Following glorious weather conditions in France on Sunday, record numbers of spectators and outstanding performances, the athletes and officials now head for next weekend’s World Cup Stop at the Foban Emin Water Ski Club just 40km  from Beijing’s Forbidden City. With only 780 days remaining to the start of the 2008 Summer Olympic  Games in Beijing, the focus of the City’s 12 million  population is definitely on high level sport at this time !

The Foban Emin Water Ski Club is one of the most spectacular in the world. Construction was completed in 2003 in this natural valley site surrounded by forests and towering mountains. All is ready now for the top athletes of the International Waterski Federation.

The Beijing Rural Commercial Bank is the title sponsor, employs 7,000 people and is China’s leading rural commercial bank. The organizers are the Chinese Waterski Association. Having completed a highly successful Waterski World Championships in Tianjin last year, this World Cup Stop promises to be another quality event for them. Fobang Industrial Investment Co.Ltd. and MasterCraft are also key sponsors.

Official World Cup Practice at the Club will take place this coming Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning. The very elaborate and well rehearsed on-site Opening Ceremony will be televised live and is scheduled for Friday afternoon. Preliminary rounds for Wakeboard and Shortboard will be completed by Saturday evening with the Finals and prize presentations will take place on Sunday.

In temperatures expected to exceed 90Fh / 30C and with light breezes, the line-up of Shortboard athletes from twelve countries for the World Cup Stop in China is about as good as it gets. Included are World Shortboard Record holder, European and World Champion, Nicolas LeForestier (FRA), winner of the Shortboard Qatar World Cup Stop title, Jimmy Siemers (USA), World Record holder and World Shortboard Champion, Mandy Nightingale (USA) and the European Champion and Qatar Stop Champion, Clementine Lucine (FRA).

In Wakeboard, the line-up is equally impressive. Danny Harf (USA) joined the World Cup series for the first time this year and has already scooped the top prize in Qatar. The 2005 World Cup season champion, Phillip  Soven (USA), not only took the title last weekend in France but will now go all out for the total 2006 World Cup series title. The only injured World Cup Rider is Daniel Watkins (AUS). He separated his shoulder and was unable to compete last weekend in France.

Following her great 2006 World Cup win last weekend also in France, the current overall season leader, Meaghan Major (USA), must now take on the almost unbeatable Dallas Friday (USA) next weekend, plus some other hot contenders. Friday did not participate in France and will  aim  to recover valuable points towards the season’s World Cup overall cash prize of US$780,000. A past Singapore World Cup Stop winner, Chen LiLi (CHN), will certainly have the spectators in Beijing on her side.

DVD’s of the World Cup Stops are available at  http://www.iwsftournament.com/wordpress/ (click on World Cup DVD  Shop).

Useful Web Sites :

IWSF : http://www.iwsf.com/
WORLD CUP : www.iwsftournament.com/wordpress
MasterCraft : http://www.mastercraft.com/