Another Moomba has come and gone. The 2019 Moomba Masters International Invitational was filled with outstanding skiing, shocking upsets and the same magical flair we have come to expect from the Yarra.

  Let’s begin with slalom. On the women’s side of the action, there was very little doubt surrounding the superb form of Whitney McClintock-Rini (CAN) and her potential to win the event. Whitney showed a cool head to go along with her red-hot skiing, comfortably slaloming her way to the Moomba title, finishing with the three largest scores of the weekend. Manon Costard (FRA) skied consistently and claimed second in all 3 rounds, while Siani Oliver (AUS) finished 3rd as somewhat of an underdog. She started out a little slow but brought the heat when it counted, peaking in the finals and securing the bronze in front of the home crowd.

  The men’s action seemed to be heading in a very familiar direction as well, with Nate Smith (USA) coming off the dock top seed in the finals. Thomas Degasperi (ITA) posted an impressive 2 at 10.25 meters. Nate was unable to beat the score outright, but rather tied Thomas and sent the finals to a runoff. T-Gas was the first skier on the water and after watching the other competitors fail to eclipse his finals score half an hour, he found the conditions too difficult to run 10.75 cold off the dock. He finished with a score of 1.5 at 10.75 and seemed to leave no doubt that Nate would simply round 2 at 10.75 to claim an easy victory. Yet, to the major surprise of the crow, Nate fell around 1 ball and Degasperi was once again a Moomba champion. All so close was hometown hero Joel Howley (AUS), posting a 1.5 at 10.25 to take 3rd. The Men’s action proved to be extremely close, with the river once again showing all the skiers who is really in charge on the Yarra. 

  In tricks, Anna Gay (USA) and Neilly Ross (CAN) continued their back and forth rivalry which has persisted for the last couple of years. Anna claimed the first round, with Neilly turning in the first score above 10,000 points of the event to take round two. But it was Anna who would have the last laugh in this one, peaking little by little each round to finish with a score of 10,040 in the finals. World Record Holder Erika Lang (USA) would round out the top 3 with impressive scores, but off her normal pace just enough to give the two prodigies the edge. Erika had an impressive 2nd place finish in the wakeboard event, undoubtedly an extremely hard situation, switching between events during the course of a season, let alone in the same competition, but Erika handled it superbly. 

  In the men’s event, Martin Kolman (CZE) and Patricio Font (MEX) shared a similar back and forth nature each round. Kolman narrowly took round one, while Pato showed great consistency with back to back 11,200 point scores and was the leader heading into the finals, with Dorien Llewellyn (CAN) maintaining a hold on the third and final podium spot each round. In the finals, Llewellyn and Kolman each crushed their respective runs, tricking 10,090 and 10940 respectively. With the potential to win so close, yet so far, Pato began to feel the unrelenting presence of the Yarra and described his toe pass as “rolling down a hill, getting faster and faster as I went on”. He sucked an edge on a Toe 5 front, knocking himself out of the title race and earning an invite the US Maters. In the end, Kolman, Dorien, and Russell Gay (USA) were the three to receive trophies on the Moomba podium. Jaret Llewellyn (CAN) made his return to the river after a 9 years absence from the Yarra.  He seemed to be back, healthy and very comfortable, placing 4th with a 9100, setting history with a father and son in the same professional final. Time will tell if the sporting world will ever see a father and son, or mother and daughter standing on a podium together. 

 

 

  Once again, the little powerhouse from Australia, Jacinta Carroll, aka – Rabbit, took home the women’s Moomba jump crown with a 56m jump. This should not be taken so lightly, as it is Jacinta’s 6th Moomba title in a row and she continues her winning streak on the professional circuit. Jacinta is continuing to prove that when the dust settles, she very well could go down as one of the top phenoms in all of professional sports. Lauren Morgan (USA) and Giannina Bonnemann (GER) blatted for the second spot. Giannina set the pace with an impressive 50.4m jump, but Lauren answered back on her last attempt with a 51.9m to take 2nd. 

  No one can be confident when it comes to the Yarra, but if anyone looked at ease it was Freddy Krueger (USA) in men’s jump. With the absence of defending champ Ryan Dodd (CAN), patiently awaiting the birth of his first child at home in Orlando, Florida, nobody was able to unthrone Freddy. Coming out in the 1st round, Freddy soared with a smooth 67m jump. The battle for second was fierce and the pace-maker in the finals was Rodrigo Miranda (CHI), who qualified in the 11th spot. Rodrigo nailed a 65.7m on his 1st attempt, but could not find the same timing on his final two attempts. Young gun Taylor Garcia (USA) looked rather impressive, not only taking home the Sunday Night Jump heat win over Freddy but by finishing with a 65.1m jump in the finals. Igor Morozov (RUS) consistency landed just shy of Rodrigo with a 65.3m, seemingly missing just a touch of kick-off of the ramp on each jump. Knowing what he needed to do, Freddy picked a consistent line towards the ramp and demonstrated his amazing spring ability, comfortable flying to a 66.3m opening jump.

  With the sun setting, the top 6-night jumpers came back out to for one more chance at Moomba Glory. The jumpers battled to make the 1st cut, with 3 jumpers left standing. Igor, Freddy, and Taylor all posted jumps bigger than 62.7m and earned the privilege for yet another round on the river. With 2 jumps in the 2nd round, Igor leads off with a 62.6m jump. Having to watch patiently from the dock, Igor exclaimed, “It’s not as big a jump as I wanted, but you never know what could happen here on the Yarra, it might just be enough”. Garcia stepped up and claimed the first finals spot with a huge 64.5m, showing poise beyond his years. With Igor still hoping for a chance at the title, Freddy extinguished all hope with a 65.6m jump, once again finishing top seed. The final round would be determined by a one jump, head to head jump off. Taylor, knowing he would have to find something special to take down Freddy “the Nightmare” Krueger, nailed a 62.3m jump. While the jump was by no means his farthest, the distance was far enough for any jumper to realized that they need to bring forth their very best with only one chance at glory. But, once again, Freddy was dialed in and unleashed a 65.7m jump, the longest of the night, to wrap up this story.

 

ORLANDO, FL (February 20, 2019) – Nautique is proud to announce the dates and locations for the 2019 Nautique Big Dawg World Tour as well as a new event format. As the premier tour for 34-mph over 35 slalom skiers across the globe, the Big Dawg World Tour is towed exclusively by the record-setting Ski Nautique.

The tour this year will include 2 qualifying stops at premier waterski venues as the top slalom skiers battle it out for a spot in the 2019 Nautique Big Dawg World Tour Finals.

Each stop for the 2019 season will include two qualifying rounds of 34-mph slalom skiing. The top 8 best single scores from the two qualifying rounds will advance straight to the Sweet 16 as seeds 1-8. Based upon cumulative scores of both qualifying rounds, skiers 9-24 will advance into a NEW Last Chance Round. The 8 winners from the Last Chance Round will move onto the Sweet 16 as seeds 9-16. See the 2019 NBDWT rules for details.

The Nautique Big Dawg World Tour Final will run the same as the qualifying stops, except that the elite 8 will be under the lights.

“The top 35+ skiers from around the globe will again be battling it out this year during the Nautique Big Dawg World Tour,” said Nautique President Greg Meloon. “I’m happy to see this tour flourish in 2019 behind the record-breaking new Ski Nautique, and I’m excited to see the how the new event format plays out.” Meloon added.

For more information regarding official rules and regulations for the 2019 Nautique Big Dawg World Tour please visit nautiquebigdawg.com.

 

If you have not signed up for a WorldWaterSkiers athlete account to create your profile, then now is the time! – https://worldwaterskiers.com/subscribe/

 

2019 Big Dawg World Tour

Stop #1 – Spain

June 28-30, 2019
Sesena Waterski & Wakeboard Complex
Camino de Servicio de la A-4
Km. 42
45223 Sesena, Toledo
info@botaski.com
+34 673 962 426
www.botaski.com

Stop #2 – California

July 13-14, 2019
Diablo Shores Estates
1038 Petite Sirah Lane
Brentwood, CA 94513
Contact: Greg Badal
925-997-9914
skibadal1@gmail.com
www.caproam.com

Finals – Florida

August 8-9, 2019
Ski Club of the Palm Beaches at Okeeheelee Park
7715 Forest Hill Blvd.
Palm Beach, FL 33413
Contact: Rhoni Barton Bischoff
407-756-3173
rbischoff@nautique.com
www.okeeski.com

ORLANDO, FL (April 9, 2018) – Nautique is extremely proud to announce the introduction of the all-new Ski Nautique. For nearly 60 years, the Ski Nautique has been the best waterski boat in the world. Those bloodlines continue today with the radically-improved 2019 Ski Nautique.

Tradition. Innovation. Performance. Craftsmanship. When a rare combination of elements like these come together in a ski boat, it’s sure to provide the next great waterskiing experience unlike any before it.

The two words “Ski Nautique” have been synonymous for personal bests and world records for the past 58 years. Today, the radically-new Ski Nautique once again raises the bar of what’s possible.

With a blended carbon fiber and fiberglass construction method that creates the perfect balance of strength and weight, this new icon is lighter than any other ski boat and creates the softest wakes imaginable. The new era in three-event waterskiing is here.

“Each new Ski Nautique has left a distinct impact on waterskiing and generations of athletes. We are excited to enter a new era for this iconic model and drive the technology and performance further than any previous generation,” said Greg Meloon, President of Nautique Boat Company. “Personal Bests and World Records are all going to be in the crosshairs behind this boat, and we can’t wait to see what the all-new Ski Nautique does for the progression of waterskiing.”

About Nautique Boat Company: Celebrating 93 years of excellence in the marine industry, Nautique is a subsidiary of Correct Craft and has been on the waters of the world with a passion for innovation since 1925. Nautique is known to push the envelope of possibility on the water, and our owners have come to expect nothing but the absolute best. The Ski Nautique has been reinvented as the lightest ski boat on the market, the G-Series has won numerous awards for wakeboard boat and wakesurf boat of the year while unlocking new possibilities in wakeboarding and wakesurfing, and our GS-Series has given families endless days on the water without compromise. Through our Nautique Cares initiatives we’re dedicated to not only making a difference on the water, but to people in need around the world. The world’s best ski boat, world’s best wake boat, and a company that cares. To learn more visit Nautique.com.