SATURDAY REPORT : We kicked off at exactly 10.00hrs today and those misty warm conditions continued – not great for photos but excellent for our Cable Wakeboard Riders as the chilly water was flat calm. The Opening Ceremony was really a VIP speech occasion for our Riders from 19 Countries as this was no ordinary competition. In celebrating the World’s first Cable Wakeboard event at an Olympic Rowing facility, special best wishes came from Mr Wang Du, Director of China Watersports Administration, Mr Lu Yingchuan, Acting Director of Beijing Shunyi District Government and many other special guests. IWWF President Kuno Ritschard responded with our thanks for all their much appreciated interest and support on this historic day – and with the hope that this would be the first of many more here in China.

As you will see from www.CableWakeboard.net – the results on this Qualification Day are fascinating. With a great total of FIVE Riders from Asia making it through to Sunday, this is certain proof that Asia has reached Cable lift-off stage. Watch out for Ken Tackmann THA, Mark Griffin PHI, Jaemjan Padiwat THA, Fahkrudin Mohammed Yasin SIN, and of course the 15 year old sensation Im San KOR on Sunday. While some of these names may be new to you, they have certainly made their mark here today.

Our apologies for not being able to provide a Webcast on this occasion – but the sound track is live at this Website below. Roll on Sunday’s Finals as we wait to see who the World’s first Cable Gold Medal winners will be here at Shun Yi Olympic Rowing Lake.

St Petersburg, Russia, May 29^th

Following much debate and attempts to predict how the IOC would announce their decision regarding new sports for the 2020 Olympic Games, the decision still came as a surprise to many. Our WAKEBOARD 2020 VISION Team successfully completed the presentation to the full IOC Executive Board this afternoon, together with Baseball/Softball, Karate, Roller Sports, Sport Climbing, Wushu and Wrestling.

First, it was declared that three sports would now go forward for the final selection of one sport in September.

In the three Rounds and nine confidential electronic voting sessions involved, the sports which received the top votes were the traditional ones with substantial global coverage. Controversially, Wrestling succeeded on the very first vote. This worked against the new youth centered sports – Wakeboard, Roller Sports and Sport Climbing. Being eliminated was an enormous disappointment to our IWWF team after all their personal commitment and dedication. In later conversations with the other eliminated sports which were eliminated, they were equally disappointed. The one item which appears to have been a stumbling block to all the newer sports was their relatively lower level of global participation. Those joining Wrestling in the September vote will be Baseball/Softball and Squash. A full IOC report will be sent to us later for examination.

It would appear that youth focus for the IOC Executive Board members is not as vital as the level of global coverage at this time.

Kuno Ritschard, IWWF President stated “In spite of the great disappointment, to have been selected as a short listed sport has given us an enormous amount of valuable experience and a unique possibility to promote both  Wakeboard and Cableways within the Olympic movement”

The world’s top Wakeboarders will make history in Beijing this weekend.

When the Shun Yi Olympic Rowing Lake was constructed for the 2008 Summer Games, it captured global headlines as a marvel of design. With its man-made 6.35 million square meters of water surface area, it was the largest such facility in the world. Now it has added an entirely new feature in line with the current global boom in this sport – a full Cable Wakeboard facility built to world championship standards.

The official Shun Yi Olympic Cable Park Opening next weekend on June 7/10 will once again capture the imagination of watersports fans when the world’s best Wakeboarders will arrive on site to compete for this historic inaugural trophy. The star-studded entry includes athletes from Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Great Britain, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and USA.

In the Pro Women category, the hot favorites and World Cup stars of the 16 Riders will certainly be Australia’s Angelica Schriber, China’s Chen LiLi and Germany’s Cosima Giemza. Schriber took the Tokyo World Cup and also the RideFest titles last season and is in peak form right now. Chen LiLi is the most experienced international World Cup Rider present and being on home territory this weekend will certainly give her a strong advantage. Giemza from Hamburg took first place in the IWWF German Wakeboard Championships in the Junior category and second place at the World Championships in 2010. All three will be hard to beat this weekend.

In the Pro Men category, the 28 Riders will include World Cup stars Im San from the Republic of Korea, Germany’s Dominik Guhrs and Nick Davies from Great Britain. Im San is described as a sensation. At 16 years of age and with just five years of wakeboard experience, he took 3^rd place in the Open category in the IWWF World Championships. He has also competed in the World Cup series. Guhrs – Niki to his fans – also has a very impressive collection of successes, including a gold medal at the Europe Africa Championships. He is another World Cup Rider. Davies is easily the most experienced one in this event with a pile of honors to his credit – including Gold Medals in the World Championships, European Championships and World Trophy. He has also taken part in World Cup Stops in Egypt and Japan.

The Sunday Jun 9^th Finals are certain to be a thrilling conclusion at this Shun Yi Olympic Cable Park opening event. The weather forecast is for a very hot 34C / 98Fh with partly cloudy skies.

Time Friday, June 7, 2013

09:00 – 10:00 Registration

11:00 – Pro Women Practice

13:00 – Lunch Break

13:30 – Pro Men Practice

Time Saturday, June 8, 2013

10:00 – Official Opening Ceremony at Shun Yi Cable Park

10:30 – Pro Women Semi-Finals

12:00 – Lunch Break

12:30 – Pro Men Quarter-Finals

16:00 – Pro Men Last Chance Qualifiers

18:30 – End of Day 1 Competition

Time Sunday, June 9, 2013

10:00 – Pro Women Last Chance Qualifiers

11:15 – Pro Men’s Semi-Finals

12:45 – Lunch Break

14:00 – Pro Women’s Final

14:45 – Pro Men’s Final

15:30 – End of Day 2 Competition

16:00 – Awards Ceremony

The Shun Yi Olympic Cable Park Opening event is organised by the Chinese Water Ski Association and is sanctioned by the IWWF Asian Confederation. The Chief Judge is Argyrios Daskalopoulos SIN of the IWWF Asian Wakeboard Council.

END

This is a 50 year old Olympic dream ! When the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) established the WAKEBOARD 2020 VISION project to drive the effort to bring WAKEBOARD to the 2020 Olympic Games, this was at the request of the IOC which selected a total of eight possible sports for 2020. Only one is likely to make it through. The final IOC decision will be made by the IOC this coming September.

Right now, our very experienced WAKEBOARD 2020 VISION Team is making its way to St Petersburg in  Russia. Their task is to make a final presentation to the full Executive Board of the IOC – a historic occasion and one which our team really appreciates. It is an enormous challenge as each of the eight contenders is granted just 20 minutes followed by a 10 minute question time, to make their case for inclusion in the Games. Presenting the enormous excitement of Wakeboard to the Executive Board in such a short time really is a great challenge but knowing that WAKEBOARD is such a thrilling sport for all age groups, male and female, makes it that much easier for our IWWF Team.

Our Team includes Andres Botero COL, Kuno Ritschard SUI, Des Burke-Kennedy IRL, Gill Hill GBR, Varna Laco CRO and Argy Daskalopoulos SIN. The Team featured above already made a presentation in Lausanne SUI last December to the Programme executives of the IOC but this week’s presentation will be the final enormous and exciting challenge for the IWWF and the first to the IOC Executive Board.

With the IOC’s great interest in dynamic youth focused lifestyle sports, as an environment friendly low cost male and female balanced discipline, WAKEBOARD is certainly made for non-stop TV excitement. We wish our entire team every success this week on this historic occasion. Reports directly from St Petersburg will appear here during the week. History is being made no matter what the outcome.

WAKEBOARD IN SPOTLIGHT AGAIN AT BEIJING’S OLYMPIC ROWING LAKE

FOR ITS HISTORIC FIRST MAJOR COMPETITION

Thomas Lin, IWWF VP, Yang Fenghui, GM Beijing Shunyi Aquatic Park, Des Burke-Kennedy, Marketing & Media IWWF

The worldwide growth of Wakeboard Cable Parks is gathering further international momentum. All eyes will be on this sport which is scheduled to make a final presentation to the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee this week in St Petersburg, Russia, for inclusion in the 2020 Games.

Beijing’s magnificent Shunyi Olympic Rowing, Canoeing and Swimming Lake, was constructed for the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games. It has now acquired a spectacular new and well-timed additional feature. With Wakeboard on the shortlist of the International Olympic Committee, the Shunyi facility has now introduced a full size Wakeboard Cable Park for the public. By any standards, this is an impressive sports venue with an estimated 6.35 million square meters of water surface area, all man-made, and perfect for Wakeboard !

In association with the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) and organized by the Chinese Water Ski Association, this first major international Wakeboard event at Shunyi is scheduled for June 7/10. The impressive international entry list of male and female Riders includes Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and USA.

This inaugural event is a highly significant step forward for both Beijing’s magnificent Shunyi Olympic Rowing Lake facility and the sport of Wakeboard. Last week, Barcelona’s Castelldefels Olympic Rowing Lake also launched its first Wakeboard facility which will open to the public shortly. President of the IWWF, Kuno Ritschard, stated that this low cost youth focused environment friendly sport adds a totally new dimension to health and fitness options at a time when exercise for all age groups is such an important global challenge.

Organised by the Chinese Water Ski Association and sanctioned by the IWWF Asian Confederation, the official timetable for the Shunyi Olympic Park Opening Competition is as follows :

FRIDAY June 7

09.00 – Riders Registration & Briefing

11.00 – Pro Women Practice

13.30 – Pro men Practice

20.30 – Riders Briefing

SATURDAY June 8^th

09.00 – Official Opening Ceremony at Shunyi

09.30 – Pro Women Semi-Finals

12.00 – Pro Men Quarter Finals

16.15 Pro Men Last Chance Qualifiers

SUNDAY June 9th

09.00 – Pro Women Last Chance Qualifiers

10.30 – Pro Men Semi Finals

13.45 – Pro Women Final

14.45 – Pro Men Final

16.30 – Award Ceremony

END

ENJOY SPECTACULAR WORLD CUP BANQUET

Republic of Indonesia Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs, KRMT Roy Suryo, South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin, IWWF President Kuno Ritschard, Rear Admiral Didit Herdiawan, Chairman of the Indonesian Waterski and Wakeboard Association

COMPETE AT PACKED JAKABARING SPORTS COMPLEX

 ALL RESULTS BELOW

This was the 37^th World Cup Stop in the series of the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF). Hot on the heels of last month’s World Cup Stop in Mandurah, Western Australia, it was another thriller. Young new rising stars and a host of seasoned winners were cheered till sunset at this exotic location situated almost on the Equator. It was certainly a hot one !

The events involved were Wakeboard, Jump and Shortboard.

In Wakeboard, now under consideration for the 2020 Olympic Games, the two biggest international stars wowed the thousands of spectators once again. Eighteen-year-old Harley Clifford AUS has a global fan base. Today he added thousands more here in Indonesia. He has already taken two major titles this year – gold medal at Melbourne’s Moomba Masters and gold medal again at the World Cup Stop in Mandurah Western Australia. While Japan’s Shota Tezuka dominated the field with a score of 81.02, as the last into the arena, Clifford responded with a perfect 93.33. That is domination at it’s best. Andrew Adkison USA took third place.

Secondly, Raimi Merrit USA, was on a mission. As the current Wakeboard World and World Cup Champion, she suffered a recent defeat to Australia’s Bec Gange at the previous World Cup Stop. However, aided by a new training regimen, today she was flawless and her score of 70.24 was enough to beat both Gange and Nicola Butler GBR who also joined her on the Palembang Podium.

In Women’s Shortboard, weather intervened. The otherwise excellent 33C / 96Fh conditions suddenly turned to a brief Tropical storm at a point where World Record Holder Clementine Lucine FRA had the lead with 8840 points. Just as the seventeen-year-old sensation, Erika Lang from Arizona USA, was about to enter the water, we all dived for cover. The storm passed but Lang was certainly knocked off her stride and never really settled when she finally got to compete. Sadly, she missed a Podium place this time but Lucine was thrilled to be back in winning form once again. Iris Cambray FRA and Alex Lauretano USA took second and third places.

Men’s Shortboard managed to miss that weather front. Three athletes scored over the rare 10,000 point mark. Herman Beliakou BLR actually beat the current World Record Holder Aliaksei Zharnasek from the same country at the recent Mandurah World Cup Stop. Zharnasek got his revenge today with one of the best performances we have seen for some time. His score of 11,270 points was one thousand ahead of Beliakou on this occasion. Adam Sedlmajer CZE took third with another superb run of 10,140 points.

Finally, as the spectators packed the entire purpose-built waterski lake in the Jakabaring sports Complex, it was time for the Jump discipline. This extreme sport never fails to capture the imagination of fans around the world. In the Women’s event, a cross wind made it challenging for the less experienced. Finland’s Jutta Lammi landed an impressive 47.0m early on to take the lead. Australia’s super star Jacinta Carroll quickly responded with a distance of 48.9m. This just left Florida based Marion Mathieu FRA, one of the most consistent Jumpers today. Her distance 47.4m however was only enough for second place and gold today went to twenty-year-old Jacinta Carroll.

The Men’s Jump event was the last of the day. Conditions on the water had improved steadily. Britain’s Damien Sharman scored a distance of 60.5m as the first of six Finalists to compete. Only the last two competitors could actually better this. Germany’s Bojan Schipner, in his very first World Cup Final, scored 59.7m to reach second best at that moment. The World Record Holder and World Champion, Freddy Krueger USA, then entered the arena to huge applause. His reputation of being almost unbeatable had already reached Indonesia !  When he landed a winning score of 64.1m and waved to the huge crowd, it was a perfect ending to one of the most enjoyable World Cup Stops to date.

At the formal Closing Ceremony on site, following a spectacular display of traditional dancing and music, as the fireworks show concluded, the Governor of South Sumatra, Alex Noerdin, declared that he would like to see the World Cup series return for many years to come. The athletes from twenty-five countries and World Cup team certainly welcomed this as the site was constructed for the Southeast Asian Games and the facilities are Olympic class. Palembang may now well be viewed as Indonesia’s watersports centre.

RESULTS :

SHORTBOARD & JUMP RESULTS – CLICK HERE

WAKEBOARD RESULTS BELOW :

IN PALEMBANG INDONESIA

SEE ALL SATURDAY RESULTS ATTACHED

Saturday started with 33C / 96Fh, calm water and excellent World Cup conditions. This all changed a few hours later as a freak weather system arrived from nowhere and almost blew us away ! Fortunately, by that stage, we had completed the Shortboard and Jump Preliminaries with Wakeboard left to battle through the gusty and hot showery conditions. At this time of writing, Wakeboard continues but some may be transferred to early Sunday morning.  Here is a summary of events so far ……

Its been a fantastic day competition-wise with some very interesting results. Lets start with the easy stuff. In Jump, the best rose to the top but it was not easy. That early morning flat calm water as we mentioned turned into a sudden wind storm and then disappeared again. In the meantime, Freddy Krueger USA did the business with a distance of 63.9m followed closely by Bojan Schipner GER with 58.8m and Scot Ellis USA 58.6m The other Finalists are Joel Wing AUS, Adam Sedlmajer CZE and Damien Sharman. A special congratulations to Bojan Schipner and all his fans in Germany.

In Women’s Jump, again Marion Mathieu FRA, the defending Palembang World Cup champion, took the top slot with 49.5m. She was followed closely by Australia’s star Jumper Jacinta Carroll 49.1m and Jutta Lammi FIN 48.8m. The other Finalist is Alex Lauretano USA.

In Shortboard, two of the youngest really caught the imagination of all present. First, NINE year old Aaliyah Hanifah Yoong MAL and the youngest ever World Cup competitor, scored 4740 for a Personal Best achievement. Although not enough to qualify, we know we will see a lot more of this young athlete in the years ahead. Erika Lang, 17 years old, outperformed everybody once again with 8510 points. Having already taken the previous World Cup title in Mandurah, Western Australia, she has made an enormous impression for her young years. The others who qualified for the Finals included World Record holder Clementine Lucine who scored 8240, Alex Lauretano 8170 and Iris Cambray 7860.

In Men’s Shortboard, we had a similar situation when World Record Holder Aliaksei Zharnasek BLR with 10,970 was actually outscored by Herman Beliakou BLR 10,990. Twenty-one year-old Adam Pickos USA also impressed greatly with 10,840. The other three to qualify were Adam Sedlmajer CZE, Olivier Fortamps BEL and Joel Wing AUS.

Finally, as our Riders finally got to the water, there were grave doubts about our ability to complete the Womens and Mens Wakeboard event as the sky looked dangerous. Somehow, thanks to the total commitment of the athletes, the last Rider, who just happened to be Harley Clifford, came ashore as darkness fell at 18.00hrs. The Women who made it through were Nicola Butler GBR, Chloe Mills AUS, Raimii Merritt and Giorgia Gregorio ITA. The LCQ will take place on Sunday.

The Mens battles were as tough as we have seen. Massi Piffaretti ITA and Andrew Adkison USA, Sam Carne GBR and Mark Kroon NED, Shota Tezuka JPN and Tony Iacconi AUS, Harley Clifford AUS and Dan Nott GBR, will all rest easy tonight as they also got through. In all cases, they were clearly ahead of the competition. Sunday morning will see the LCQ’s and Semi Finals and we wish the remainder Riders the best of luck.

Don’t miss PALEMBANG WORLD CUP SUNDAY – at www.IWWF.tv

Twitter : @DesBK

 WC Results SaturdayPLM13preli(1)

Palembang SaturdayYOUNGEST STARS CAPTURE WORLD CUP HEADLINES TODAY

WATCH THIS 37TH STOP LIVE AT

WWW.IWWF.TV

START LIST

WC Start list PLM13

Straight off our A380 and stepping out from the Arrivals Terminal at Palembang Airport , we were faced with a set of gigantic WORLD CUP posters – well done Palenmbang Indonesia in setting a perfect tone for this 37th World Cup Stop here in Indonesia. Its a hot 33C tonight and it will get hotter – much hotter !

After the earlier very well attended Press Conference, the Official World Cup Opening Ceremony kicked off with South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin accepting a presentation from IWWF President Kuno Ritschard of a classic World Cup aluminum mounted photo enlargement of Freddy Krueger USA jumping at high altitude last year here in Palembang. The Governor was impressed !

Tomorrow Friday is Practice Day – with the Jumpers on the water at 08.00hrs, followed by the Shortboarders and then an afternoon of Wakeboarding for all the Riders. With 25 Nations represented, this is going to be a great 37th World Stop Stop. Don’t worry if you have not taken the long-haul flight as you can catch all the fun on our FEE Webcast here :

www.IWWF.tv

The Riders and Skiers are now fast asleep in bed catching much needed rest after many 20 hour+ flights. By Saturday morning, all with be ready to battle for those coveted World Cup Podium places.

If you want to get some minute by minute Twitter details, try @DesBK – and join in the fun !