoned World Champion veterans like Louis Duplon-Fribourg and Martin Kolman? Will Dorien Llewellyn turn his words from his final interview in Canada into reality? Will he in fact “finally be ready to go for the win at the Travers Cup”? Will a new name step up to the plate and take down the current king? Or will Joel continue his dominance? In the end, only time will tell and these questions will be answered in 2 weeks time with the tour comes to Groveland, Florida for the Travers Cup, Sept 20-21. 

Considered one of the best all-around waterski lakes on the planet, not only will the competition heat up, but also the performances themselves are set to skyrocket. With the potential for World Records to be set written all over this event, the WWS Travers Cup will be a competition no one will want to miss. 

 

In the end, the Saskatoon Water Ski Club put on a truly world-class event in their first year, despite challenging weather conditions. The atmosphere was electric, largely thanks to DJ Steve Kushman and tour announcer Curtis Williams, who energized the crowd and kept the athletes pumped up throughout the entire event. Furthermore, WWS would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Michelle & Jim Clunie, Norm Lucas, and all the incredible volunteers for their leadership and to the local sponsors for their tremendous support. With such a fantastic debut, we can’t wait to see what next year’s WWS Canada Cup brings!

 

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Austria’s most successful water skier, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn, once again brought the international pinnacle of action water sports to Upper Austria in the form of the WWS Salmsee Cup. On July 27 and 28, the best Overall skiers in the World competed in Slalom, Trick, and Jump at the Austrian stop of the World Water Skiers (WWS) Overall Tour in Steyregg. Grebe-Llewellyn and her husband, Jaret Llewellyn, a 9-time World Champion water skier himself, have now organized the event for five years and this year’s event was as exciting as ever. Great Britain’s Joel Poland defended his title from last year against his longtime rival out of Canada, Dorien Llewellyn, who made his return to the WWS Tour after missing all of 2023 due to an ankle injury.

 

 

With ten European Championship titles (in a row), two World Championship titles, and four world records, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn is one of the most successful female water skier of all time. Although the Gmunden native, no longer actively participates in competitions herself, she now shares her experience in athlete management and event organization, which includes putting together the WWS Overall Tour. Having completed the first event in Steyregg, she now sets her sights on the second stop of the tour in Canada, followed by the final two stops in Florida at what many consider to be the two best water ski lakes in the World.

At the WWS Salmsee Cup, the top six Overall skiers in the world battle the conditions and each other to see who was the king in Austria. You see, the special thing about the World Waterski Overall Tour is that the athletes have to prove their skills in the disciplines of slalom, tricks, and jumping, making the battle both one of physical and mental prowess.
The trio of favorites fighting for the title were last year’s tour Champion and World Record holder, Joel Poland, the reigning Overall world champion, Louis Duplon-Fribourg (FRA), and former World Record holder and 2021 World Champion, Dorien Llewellyn (CAN). In addition, Austrian Overall national champion, Alexander Gschiel, from Linz, and vice-national champion, Vincent Ahammer, from Gmunden, faced the international competition as hometown favorites. 

The incredible quality of the high-ranking starter field was evident immediately. Joel Poland led the way, scoring the highest scores in the Slalom and Jump disciplines. Ukrainian, Danylo Filchenko, finished close behind Poland with two personal bests and finished the day with the heights trick score of the day 12,340 in his WWS debut. Rounding out the top 3 was Dorien Llewellyn, who proved that he is inching closer to his best form after his injury break last year. Alexander Gschiel and Vincent Ahammer narrowly missed out on the finals, finishing 7th and 8th respectively, with Gschiel only falling short of Italy’s Edoardo Marenzi by a mere 20 Overall points, which, for example, corresponds to a difference of 0.8m in the jump event. However, both Austrians performed admirably well in the extremely strong field of six of the world’s best riders. 

Finals day started with the slalom competition, which started rainy and windy, but changed into a beautiful day. The men’s final day once again turned into an exciting thriller. Most of the field fought through what seemed like challenging conditions, but Joel Poland

put on a masterclass in slalom, pulling ahead to a commanding lead with 2.5@10.25m, 4.5 buoys ahead of Martin Kolman in second place, and Dorien Llewellyn and Edoardo Marenzi just behind in third. Moving into the trick event, Dorien took the lead with a commanding 11460-point score, which would only be narrowly eclipsed by Poland with a score of 11680, meaning Dorien would have to out-jump Joel by 4.5m to win the event. Louis Duplan-Fribourg would pull into third Overall behind Dorien with 11140 points, leaving Dorien with a 2.5m equivalent lead of Overall points over Louis heading into the jump event. Louis, the first of the three to jump, finished the event with the farthest jump score, namely 62.6m, which was enough to hold the lead in Overall until Dorien’s last jump, which was 61.2m. Finally, after failing to grab the victory from Dorien on his first jump, Poland secured the title with a 60.7m second jump and skied to the dock to the sound of applause from the awestruck audience on the shores of the Salmsee

With a total of 2949.47 points, the current world record holder won the heart-stopping final ahead of Dorien Llewellyn (2846.58) and defended his title from the two previous years. “The conditions were still challenging today due to the wind and everyone skied so well, which made it difficult. But of course, I’m over the moon with my third win here and I just love being here in Austria,” said Poland. In the end, the winner of the 2020 and 2021 Austrian stop, Dorien Llewellyn, was able to move up to second place.  “The competition [for me] was pretty good today, although my performance wasn’t at the same level as before my injury. But I did it cleverly, slalom was good enough, trick was good, but there should be more in there. The same as the jumping, but today I did what I needed. And to beat Joel, you just need super performances. But second place is a great start to the tour,” said, Dorien, delighted with his comeback from injury. Third place went to Frenchman Louis Duplon-Fribourg (2828.16). 

 

Watch The Event Recap Show here!

Stop 1 WWS Salmsee Cup

Steyregg, Austria

July 27-28

At the Austrian stop of the World Water Skiers Tour, the international elite of water skiing will compete in the disciplines of Slalom, Trick, and Jump. Organized by Austria’s most successful water skier, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn, the action-packed water sports event will take place on 27-28 July from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. with free admission at Salmsee in Steyregg, Upper Austria.

For the fifth time in a row, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn is bringing top international athletes to Austria with the Salmsee Cup as part of the World Water Skiers Tour. The first stop of the international series will take place on July 27 and 28 at the Salmsee in Steyregg. The last few years have shown how exciting and action-packed this event can be when the best water skiers in the world come together.

The special thing about this tour is that the athletes have to compete in all 3 events, slalom, trick, and jump, and only the combination of these three water skiing disciplines is judged. The top 10 men in the world rankings will be competing, the best and most versatile water ski athletes in the world. The “local hero” and two-time Austria winner of previous years, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn’s son Dorien Llewellyn will be back on the dock after his injury-related time off last year and he has of course prepared himself well for the competition. “I’m looking forward to the competition at Salmsee, it’s a beautiful site. After my injury break last year, I can hardly wait to take part in the WWS Overall Tour again. The ten best men are at the starting dock and everyone is looking forward to competing in Austria. Winning this competition, or rather this tour, is the most difficult title for a water skier to win, It will be a great show, everyone should come and watch it live,” says the 28-year-old, looking forward to the Austrian edition in his second home country. 

The Canadian, with Austrian roots, is the third in an unusual trio leading the water skiing scene. The exciting battle between the Brit and defending champion Joel Poland, who also recently broke the world record in the Overall, and the reigning World Champion Louis Duplon-Fribourg (FRA), will once again come to a head to head.

 

 

 

 

 

From an Austrian perspective, 20-year-old homeboy Alexander Gschiel from Linz and Vincent Ahammer from Gmunden, will be flying the flag at the home event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Schedule 

Saturday 27.7. – 1 – 4 pm  Slalom,  Trick and Jump  

Sunday    28.7.  –  1 – 4 pm Slalom, Trick and Jump, Prize giving Ceremony

See Event Page for full details

 

World Water Skiers Announces 2024 Overall Water Ski Tour Stops

World Water Skiers (WWS) is thrilled to unveil the highly anticipated stops for the 2024 World Overall Water Ski Tour. After months of meticulous planning and preparation, we are excited to announce that this year’s tour promises to be stronger and better than ever.

The 2024 tour will feature exhilarating competitions across four spectacular locations, showcasing the best talent in Three Event Water Skiing:

Stop 1: WWS Salmsee Cup, Linz, Austria – Known for its stunning landscapes and pristine waters, the Salmsee Club hosts its 3rd WWS Salmsee Cup presented by Gschiel. This could be the favorite stop of all the athletes on tour! Not only does the lake ski incredibly, but the atmosphere and culture make this stop unforgettable. As the birthplace of the Overall Tour, it will set the stage for an unforgettable start on July 27-28.

 

 

Stop 2: WWS Canada Cup, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada – presented by Korpan Considered the world’s breadbasket, Saskatchewan produces more than a third of the world’s total exported durum wheat. Home to some of the friendliest people, the Saskatchewan Waterski Club will host the WWS Canada Cup, highlighting Overall and Jump disciplines. All the top skiers will be vying for the highest payout the sport has seen in years on August 27-28.

 

Stop 3: WWS Travers Cup, Sunset Lakes, Florida, United States – Presented By Girl Love A Sunset (Luxury Charters) is the 3rd stop will be held at the highly regarded Jack Travers Ski School located at Sunset Lakes in beautiful Lake County. Known in the water ski world as possibly the best site on the planet for setting personal bests, this stop will see world records fall as athletes achieve new heights on September 21-22.

 

Stop 4: Ski Fluid, Polk County, Florida, United States – Presented by Dream Makers, this is the final stop of the 2024 tour takes us back to a place where the sky is the limit for those pushing themselves to win the tour title. Ski Fluid will be where athletes score their final points to become the overall champion of 2024. With such a premier site and athletes striving to win the tour title, there is no doubt that world records will fall again, as they did last year, on October 18-19.

 

This year’s tour is set to elevate the sport of water skiing to new heights, with each stop offering unique challenges and breathtaking scenery. We are confident that the 2024 World Overall Water Ski Tour will captivate audiences and inspire the next generation of water skiers.

 

“We are incredibly proud of the impact that the WWS Tour has had on the sport. Our team is always willing to test boundaries to what this sport could be,” says Jaret Llewellyn of World Water Skiers. “We are so grateful for our list of supporters who believe in our vision to make a difference in our sport. The enthusiasm from our host clubs in getting their cities involved to bring these incredible athletes to engage in their communities has been extraordinary. We can’t wait to see these athletes continue to evolve in slalom, trick, and jump disciplines, leaving everyone around the world speechless.”

Stay tuned for more details on each tour stop, including dates and athlete bios. Join us as we embark on an exhilarating journey through Austria, Canada, and the United States, celebrating the best in water skiing.

Please take the time to recognize our supporters below, and support them when you can.  For more information about the tour, please contact: Jaret Llewellyn Jaret.Llewellyn@worldwaterskiers.com

Follow us on social media for the latest updates:

Instagram: @world.water.skiers

 

 2024 WWS Overall Water Ski Tour Page 

 

                                              

 

 

Records Fall & Champions Crowned At WWS Flordia Cup

 

Here it is; 4 countries, 4 stops, 7 winners, 16 records, 2 Tour Champions, and 1 unbelievable year. The Florida Cup was the perfect cap to an unreal year. After an action-packed tour season, the Overall skiers pulled up to the record-setting shores of Ski Fluid, where most recently Jacinta Carroll became the first woman to jump 200ft, and Joel Poland and Dorien Llewellyn traded World Overall Records in 2021. Needless to say, expectations were high and the event did not disappoint.

Boasting the largest and most competitive female field a WWS event has seen, the Florida Cup was a staple as to how amazing the women’s event can be with the likes of Regina Jaquess, Anna Gay, Hanna Stratslova, and Valentina Gonzalez making their debuts. After having three different event winners this year, namely Paige Rini, Brooke Baldwin, and Kennedy Hansen, the question was if one of these three girls could become the first to win 2 titles in the same year. Unfortunately, Brooke, the tour leader heading into the event, sustained a back injury at the 3rd stop in Austria and was unable to compete. Nevertheless, the women put on a fierce battle from the onset of the preliminary round, with Regina breaking the WWS slalom record, finishing with a score of 1@10.25m, and Hanna breaking the WWS jump record, with a distance of 55.1m. Their performances were so strong in fact, that Kennedy would be knocked out of the event in the first round, thus, securing the Tour points lead and the WWS Overall Tour Title for Brooke Baldwin.

Heading into the women’s final were, in descending order of placement, Hanna, Regina, Paige, and Anna. Beginning with trick, Paige and Anna were considered to be the strongest competitors, but due to a couple miscues, Paige fell early in her toe pass, leaving her in a sizable hole right out of the gate. Anna, on the other hand, showed her World Champion stature, setting a new WWS trick record with a score of 10350 points. Moving into slalom, with Hanna sitting on 8410 and Regina back a bit more at 7130 they both need to step up going into there strong events. Regina, largely considered one of, if not the best slalom skiers of all time, once again put on a clinic in the course, tying her record from the first round with 1@10.25m. Vaulting her into 1st place of the Overall race. Still, the fight raged on, as Hanna powered her way to a personal best in slalom of 0.5@10.75, knowing her strongest event was yet to come. 

Thus, moving into jump, Regina led, Hanna was close behind, and Anna rounded out the podium. All four women jumped exceptionally well, with Paige Rini putting on a spirited performance in an attempt to retake a podium place, and Regina’s grit was on display with her solid jumping having only recently begun to truly recover from her ACL tear last year. But, it was Hanna who would not be denied, setting yet another WWS jump record, soaring 56.5m through the air, and thereby breaking Giannina Bonneman’s 2 year withstanding Overall record. With all the action this year and the return of Giannina next year, the stage has been set for what could be the most exciting season of Overall skiing in history.

 

On the Men’s side of the action, Dorien Llewellyn and Joel Poland once again looked to square off in their seemingly never-ending, heavyweight slugfest. With each of the Men having been to three stops, all 5 were guaranteed to make the finals, allowing for Dorien and Joel to push for high scores in the first round, which they absolutely did. Dorien, being ranked an equal 2nd with Louie Duplan-Fribourg heading into the event, was the first of the two to complete a WWS Overall record-breaking round of 5@10.75m, 11060 points, and a 67.8m jump, which also happened to be a new WWS Jump record. Only 1 minute later, Joel would improve upon Dorien’s score by a mere 5 overall points, with 5.5@10.75m, 11200 points, and a 67.1m jump! Thus, Joel would be the top seed in the finals, followed by Dorien, Martin Kolman, Edoardo Marenzi, and Tanguy Dialland, in that order.

 

Also beginning with the trick event, Martin Kolman reminded everyone why he is the 2019 Overall World Champion with a blistering trick score of 11730. Still, Dorien kept himself well within striking distance with his own score of 11360 with Joel still to trick. After a slightly early fall in toes, the expectation was that Joel would fire back with his impressive flip sequence, but shockingly, Joel fell after his second flip, potentially eliminating him from the title race. Additionally, Edo proved himself to be a future title contender with a personal best of 10790. Then in the slalom event, Martin, who had been seemingly struggling to find his form all year, picked the perfect moment to regain his winning ways, swerving to a solid score of 4@10.75m. Knowing that he was now the favorite to win the event, Dorien showed some nerves on his early passes but pulled himself together at the right time to power through the 10.75m line length, only to frustratingly fall at the final buoy. Yet, his score of 5.5@10.75m put him just 6 Overall points behind Martin and with his strength in jump, was a clear advantage to the Canadian. 

That being said, Martin would not go down without a fight. Despite only performing a 3/4 cut, Martin finished with the second-highest jump score of the round, an impressive 206ft jump, which Dorien would not beat after a 205ft first jump. Still, confident in his jumping, Dorien brought his cut later down the lake and boosted 219 and 220ft jumps to secure himself his first win of the 2022 season, finally able to stand atop the podium to spray the champagne. With these results, Dorien took sole ownership of the runner-up position in the tour standings and Martin found himself rounding out the podium in 3rd place, with Joel Poland’s year-long success leading to his first WWS Overall Tour Title and the golden champions bib for the 2023 season.

WWS Florida Cup The Final Stop 

• Friday, Oct 28th – Preliminary Rounds – Top 5 men and 4 women will advance to the Saturday finals
• Saturday, Oct 29th at 1 pm Finals – Will be 3 hrs of action-packed skiing in all 3 disciplines

 WWS Florida Cup Champions will be taking home $25 thousand USD 

but also the Year End Overall Tour Champions will take home another $14 thousand in bonuses, marking history as the 1st legitimate World Tour Bonus payout in 24 years. “World Water Skiers is super proud of putting together this 4-stop World Tour + year-end bonuses that give credence to the Tour Title.” “All incredible athletes deserve a stage to perform on.”

Please see the “Scheduling Tab” for a complete order of events. Finals will be Live Streamed, so please set a reminder on the WWS YouTube Page

Our Event and Tour Sponsors love our sport and they genuinely want to help build the sport. Please check them all out by doing a little research on them. Maybe even send them a note and thank them for us! Also, don’t forget to hit the share button right on the TOURNAMENT PAGE, below, so all your friends and family can take part.

@WWSOverallTour   or   #WWSOverallTour

U21 European Men’s Trick Final Results Are In!

Pol Duplan- Fribourg from France takes out the win with a new personal best of 10130.  Teammate Clarens Lavau takes out second place by a narrow margin over Dominic Kuhn of Austria. Both lost a trick each so it came right down to the wire.

 

Presently France is dominating both the men’s and women’s Overall positions – Pol Duplan- Fribourg and teammate Ines Anguenot are in comfortable positions with solid scores and in all 3 finals where they could improve upon their protected scores. There is a tight race for all remains spots so it will be interesting who is standing on the podium tomorrow.

Women Overall Prelims

Men Overall Prelims

Tomorrow the rest of the finals will take place with the women’s slalom finals starting at 9 am.

Please check the schedule tab for a list of all events.

 

Europeans U21 and Disabled

The Europeans are finally here! We want to welcome all participants and spectators to our event. This is a 3 Event tournament featuring the best european skiers under 21 and the best disabled skiers in all age categories. Starting on Wednesday the prelims will be held according to the IWWF schedule and the judges decision according to the weather. Finals will approximately start on thursday with the disabled competions finals in trick. The remaining finals will follow on friday and saturday. For further information please feel free to contact us on site or explore our worldwaterskiers website here.

 

Wasserskifahren im Blut

Water Skiing In The Blood

Salzburger Nachrichten 230thous Aug 27 2022

 

Dorien Llewellyn had to follow in oversized footsteps.

Mother Britta dominated the ladies for years, father Jaret is considered an absolute Legend in the scene. The son only discovered his love for water skiing during his vacations in his native Austria.
Conquering snow-covered slopes on two narrow boards have traditionally been a top priority in Austria. Those who make it to the top of the world, or even to international titles are sure of fame and honor and, above all, nationwide fame. Other sports can only dream of such national importance. Or have you ever heard the name, Britta Grebe? After all, the Upper Austrian has set four world records in the course of her career, won the European championship ten times in a row, and won two world championship titles. But not on alpine skis, but on water skis.

She knew early on that she would make it to the top. At the tender age of four, little Britta confidently prophesied to her mother: “I’m going to be a world champion. However, it was not clear for a long time in which sport she would succeed. “I have always been interested in every sport. When the Olympics were on TV, I watched just about everything,” Grebe recalls.
As a young girl, she first dreamed of a big career as a gymnast. But when she was 14, she switched from the gym to the water, where she started out enthusiastically in a rowing boat. “But that soon became too monotonous for me.” She didn’t discover her true passion and life’s path until she was 17 when she went water-skiing. “That’s when I knew right away that this was the sport for me.”

She had barely come of age, packed up her bags, and set off for Florida, to the “Mecca of waterskiing. “The entire European elite trained at the ski school Britta went to. Fortunately, they recognized my talent and took me under their wings,” reports
Grebe. As an absolute late bloomer in the scene, she subordinated everything to the sport
and worked only for food, lodging, and as much training time as possible.
“The first five years were super hard. The worst thing for me was that I couldn’t spend Christmas at home for the first 5 years, because I couldn’t afford the flight.
But I never lost sight of my goals, of what I was doing it for.”
At the age of 23, her efforts were finally rewarded with a European Championship medal (bronze at that time). Two years later, she was crowned European champion for the first time and thus started her successful series of ten European Championship titles in a row.
However, the world championship title, which she announced at a young age, was to be a long time coming.
“Unfortunately, my nerves often played tricks on me. Again and again, I went into the final as the leader and then missed the victory in the end.” The birth of son Dorien then seems to have finally loosened the curse. Less than 13 weeks after his delivery, she was already competing again at a European Championship. “Actually, I didn’t want to take part at all, just to avoid coming in second.” But when her husband Jaret unpacked the jumping skis he had secretly taken with them, she gave it a try “just for the fun of it” – and ended up standing at the top of the podium once again with baby Dorien in her arms.

One of the reasons why Dorien hesitated for a long time to enter the water-skiing scene was the expectations that seemed to weigh heavily on him. His mother’s successes are hard to top, and his father Jaret Llewellyn is considered the best of all time with a total of eleven World championship titles and enjoys legendary status.  So it’s hardly surprising that Dorien first concentrated on another sport. He started playing ice hockey at the age of five and quickly showed such great talent that he even played in the junior team of the NHL club Florida Panthers. “I then developed my love for water skiing on the podium. A little later, her nerves finally held at a World championship. In 2000, she was crowned world champion for a second time.

Son Dorien can’t remember his first time on the podium any more than he can remember his first water ski ride in his parents’ arms at the age of six months. “I was always with them, watching them enthusiastically or in the water myself,” says the junior
Mother Britta is proud of her son Dorien, who has long since stepped out of father Jaret’s long shadow, and not just because of his sporting successes.
“I first discovered the sport in Austria. There, during the vacations, I was on the water with other kids almost every day for months and had tons of fun.” In the beginning, he also competed for Austria and won six European Championship gold medals in the junior category.
At the age of 18, he finally decided on water skiing instead of ice hockey and also switched to the Canadian national team. “I just wanted to ski together with my father. Besides, waterskiing
simply get better support there,” explains the now 26-year-old, who himself has long been a multiple world champion and winner of the Pan American Games.

His father’s records, however, are still out of reach. In the jump, however, Dorien was one of only 13 athletes to break the magic mark of 70 meters – and did so twice with pinpoint accuracy. He is still 3.5 meters short of his father’s best. Dorien is also particularly strong in the spectacular trick skiing, where he does his flips behind the motorboat. In the slalom, with a height of 1.72 meters, he lacks a few centimeters to successfully scrape the turns between the buoys with a shorter rope length with each pass. In the combination of all three disciplines, however, he broke the world record in 2021 and thus brought it back into the family.

Dorien fell just short of victory when the world’s elite met a week ago at Lake Plana in Fischlham, Upper Austria. At the “Austria Cup” organized by his parents and carried out with a lot of help from his Relatives on his mother’s home course of many years, the 26-year-old had to give in to the British Joel Poland by a razor-thin margin. “That hurts, especially at home and in front of my whole family, not to win by such a narrow margin, but now I have to look ahead and really step it up at the last stop.” After the rainy Fischlham, the final of the overall World Cup will take place in sunny Florida in October. There, too, the proud parents will keep their fingers crossed for their son.

Written by CHRISTOPH PICHLER

Weltelite Glänzte in Fischlham

World Elite Shine in Fischlham

Bezirksrundschau 22.8

World record man Joel Poland(above) from Great Britain ahead of number two, Austro-Canadian Dorien Llewellyn (below)- the best water skiers in the world prevailed at the third of four World Waterski Overall Tour stops in Fischlham (Upper Austria).

FISCHLHAM. European Championship bronze medalist Luca Rauchenwald from Carinthia, who finished third in the jumping with 61.70 meters, came in seventh in the combined. Alexander Gschiel (WSZ Salmsee/Upper Austria), who used the wild card as a dress rehearsal for the U21 home European Championships starting on August 31, was tenth.

 

Stormy weather

“There were extremely difficult, stormy conditions, so the performances were not so good. But it was a great experience to be able to compete with the world’s best. Just to see how they prepare and then perform – it’s just amazing,” said Alexander Gschiel from Linz, who was able to reach 3.5 buoys on the 12-meter rope in the slalom: “I feel much more comfortable now after having material difficulties.

 

 

In the women’s race, there were only two world-class athletes on the start line, with triple national champion Lili Steiner from Carinthia behind her in third place ahead of Elena Ahammer (WLU Fischlham). The local heroine left Steiner behind in the jumping (42.40 m) and in the trick event (3690 points) and may dream of another medal after the U21 European Championship bronze in 2021 at her home facility.

 

 

Der Weltrekord-Mann Joel Poland aus Großbritannien vor der Nummer zwei, dem Austro-Kanadier Dorien Llewellyn – die besten Wasserski-Läufer der Welt setzten sich beim dritten von vier World Waterski Overall Tour Stops in Fischlham (OÖ) durch.

 

FISCHLHAM. Der EM-Bronzene Luca Rauchenwald aus Kärnten, der im Springen mit 61,70 Metern auf Platz drei landete, kam in der Kombination auf Platz sieben. Alexander Gschiel(WSZ Salmsee/OÖ), der die Wild Card als Generalprobe für die U21-Heim-EM ab 31. August nutzte, wurde Zehnter.

Stürmisches Wetter

„Es herrschten äußerst schwierige, stürmische Bedingungen, so waren die Leistungen nicht so gut. Aber es war eine großartige Erfahrung, mit der Weltspitze antreten zu können. Alleine zu sehen, wie sie sich vorbereiten und dann performen – das ist einfach ein Wahnsinn“, sagte der Linzer Alexander Gschiel, der im Slalom 3,5 Bojen am 12 Meter-Seil erreichen konnte: „Ich fühle mich nach Materialschwierigkeiten nun wesentlich wohler. Die Finne hatte sich ständig verstellt, das haben wir jetzt im Griff und jetzt funktioniert der Slalomski optimal“, ergänzt der 19-Jährige, der bei der U21-Heim-EM einen Top 5-Rang in der Kombination erreichen will.

Bei den Damen standen nur zwei Weltklasse-Athletinnen am Start, mit Respekt-Abstand dahinter landete Triple-Staatsmeisterin Lili Steiner aus Kärnten vor Elena Ahammer (WLU Fischlham) auf Platz drei. Die Lokalmatadorin ließ Steiner im Springen (42,40 m) und im Trickbewerb(3690 Punkte) hinter sich und darf nach U21-EM-Bronze 2021 auf der Heimanlage von einer weiteren Medaille träumen.

The most successful Austrian Waterskier, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn

(Picture son Dorien, he finished 2nd) brought the Elite athletes of Waterskiing back to Upper Austria, for the World Waterski Open. On August 20 and 21 the best of the best in waterskiing fought for the Austria Title of this 3-stop International World Tour, in Slalom, Trick and Jump. 

Tips 22.8.2022

World Water Ski Open Locks nach Fischlham

World Water Open draws to Fischlham

bezirksrundschau 18.8

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Britta Grebe-Llewellyn, a native of Gmunden, organizes World Waterski Open

With the World Waterski Open, Gmunden native and Austria’s most successful water skier, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn, is bringing the international elite of action-packed water sports to Austria for the third time. On August 20 and 21, the best water skiers in the World will compete at Planaseein Fischlham.

FISCHLHAM, GMUNDEN. For the third time, 56-year-old American by choice and native of Gmunden, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn, is bringing international top athletes to Austria for a top-class water ski event with the Austria Cup as part of the World Waterski Tour. The event, scheduled for August 20 and 21, is the third stop on a World Tour, whose first stop was in France in early July and the second stop just recently in Canada. In previous years, the crème de la crème of water skiers already showed how exciting and action-packed this type of competition is.

This year, the Austrian stop will once again take place at Planasee in Fischlham. The special thing about this tour? The athletes have to compete in slalom, trick and jumping, and only the combination of these three water skiing disciplines is scored. The top women and men in the world rankings (eight men and four women) will be at the start, the best and most versatile water ski athletes in the world.

Among them the “local matador” and Austria winner of the previous years, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn’s son Dorien Llewellyn, who wants to defend his title. His chances of winning the overall Tour also remain good, as the Austrian-Canadian was able to catch up with an excellent second place at the last stop in Calgary.

“The Austria stop of our Tour is of course the highlight of the year for me. To organize such an event, and then in front of a home crowd and on the great Planasee, where I trained my whole water skiing career and won the European Championships. This lake is just perfect for a competition like this and I am sure we will see again incredible performances of the top 8 water ski athletes in the world there”, organizer Britta Grebe-Llewellyn is looking forward to the Austrian edition of the World Waterski Open.

Spectators and fans will have the opportunity to experience the water action live on site. The competitions will take place on both days from 1 to 6 p.m. with free admission and free beer.

Program: Saturday, August 20 – 1 p.m. slalom, approx. 2:45 p.m. trick, 4:15 p.m. jumping Sunday, August 21. – 2 p.m. slalom, 3 p.m. trick, 4 p.m. jumping, followed by the award ceremony.

 

 

Round 3 for the World Waterski Open in Austria

20. und 21. August in Fischlham

With the World Waterski Open, Austria’s most successful water skier, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn, is bringing the international elite of action-packed water sports to Austria for the third time. On August 20 and 21, the best of their guild will compete at Planasee in Fischlham/Upper Austria.

FISCHLHAM. The athletes have to prove their skills in the disciplines of slalom, trick and jumping. Only the combination of these three water ski disciplines will be judged. Invited are the top women and men on the world ranking list, including five world champions. This high-caliber field of the world’s best athletes promises an action-packed event and an extremely exciting battle for the podium.

The special thing about the event is that many of the top water ski athletes only train in one or two disciplines and thus only master slalom, slalom, and trick, slalom and jumping, etc… Therefore, the combination of all three sports is the absolute “top class”. Because mastering all three events naturally means even more discipline, drive, ambition, and mental strength. “The combination in water skiing is extremely hard and time-consuming. The athletes push themselves to incredible limits here,” says Britta Grebe-Llewellyn.

 

Also taking part again is son Dorien, reigning world champion in his own right, who took victory in Austria at each stop of the previous years.

The competitions will take place on both days from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. with free admission and free beer.

Saturday, 20.8.: 1 p.m. slalom, approx. 2.45 p.m. trick, 4.15 p.m. jumping

Sunday, 21.8.: 2 p.m. slalom, 3 p.m. trick, 4 p.m. jumping, afterward award ceremony

 

 

 

World Waterski Open geht in die dritte Runde

 

FISCHLHAM. Die Athleten müssen ihr Können in den Disziplinen Slalom, Trick und Springen beweisen. Gewertet wird nur die Kombination dieser drei Wasserschi-Disziplinen. Eingeladen sind die Top Damen und Herren der Weltrangliste, darunter fünf Weltmeister. Dieses hochkarätige Teilnehmerfeld der weltbesten Athleten, verspricht einen actionreichen Event und einen extrem spannenden Kampf um das Stockerl. 

Das Besondere an dem Event ist, dass viele der Top-Wasserschiathleten nur eine oder zwei Disziplinen trainieren und so nur Slalom, Slalom und Trick, Slalom und Springen, usw. beherrschen. Daher ist die Kombination aller drei Sportarten die absolute „Königsklasse“. Denn alle drei Disziplinen so zu beherrschen, bedeutet natürlich noch mehr Disziplin, Drive, Ehrgeiz und mentale Stärke. „Die Kombination im Wasserschi-Sport ist extrem hart und zeitaufwendig. Die Athleten gehen hier an unglaubliche Grenzen“, so Britta Grebe-Llewellyn.
Mit dabei ist auch wieder Sohn Dorien, seines Zeichens amtierender Weltmeister, der in den Vorjahren jeweils den Sieg bei den Österreich-Stopps holte.

Die Bewerbe finden an beiden Tagen jeweils von 13 Uhr bis 18 Uhr bei freiem Eintritt und Freibier statt.
Samstag, 20.8.:  13 Uhr Slalom, ca. 14.45 Uhr Trick, 16.15 Uhr Springen
Sonntag, 21.8.: 14 Uhr Slalom, 15 Uhr Trick, 16 Uhr Springen, anschließend Siegerehrung

 

Redaktion Mario Born

• 12. August 2022, 10:13 Uhr