Rising Stars and World Champions Collide at the WWS Travers Cup
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.
Feel the Need for Speed: WWS Canada Cup Takes Water Skiing to the Extreme
As the excitement from the World Water Skier Salmsee Cup settles, all eyes now turn from Austria to the upcoming World WWS Canada Cup at the Saskatoon Water Ski Club, presented by Korpan
Trackor, on August 28-29. In Austria, the top six Overall skiers, including World champions and World record holders, battled through slalom, tricks, and jump, with Great Britain’s Joel Poland defending his 2023 Tour title in a heart-stopping final, edging out Canada’s Dorien Llewellyn, who made a strong return after an ankle injury sidelined him in all of 2023. Now, as the second stop of the WWS Overall Tour and the third event on the Jump Pro Tour, the WWS Canada Cup promises even more intense competition in both disciplines.
With the stakes higher than ever, these athletes are poised to continue their fierce rivalry in Saskatoon as they compete for vital points toward the WWS Overall Tour crown. Meanwhile, the Jump Pro Tour’s first stop, the LA Night Jam, held at Bennett’s Ski School, saw Poland claim another big win, followed closely by world record holder Freddy Krueger (USA) and Austria’s Luca Rauchenwald. On the women’s side, Hanna Straltsova continues to dominate the jump event, but with the return of Lauren Morgan and Brittany Greenwood after their injuries last season, the women’s field is shaping up to be a thriller. As these top jumpers and overall skiers head to the California Pro-Am before the Canada Cup, the competition will only get tougher as the year progresses.
The WWS Canada Cup promises a weekend packed with world-class performances. On August 28, the preliminaries kick off at 3 PM, featuring the slalom, tricks, and jump events. Following the prelims, there will be a bonus round—a head-to-head jump-off with the top three jumpers competing in a knockout format for the locals to enjoy, which will be held around 7 PM. The finals continue on August 29, starting again at 3 PM, with the top six Overall skiers taking to the water first, followed by the top eight men and five women jumpers fighting for their respective titles in each discipline’s finals.
This event is a must-see, with free entry, parking, and on-site refreshments. Bring your lawn chair and enjoy the world’s best water skiers in action! For more details, visit the Saskatchewan Waterski Club website or the World Water Skiers Tour page and click on Canada Cup.
WWS Salmsee Cup Finals
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!
The Ultimate Showdown of the World’s Best All-Around Water Ski Athletes:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WWS Florida Cup Tour Final at Ski Fluid
The Ultimate Showdown of the World’s Best All-Around Water Ski Athletes:
Date: August 22, 2023
Ski Fluid, Florida: The excitement is building as water skiing enthusiasts from around the world gear up for the grand finale of the WWS Florida Cup Tour, set to take place at the iconic Ski Fluid from September 1st to 2nd. This thrilling event promises to be an electrifying spectacle of athleticism, skill, and camaraderie, as the best water skiers from across the globe converge to compete for glory and honor.
Owned by the legendary skier Kyle Eade, Ski Fluid provides the perfect backdrop for what’s expected to be a record-breaking event. The WWS Florida Cup Tour Final will be a Pro-Am-style competition, bringing rising stars together with elite Overall skiers, resulting in a breathtaking showcase of talent.
- General admission is FREE
- Preliminaries Friday – Sept 1st, 9 am-4:30 pm
- Finals Saturday -Sept 2nd, 1 pm-4 pm – Livestreamed
- VIP TENT ACCESS – FINALS Only on Sept 2nd, 12 pm-4 pm
- After Party Lake Side – for Athletes and VIP guests – All links and details at the bottom
Breaking Boundaries and Setting Records
The stakes are high as participants seek to etch their names into the annals of water skiing history. Previous tour stops have been dominated by exceptional athletes who have pushed the limits of the sport. Among them is Joel Poland from Great Britain and Giannina Bonnemann from Germany, who has been unstoppable this season, claiming victory at all three prior events. Their consistent performances make them formidable contenders.
Louis Dupont FRIBOURG from France has also been a force to reckon with, with a record-breaking jump at the Lacanau stop, plus a trick record at the Calgary stop. Edoardo MARENZI from Italy has consistently impressed with podium finishes, while Felipe Miranda and Martin Kolman, both world champions, join the field for this climactic event. Despite being siding this season with an ankle injury, Dorien Llewellyn is determined to make a comeback, adding another layer of anticipation to the mix.
The Women’s Challenge
On the women’s side, Giannina Bonnemann’s unwavering mastery of tricks has given her an edge at every stop. Hanna Straltsova’s record-setting jump in Calgary showcased her immense potential, and Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya’s consistent performance placed her in contention for the top spot. The field also includes Paige Rini, Regina Jaquess, and Anna Gay, each capable of dethroning Giannina’s reign.
A Weekend of Thrills and Entertainment
The WWS Florida Cup Tour Final kicks off on Friday, September 1st, with amateurs and emerging talents competing alongside elite skiers. The Pro skiers will follow, showcasing their skills based on the WWS Overall Tour Standing. The top contenders will advance to Saturday’s Overall Finals, a 3-hour adrenaline-packed showdown featuring slalom, trick, and jump disciplines.
As the dust settles, the WWS Florida Cup results will be integrated into the tour rankings, unveiling the 2023 Women’s and Men’s Tour Champions. The coveted titles will be awarded to the skiers who have proven their mettle in this fierce competition.
Join the Excitement in /VIP TENT
Spectators are invited to witness this thrilling event firsthand, with free access to the general public. However, for the ultimate experience will be hanging out with the Pro Athletes in the Red Bull Tent during the event – VIP tent offers the best seats in the house. With a minimum donation of $40 to WWS, attendees can enjoy appetizers, drinks, and the chance to make lasting memories with the world’s best athletes at the afterparty lakeside 5 pm -7 pm #PRICELESS
For those unable to attend in person, the Finals on Saturday, September 2nd will be webcast over a live stream from 1 pm – 4 pm, ensuring that fans around the world can be part of the excitement. Don’t miss this opportunity to witness history in the making and support these remarkable athletes as they vie for water skiing supremacy.
For more information and to stay updated on the WWS Florida Cup Tour Final, scan the QR codes, and Livestream click the Tournament Page below
VIP TENT ACCESS FOR THE FINALS
Only on Sept 2nd, 12 pm-4 pm
After Party 5 pm – 7 pm
appetizers and drinks with a minimum DONATIONS to WWS – $40
or Please email to be added to the VIP LIST
2023 Ski Fluid Classic Schedule and Running Order
The 2023 ski season is set to begin at Fluid with our first record competition of the year…the Ski Fluid Classic this coming weekend, April 28-30.
There are some big names on the starting list including:
- numerous time Jump World Champion and Record Holder, Freddy Krueger,
- current World Trick Record Holder, Pato Font,
- former World Trick Champion, Neilly Ross.
- current U17 World Overall and Jump Champion, Martin Labra.
Along with a ton of other top National competitors.
We are hoping to get the year off to a great start with some amazing performances. The action begins on Friday at 7:45am with Tricks and continues with all 3 events through Sunday afternoon.
The current schedule and running order has now been posted to the tournament page or can be found at this link:
https://worldwaterskiers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-Ski-Fluid-Classic-Running-Order-1.pdf
See you at Fluid!
Records Fall & Champions Crowned
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.
2022 Florida Cup Official Schedule and Running Order
The 2022 Florida Cup is only days away and we cannot wait to host the best Overall skiers in the world at Ski Fluid. They will be battling it out for event title, the tour title and some big paychecks!
The Men’s Overall World Record was broken 3 times at Ski Fluid in 2021 and a past Women’s World Overall Record was set at Ski Fluid several years ago. With the caliber of skiers we have on the entry list, there is a good chance more records will be set to finish the 2022 season in style.
The Overall Pros will be skiing their preliminary rounds alongside some top amateur competitors on Friday starting at 7:45am. The Overall finals (Top 4 Women and Top 5 Men) will be webcast live starting at 1pm on Saturday. If you live in the Central Florida area come out and watch…if not tune into the webcast (link on the tournament page).
A link to the full schedule and running order is below:
https://worldwaterskiers.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-Florida-Cup-Running-Order-1.pdf
Looking forward to a great event and an awesome after party at Elixir downtown Orlando!
2022 Fluid Fall Record Running Order
The 2022 Fluid Fall Record is scheduled for this coming weekend starting Friday the 2nd September at 8am through Sunday 4th September.
The schedule and running order has been posted below and we are looking forward to a great competition with a number of the world’s best in the line-up.
https://worldwaterskiers.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-Fluid-Fall-Record-Running-Order-1.pdf
Several world records were broken at Fluid last year…will we see another in 2022??!!
2022 Lacanau Cup – Battle To The End!
Overall Battle Right to the End
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. (full slalom story link below)
After the culmination of the slalom event and the Saturday night festivities organized by the event organizers for the slalom skiers on the beaches of Lacanau, the stage was set for the Overall finals on Sunday. The event displayed top-notch skiing, major plot twists, upsets, a full range of emotions, and two very deserving winners, or as we like to call it, a typical Overall event. After the preliminary round of jump was completed, Canadians Paige Rini and Dorien Llewellyn emerged as the top-seeded skiers into the final, yet with no protected scores, any of the finalists were still able to win the event.
In the women’s slalom portion of the Overall final, Paige and Brooke Baldwin continued their dominance of the weekend by both running into the 10.75m line length. Brooke, going on the water first of the two, elected to run the 11m pass in a strong tailwind to give herself the best chance of running the 10.75m pass. Unfortunately, her gamble didn’t quite go as planned, as Brooke fell at 2 ball at 10.75m, putting her arm through the handle in the process. Paige, having watched Brooke, strategically started her set at the 14m line length in order to run the 11m in a headwind, which she did, finishing with a solid score of 1@10.75 to set herself up for tricks, knowing she was the strongest in the field in that event. After inspecting her arm, Brooke and the medical staff felt it was unsafe for her to continue skiing and thus, the Overall race became a battle between Paige and France’s own Ines Anguenot.
On the men’s side of slalom, the final placements were not exactly surprising, yet the scores were lower than anticipated. Both Dorien Llewellyn and Joel Poland, who had been on fire in the slalom event, grabbing scores at 10.25m every round, failed to ski through 10.75m in what proved to be a very strong headwind, finishing with scores of 2.5 and 4 buoys respectively. These scores proved to decrease their previous gaps on Frenchman Louie Duplan-Fribourg and Tanguy Dailland, who both finished with 2@10.75m scores, as well as Martin Kolman not far behind with 4@11m. Thus, the men’s event was already proving the potential to come down to the wire.
In the trick event, both Paige and Ines had unexpected falls in tricks, yet Paige proved her worth in the event, still finishing with the higher score of the two and taking a strong lead heading into jump. While Ines is quite the capable jumper herself and on par with Paige in the event, she would have felt the need to try to make up Overall ground in tricks, possibly leading to her early fall on her hand pass. As for the men, the Trick event proved itself as the biggest wildcard event in Overall. After an early fall from Tanguy Dailland, essentially eliminating him from the Overall race, Martin Kolman showed the value of experience by not allowing his slalom deficit to influence his tricking, instead calming standing up two solid passes and finishing with a score of 10690. With Louie next up, the fireworks began to fly. Louie mastered his way through his flips and spins, finishing once again with a Tour Record 11900 points, which when paired with his solid slalom, began to put a real threat in the minds of both Joel and Dorien. Joel fended off any outward pressures and put his flashy skills on display for the excited French crowd, landing himself in second with a 11680 point total and setting up a brilliant final battle in the Jump event. Last off the dock, Dorien, who is often known for his fluidity in the trick event under pressure, was clearly putting himself under pressure as the Defending Tour Champion. Dorien rushed his flips on his second pass, having a very uncharacteristic fall on his fourth flip, only rotating to his back before smashing into the water and making his chances at the Cup title extremely slim.
WWS has been working closely with EyeTrick for the last few years and knew that if the scores could be posted in real-time trick would undergo a revolutionary transformation. It worked so well that it even caught the announcers off guard, who were not expecting to see scores as quickly as during the first replay of the trick pass. Jaret said “this was a dream come true, we did not realize how the data would come across our screen but for the sport, it is a game changer. To be able to walk fans through a pass and educate them on why the score came out the way it did is inspiring for the future of the trick event. Skiers will have to mentally deal with hearing their scores come out so fast, which will make the event so exciting.”
While the Jump event offers a great chance for consistent skiers to get good scores with 3 jumps, nothing is ever truly over until the last jump is taken. This proved true once again at the Lacanau Cup. With Tanguy Dailland and Martin Kolman putting up good jump distances, the final three skiers presented multiple battles still raging. Primarily, there was the battle for the Lacanau Cup Title between Louie and Joel, with Joel holding a 0.3m lead over Louie, and between Dorien and Martin for 3rd place on the podium, with Kolman having about an 8m lead over Dorien. Louie took to the water first, smoothly flying through the air on all three jumps, improving each jump to finish with a 62m score. Thus, Joel needed a distance of 61.7m to win the Overall event. While most considered Joel to be well on his way to winning the Cup before even setting foot on the water, he failed on his first two jumps to find his footing, landing short of the 61.7m distance each time. Then, with one final jump, Joel rounded the 600ft timing buoy, turning very late for the jump ramp and bringing with him tons of load into the jump. Despite his best effort, even this wouldn’t prove to be the winning jump, leaving Louie on shore with both hands on the Lacanau Cup, yet still not entirely sure whether to lift it just yet. While Dorien’s requirement seemed highly unlikely, he still had a small chance to win the event with a jump in the 70m range. Still, this challenge proved too much with the conditions on hand, and after Dorien’s 63.7m first jump, he clapped his hands together for Louie, knowing that the Frenchman had won the battle on home soil.
As we move on to the 2nd stop of the WWS Overall Tour, 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, we are 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.
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!
See full Malibu Open Slalom Recap Story
Thanks to Eudes M-Tivier for the great shots all weekend –
photos – Friday – Saturday – Slalom
photos – Sunday – Overall finals
This club has it all, a Full pro shop, Marine sale and repair, Villa Rental, and dockside Restaurant (Lèau à la bouche)
2022 Polk City Open Running Order
The 2022 Polk City Open will kick off this Friday 15th July with 3 days of some of the world’s best waterski action. A tentative Schedule and Running Order has now been posted to the tournament page or the link can be found below:
https://worldwaterskiers.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2022-Polk-City-Open-Running-Order-1.pdf
Headlining the starting list will be multiple time World Champion and Record Holder, Freddy Krueger, and current Women’s World Trick Record Holder, Erika Lang. The field also includes numerous international skiers including a large contingent from Chile, Australia, and New Zealand along with a number of top US Junior skiers.
We are looking forward to a great event!!
2022 Ski Fluid Classic Running Order (Tentative)
The 2022 Ski Fluid Classic is only a few days away and we are excited to host our first record tournament for this year!
Below is a tentative schedule and running order for the event.
https://worldwaterskiers.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022-Ski-Fluid-Classic-Running-Order.pdf
Included this year is 10-time Masters Champion Freddy Krueger, World Trick Record Holder Erika Lang, the No 1 ranked trick skier in the World Patricio Font and U21 World Champion Neilly Ross, along with a host of other National Champions and Record Holders.
The tournament will start at 7:30 each day with Tricks, followed by Slalom, then Jump with non-stop action all day.
All competitors must ensure their USAWS membership and EMS license is current, registration, waivers and payment has been made through the WWS system and their SafeSport certification is completed.
The USAWS Waiver can be completed online at:
https://skifluid.com/liability-waivers/
Spectators are welcome with ample free parking.
Drop by Action Water Sports in between watching or competing to check the 2022 MasterCraft line-up and their fully-stocked Pro-Shop.
See you at Fluid!
Records Fall at the Holy Cow Cup!
Fifteen National Records were broken this past weekend at Ski Fluid’s Holy Cow Cup along with a new pending U17 World Slalom Record.
The event was held over 3 days, Friday 24th to Sunday 26th of September and the weather gods smiled nicely upon the competition with brilliant weather every day.
Records fell in all events and in numerous divisions but the highlight was Charlie Ross breaking the U17 Boys World Slalom Record in the first round with 1.25@41off. He followed this up in the 3rd round with 1.5@41off and looked like he was on his way to number 3! At only 15 Charlie is the youngest to ever run 39 and has stormed onto the world slalom stage in the past year or so. He will definitely be one to watch at the upcoming World Championships and MasterCraft Pro in October.
Fluid currently claims the host site to the Men’s World Overall Record with a new pending record in the approval process, as well as the site of the Women’s World Jump Record and the U21 Men’s Trick Record. In the past, Fluid has also seen the Women’s World Overall and Trick Record as well as the Men’s World Jump Record broken on it’s waters. However, Charlie’s achievement is the first World Slalom Record set on the site behind the 2021 MasterCraft Pro Star proving Fluid is the place for it all!
The other National Records included Neilly Ross breaking the Canadian Open Women’s record twice with 10660 and 10790, Vale Gonzalez tying the Chilean Jump Record of 49.9m, Frankie Dees coming out of retirement for the M8 Jump Record of 123, 14 year old Jake Abelson laying down 11450 for a B4 Record, while his sister upped the G2 Slalom record to 1@35off. Bruce Kistler broke his existing trick record 3 times in M8, while Leza Harrison broke the W9 record in multiple rounds.
Other notable performances were from Team Fluid skiers, Jacinta Carroll flying 194ft in her first competition in almost 2 years and Jack Critchley launching 224ft setting themselves up nicely for the World’s next month and the professional events that will complete the 2021 season.
There were so many other personal bests notched up during the event that it was impossible to keep count. Big thanks to all of the drivers, judges and volunteers that helped out over the 3 days. And a special mention to Action Water Sports for providing the 2021 MasterCraft Pro Stars for all of the competitors to perform behind.
The Holy Cow Cup is Fluid’s longest running event and has been held annually since Fluid opened in 2009. This tournament wrapped up our amateur schedule for 2021, but we are looking forward to hosting the MasterCraft Pro presented by Action Water Sports on October 29/30 and will be back in 2022 with at least another 5 record events and we are sure even more amazing performances.
Team Fluid.
2021 Holy Cow Cup Running Order
Skiers and Officials,
Thank you all for registering to participate in the 2021 Holy Cow Cup…one of Ski Fluid’s longest running events with an 11 year history!
This tournament will begin on Friday 24th September at 8:30am, with Saturday and Sunday starting at 8am. Please arrive early to complete your registration if it hasn’t been done so already.
The Schedule and Official Running Order has been posted below:
https://worldwaterskiers.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2021-Holy-Cow-Cup-Running-Order.xlsx
If there are any errors in your division, events or rounds please notify us asap.
All skiers must be current members of USAWS and have rejoined the Florida Water Ski Federation since the Nationals in August. If not please complete before skiing at:
The weather looks great for the 3 days and we are excited for a great competition!
See you all this weekend.
Team Fluid.
Llewellyn breaks World Overall Record Twice!!
This past weekend Dorien Llewellyn rewrote the record books setting 2 pending World Overall records in consecutive rounds at the Fluid Fall Record event.
Dorien has come close to this record a number of times but to perform all 3 events at this level in the same round of the same competition is intense and there is little room for error. On Saturday the 4th September, Dorien began his quest by tricking 11610, followed by slaloming 2.5@39. In Jump, he needed 225ft and on his second jump launched a massive 230ft leap for pending record number one!
In the second round his jump and trick score was down a little with 224 and 11010 so he needed a big slalom score. In champion fashion he ran a clean 39off pass and got 1@41 for pending record number two!
Congratulations to Dorien and all the best for a successful World Championships next month.
2021 Fluid Fall Record Running Order
Skiers & Officials,
The Fluid Fall Record will be held this coming weekend (September 4th and 5th) at Ski Fluid starting at 7:30 am on both Saturday and Sunday.
The Schedule and Running Order have been posted below but are subject to change depending on the weather. Tricks will be first both days, followed by Slalom around 10 am, then Jump.
Click to access 2021-Fluid-Fall-Record-Running-Order.pdf
All skiers must complete their registration prior to competing. We have 2 busy days of skiing with 90 rides planned each day so please arrive early to ensure you do not miss your turn. Due to the increase in Covid cases, there will be no check-in at Action Water Sports.
Everyone must renew their Florida Water Ski Federation at the beginning of the new ski year which began after Nationals. Please complete this prior to this weekend:
We are looking forward to a great event with a number of skiers moving into new divisions after the Nationals and taking their first shots at new National Records.
See you all this weekend!
Team Fluid
2021 Austrian Crown Is Up For Grabs
World Waterski Open takes place at Lake Plana in Fischlham, Austria
At the Austria stop of the World Waterski Open, the international water-skiing elite will compete in the disciplines of slalom, trick and jumping. Organized by Austria’s most successful water skier, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn, the action-packed water sports event will take place on August 7 and 8 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. each day with free admission at Planasee in Fischlham, Upper Austria.
After 2020, the 55-year-old American by choice Britta Grebe-Llewellyn will bring international top athletes to her former home country for the second time for a top-class water-skiing event with the World Waterski Open. The event, scheduled for August 7 and 8, is the kick-off of a World Tour whose second stop will be in the USA at the end of the water ski season. At the premiere of the event last year in Steyregg, 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 take place at Lake Plana in Fischlham, Upper Austria.
The athletes must prove their skills in the disciplines slalom, trick and jumping. Only the combination of these three water ski disciplines will be scored. Invited are the top women and men of the world ranking list, eight men (CAN, GB, CZ, UKR, FRA, AUT), as well as four women (GER, ITA). Once again, some of the world’s best athletes are taking part, which promises an action-packed event and makes the fight for the podium even more exciting. Last year’s two winners, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn’s son Dorien Llewellyn and Germany’s Giannina Bonnemann will also be back at the start to defend their titles
.
“We are trying to give wings to the sport of water skiing in Austria again and bring a breath of fresh air to Austrian water skiing and I believe with events like this, which are also exciting and entertaining for the spectators, this can succeed. An action-packed afternoon awaits the visitors”, organizer Britta Grebe-Llewellyn is looking forward to the Austrian edition of the World Waterski Open.
Sectators and fans will have the opportunity to experience the water action live on site. The competitions will take place on both days from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. with free admission.
For full details of the Austrian Water Ski Open
World Waterski Open findet am Planasee in Fischlham statt
Beim Österreich-Stopp der World Waterski Open misst sich die internationale Elite des Wasserschifahrens in den Disziplinen Slalom, Trick und Springen. Organisiert von der erfolgreichsten Wasserschifahrerin Österreichs, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn, findet das actionreiche Wassersportevent am 7. und 8. August von jeweils 15.00 bis 18.00 Uhr bei freiem Eintritt am Planasee im oberösterreichischen Fischlham statt.
Nach 2020 bringt die 55-jährige Wahlamerikanerin Britta Grebe-Llewellyn mit den World Waterski Open zum zweiten Mal internationale Top-Athleten zu einem Wasserschi-Event der Extraklasse in ihr ehemaliges Heimatland. Der am 7. und 8. August geplante Event ist der Kick-off einer World Tour, deren zweiter Stopp im September in Florida stattfindet. Bei der Premiere des Events im Vorjahr in Steyregg zeigte die Creme de la Creme der Wasserschifahrer bereits, wie spannend und actionreich diese Art des Bewerbes ist. Heuer findet der Österreich-Stopp am Planasee im oberösterreichischen Fischlham statt.
Die Athleten müssen dabei 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, acht Herren (CAN, GB, CZ, UKR, FRA, AUT), sowie vier Damen (GER, ITA). Mit dabei sind wieder einige der weltbesten Athleten, was einen actionreichen Event verspricht und den Kampf um das Stockerl noch spannender macht. Auch die beiden Vorjahressieger, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn‘s Sohn Dorien Llewellyn und die Deutsche Giannina Bonnemann werden wieder am Start sein, um ihre Titel zu verteidigen.
Die Athleten müssen dabei 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, acht Herren (CAN, GB, CZ, UKR, FRA, AUT), sowie vier Damen (GER, ITA). Mit dabei sind wieder einige der weltbesten Athleten, was einen actionreichen Event verspricht und den Kampf um das Stockerl noch spannender macht. Auch die beiden Vorjahressieger, Britta Grebe-Llewellyn‘s Sohn Dorien Llewellyn und die Deutsche Giannina Bonnemann werden wieder am Start sein, um ihre Titel zu verteidigen.
„Wir versuchen dem Wasserski Sport in Österreich wieder Flügel zu verleihen und frischen Wind in den österreichischen Wasserschi-Sport bringen und ich glaube mit solchen Events, die auch spannend und kurzweilig für die Zuseher sind, kann das gelingen. Hier wartet ein mit Action vollgepackter Nachmittag die Besucher“, freut sich Organisatorin Britta Grebe-Llewellyn auf die Österreich-Ausgabe der World Waterski Open.
Zuseher und Fans haben die Möglichkeit, die Wasseraction vor Ort live mitzuerleben. Die Bewerbe finden an beiden Tagen jeweils von 15.00 Uhr bis 18.00 Uhr bei freiem Eintritt statt.
2021 Polk City Open Schedule and Running Order
We are all set for the 2021 Polk City Open to begin tomorrow Friday 16th at Ski Fluid!
The competition is a 3 day, 3 round, 3 event record event featuring some of the best skiers in the world including: Anna Gay, Freddy Krueger, Dorien Llewellyn, Jack Critchley and Rodrigo Miranda.
The official schedule and running order has been posted below:
https://worldwaterskiers.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-Polk-City-Open-Running-Order.pdf
We will be starting with Tricks at 7:30am on Friday and are looking forward to a great competition.
All competitors must register at Action Water Sports prior to competing.
Team Fluid
2021 Syndicate Florida State Championships Running Order
The 2021 Syndicate Florida State Championships is all set for this coming Saturday and Sunday (July 10/11)!!
Competition will begin at 7:45am both days and will feature the State’s best competing for their age division and open titles.
The official schedule and running order has been posted below:
All competitors need to register at Action Water Sports before skiing.
Competitors can pick up special offers on HO/Syndicate equipment and all Juniors receive a free T-Shirt!
Awards for the Juniors will be presented on Saturday evening at the Junior Banquet…tickets are still available for $15 by contacting Kyle@SkiFluid.com
We hope to see you there.
Team Fluid.
Pending New World Overall Record at Ski Fluid Classic
Fluid held it’s first record tournament for 2021 last week from April 28 – April 30 with some record setting results!
Joel Poland from the UK ran 4.5@10.75m, tricked 11350 and flew 224ft to set a pending Men’s World Overall Record exclusively behind Fluid’s 2021 MasterCraft Pro Star!
At our last event in 2020 we witnessed Dorien Llewellyn come so close to breaking this record and we are looking forward to watching Joel and Dorien battle it out this year and hope to see them both push this record even further.
Being the last event before the ranking list cut-off date on April 30th, there were numerous skiers looking for performances to qualify for various World Championships later this year. It was great to see so many meet and exceed these benchmark scores after tons of hard work in the off-season.
Great photos from the event have been posted to the “Photos” section of the tournament page compliments of Lynn Novakofski. Please contact us for the high resolution versions. Additionally, the full results have been updated on the tournament page.
Massive thanks go to all of the officials who worked some long hours over the 3 days to make this event happen and allow the skiers to perform so well.
Fluid’s next event will be the 2021 Syndicate Florida State Championships on July 9-11. Please visit Our Tournament Calendar for a complete listing of what’s to come this year.
#SkiFluidClassic