For the very first time, the Shanghai area will host both the Waterski World Cup and the Chinese Grand Prix. The new Waterski Arena at Changshu is now ready for it’s first Waterski World Cup Stop. Changshu is widely known as The Future City – and with good reason. A totally new Shanghai Grand Prix Circuit, designed by Herman Tilke, is also ready for the first Formula 1 race ever held in China. Shanghai’s Metropolitan area is five times larger than the City of Los Angeles and has a population of 17 million. This will guarantee very large attendances for both events. The Changshu Waterski Arena is expecting between 60,000 and 80,000 spectators. China Central Television (CCTV) will broadcast the Waterski World Cup through it’s 209 domestic TV Stations. With over 400 million TV sets...

It was certain to be emotional. Turning it into a thriller was the real bonus. The fans had traveled far and wide to share in history. None went home disappointed. Following the success of the 2004 Waterski World Cup Stops in France and Russia, the London Stop was for Slalom devotees. Being also the very last appearance of one of the sport’s greatest athletes, many expected a tear-jerker of the very best kind. In glorious sunshine and with the full support of sponsors Sunsail and MasterCraft, Thorpe Lakes, located beside Heathrow Airport, offered the perfect stage for this Stop and the season’s $650,000 total cash prize. PRELIMINARY ROUND – LADIES Ladies first. The Preliminary Round was as hot as any Final. Four Ladies tied for the last two places – a very unusual outcome. In...

The stage is set. The Slalom Stars are ready. This is the final count down to the Waterski World Cup Stop at Thorpe Lakes in London next weekend on Saturday, September 4th. It is the halfway point for the 2004 Waterski World Cup with Stops yet to come in the China, USA and Qatar. The superb spectacle of last month’s Stop in Russia is fresh in the minds of competitors. The challenge now continues for a slice of the US$ 650,000 season’s cash prize. Waterski World Cup Slalom athletes from the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, France, Italy and Great Britain, will have an enormous challenge at London’s Thorpe Lakes. However, no challenge will be bigger than that which faces Britain’s king of Slalom Skiing, Andy Mapple OBE. With 10 World Slalom Records already to his credit,...

It started in France, moved on to Russia and now it is the turn of Great Britain. On Saturday, September 4th, Thorpe Lakes in London will host a very special Slalom Waterski World Cup Stop – and this will be the last Stop in Europe in 2004. The battle will commence at 9.00am sharp! Stops in Singapore, China, USA and Qatar are next in line on this Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup tour. Firstly, the Thorpe Lakes Slalom World Cup Stop will be one for the history books – no matter what the outcome. Just about every one of the World’s top ranked Men and Women Slalom athletes will be present. International Waterski Federation World Cup points are at stake – and so is a total season Cash Prize fund of US$650,000. Rarely will so many of the best Slalom Skiers in the World assemble for a single...

With 92 Federations around the World, members of the International Waterski Federation from all Continents will watch the Athens Olympics this year with special interest. The IOC decision to limit the number of Athletes is understandable as it is an enormous management challenge. While Waterskiing was selected by the Athens Olympic Committee for inclusion this year, the pressure of numbers made it impossible on this occasion. Four years ago in the Sydney Olympics, Waterskiing lost out to Taekwondo. Jacques Rogge, IOC President, made it quite clear that media recognition plays a major part in the admission of new sports to the Games. The new Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup was created by the IWSF to address this challenge. The enormous spectator audiences seen at the first two World Cup...

No matter how you read it, ONE BILLION is a very, very, big number! When the International Waterski Federation opted to stage seven Stops of the new Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup in highly populated areas around the globe, it was a largely untested formula. How quickly time can change perceptions! Following highly successful Stops in Enghien / Paris and Dubna / Moscow, the level of interest has soared and expectations continue to rise. A major coup has now been secured by the IWSF in China. China Central Television (CCTV) is China’s largest TV Network. It incorporates 209 TV Stations. With 400 million TV sets in China, this is the World’s largest single pool of receivers and is double that of the USA. CCTV have now agreed to transmit a two and a half hour live broadcast of the Waterski...

By any standards, the Waterski World Cup Stop staged in Dubna, Russia, on July 25th and 26th was a resounding success. With 24,000 spectators in attendance on day one and 30,000 on day two, this was an outstanding achievement for both the Sport and a location which had not staged an international event on this large scale before. The significant investment by the City of Dubna, supported by the Governor of the Region of Moscow, produced a high standard infrastructure for watersports within easy reach of Moscow and it’s 12 million population. This is what made it most appealing as a venue to the International Waterski Federation for the staging of a Stop of the Waterski World Cup. The City will later this year host a leg of the Formula 2000 Power Boat races. Both the Mayor of Dubna, Valery...

Put 56 Journalists, 10 TV Companies, 54,000 spectators and the best World’s best Waterskiers together and the result is a guaranteed masterpiece. Given substantial support from the Governor of the Region of Moscow, Boris Gromov and the Mayor of Dubna, Valery Prokh, the outcome has to be impressive. The City of Dubna, both an international research centre and Russia’s new watersports location just outside Moscow – had two enormous celebrations this weekend. It was Dubna City’s 48th anniversary and the City elected to celebrate by hosting the second Stop of the 2004 Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup. All of this took place in the new Watersports arena on a Volga tributary. Following the success of the Wakeboard Stop in Enghien / Paris some weeks ago, it was now the turn of the Waterskiers....

The launch of the 2004 Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup by the International Waterski Federation has been well timed. The first of the seven World Cup Stops in France saw crowds of over 20,000 cheer the Wakeboarders to excel. The next Stop for the World’s top ranked Waterski athletes takes place in Dubna on the outskirts of Moscow in Russia on July 24th/25th. Here, over 30,000 spectators are expected to attend. England, China, the USA and Qatar are also confidently forecasting attendances of up to 50,000 spectators, the signs are that Waterski and Wakeboard are riding the crest of a wave at the moment. To underscore this positive trend, SGMA International in the USA published their annual Recreational Market Report in June. The detailed report for 2003 shows a significant US$22 million...

Thirty thousand spectators are expected to travel from Moscow, Tver, Dmitrov and Klin to the beautiful city of Dubna on July 24th / 25th. The attraction is the next Stop of the Waterski World Cup. The World’s highest ranked Waterski athletes from seventeen countries are listed. Included are the current World Champions – Freddy Krueger USA / Jump, Emma Sheers (AUS) / Jump & Slalom and Jimmy Siemers (USA) Tricks & Overall. Other Stops to come include Great Britain, Singapore, China, USA and Qatar. MasterCraft, Waterski World Cup sponsors, will again supply the competition boats. Dubna, renowned internationally for it’s academic facilities and research centres, was chosen by the International Waterski Federation for very good reasons. Located just 100km from Moscow, the city’s...