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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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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