By Jack Burden

The IWWF World Waterski Council has unanimously rejected Nautique’s late-stage proposal to debut its newly announced 2026 Ski Nautique at this year’s World Championships in Recetto, Italy.

The request came just days after Nautique unveiled its next-generation towboat — a lighter, sharper redesign billed as an “evolution of a true icon.” With flatter wakes, a refined hull, and integrated Zero Off enhancements, the 2026 model is being positioned as a new benchmark in three-event performance. Early impressions from Team Nautique athletes and independent skiers alike have been glowing, with slalomers praising “drastically better wakes” and reduced speed drop out of the turn.

But when Nautique Vice President Brian Sullivan made the pitch during a Masters meeting with IWWF President Jose Antonio, the council’s response was cautious. According to minutes from the May 29 meeting, delegates from all regions agreed the change would unfairly disadvantage athletes outside the U.S., particularly in Oceania and Latin America, where access to the new boat in time for training was unlikely.

“The new boat is completely different, making it unfair for athletes,” said athlete rep Valentina Gonzales, noting that many skiers would have just “two passes (official familiarization) to test the new boat before the Worlds.”

Though Nautique offered to ship three boats to Europe within a week, council members pointed out that large parts of the world — and much of the athlete field — would be left without meaningful prep time.

Athlete chair Martin Kolman was more blunt: if Nautique wanted the boat used at Worlds, “they should have informed the waterski community in a timely manner.” Instead, the request came days after the launch — and just three months before the sport’s flagship event.

For now, the current Ski Nautique — introduced in 2019 and entering its final year of production — will remain in use. And while that may frustrate some, it aligns with the spirit of fair play: the playing field must come first.

Whether Nautique misread the timing or bet too heavily on post-launch momentum, one thing is clear — for all the engineering ambition the new boat represents, it arrived a season too late.

And perhaps, with more riding on this launch than meets the eye. Nautique’s long-held position as the exclusive towboat supplier for IWWF events is set to expire at the end of the year. Rumors have surfaced that Malibu — long absent from the international scene — could take over the contract beginning in 2026. If true, the 2026 Ski Nautique may never get the chance to pull a World Championships.

That’s not just a missed debut. It’s a boatload of R&D with nowhere to run.