Author: Jack Burden

Charlie Ross slaloms at the 2025 World Championships

The Highest-Scoring Worlds in History? Recetto Delivers Water Skiing’s Next Level

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The highest-scoring worlds in history? Recetto delivers water skiing’s next level

Charlie Ross slaloms at the 2025 World Championships

Image: @bearwitnesssportsphotos

By Jack Burden

RECETTO, Italy — For six days in northern Italy, water skiing seemed determined to burst out of its own history. The 2025 World Championships were not just a contest for medals but a collision of eras: champions fighting to defend their crowns, teenagers breaking through the gates, and performances that stretched the sport into new territory.

It didn’t start that way. The opening days were reshuffled by storms, rain smearing across the placid waters of Recetto. But by Friday the skies cleared, the wind fell flat, and the lake turned to stillness. What followed was a rush of personal bests — especially in jump, where skiers pushed themselves farther than anyone thought possible.

The Prelims: Cracks in the Armor

Joel Poland walked down the dock on Friday with the casual confidence of a man who had won everything there was to win. Tricks has always been his insurance policy in overall, the foundation of his dominance. And yet, in a mirror of his stumble at the last Worlds, he went down early.

“That was just heartbreaking,” Poland admitted later, frustration in his voice. “Like a dream… gone, again.”

The mistake rattled the field. Pato Font and Mati Gonzalez wobbled through their passes. The cut line fell to its lowest in nearly a decade — not from weakness, but nerves. Suddenly, the men’s trick final looked wide open.

On the women’s side, it was the opposite. Regina Jaquess and Jaimee Bull tore through 10.75m (39.5′ off) with machine precision, while 22-year-old Kennedy Hansen quietly put together personal bests in both slalom and jump. By the end of Friday, she was in the mix for overall medals — and a genuine threat to Hanna Straltsova’s iron hold on the crown.

Saturday Fireworks

By Saturday the tournament had caught fire.

Men’s slalom provided the starkest reminder of how far the sport has evolved. For the first time in history, a piece of three at 10.25m wasn’t enough to guarantee a finals spot. Twelve skiers, all within a buoy of one another, crammed the leaderboard. Even Poland, hoping to rebound, was squeezed out with 2.25 at the pass.

Tricks went ballistic: seven women cracked 9,000, with Erika Lang and Neilly Ross punching past 11,000 for the first time ever at Worlds. “It’s hard in prelims — you just want to secure your spot,” Ross said afterward. “Hopefully tomorrow I can just go and go fully.”

And then came men’s jump. Dorien Llewellyn, after three years battling injury and inconsistency, soared 69.6m (228 feet) — his longest since 2021. The leap pushed him into the overall lead, just 13 points clear of Louis Duplan-Fribourg, setting up the tightest overall showdown in recent memory.

Ryan Dodd and Poland tied for the lead at 70.5m (231′), a strange echo of their summer duel at the California ProAm. Everywhere you looked, it felt as if the old guard and the new blood were destined to collide.

Finals Sunday: A Collision of Eras

By Sunday the tournament had shed its nerves. The storms were gone, the prelim jitters gone. The water in Recetto lay flat, as if it knew history was waiting.

Tricks: Margins Measured in Frames

Tricks is the cruelest event because immortality and anonymity can hinge on a single freeze-frame. For decades, only the judges saw those margins. This time, thanks to EyeTrick, everyone did. Fans could watch a world title swing on whether a toe slide was rotated 90 degrees or 85.

The women’s final was billed as a heavyweight clash: Lang’s innovation, Ross’s precision, Anna Gay Hunter’s pedigree. But the first half of the field faltered, pressing too hard on risky runs. Hunter steadied things with 10,730, matching her prelims to lock in a medal. Lang went next, laying down a world record run, but missed the rope on her ski-line back-to-back. Three hundred points vanished in an instant.

That left Ross. At 24, she has often played second fiddle to the older Lang or Hunter. But in the past year has found another gear. Two immaculate passes later, the scoreboard confirmed what her posture already said: World Champion.

“I haven’t won a Worlds since 2017,” Ross said, shaking her head. “Every single one since then I’ve just kinda blown it. We made this the goal — do my run. Today I just went for it. I really wanted this one.”

The men’s event spiraled into chaos. Defending champion Font posted 12,010. Then Gonzalez — all velocity and audacity — strung together a blistering 5,500-point toe run, backing it with a clean hand pass for 12,410. It forced the rest into desperation.

Llewellyn, trying to put the overall race out of reach, sank in disbelief after a miscued landing. Abelson, the wunderkind and world record holder, seemed composed — until the scoring system caught him. A rushed toe slide, four judges ruling it under-rotated, pushed his buzzer beating toe-line-front out of time. His final total: 12,400. Ten points short.

Ten points. The smallest possible increment in trick skiing. The kind of number that sticks forever.

When Duplan-Fribourg couldn’t repeat his prelim magic, Gonzalez was champion — speechless on the dock. “It feels amazing,” he stammered. “It was my dream… now I can say I did it. Congrats to Jake too — he’s one of the best in the world. We have the best here.”

Slalom: The Old Guard Meets the Future

Women’s slalom opened with an unlikely spark. Sade Ferguson, once a junior jump prodigy until injuries derailed her career, returned as if she’d never missed a season. Her 5 @ 10.75m was a huge personal best and an early lead.

Allie Nicholson scraped half a buoy past it. Jaimee Bull, calm as a metronome, became the first to run 10.75, but faltered at 10.25 with a botched S-turn for just one and a half. Regina Jaquess, chasing history, fought through 10.75 off but couldn’t get her ski outside of two at 10.25. The shoreline knew instantly what it meant: Bull, 25 years old, three straight World titles.

“I can’t really believe three in a row,” Bull said. “Two felt crazy. Today I didn’t think that was enough — but it was.”

The men’s final felt like two different sports at once: veterans clinging to relevance and a new generation kicking the door down. Freddie Winter bowed out early. Will Asher, seemingly reborn, posted five at 10.25 and celebrated like a man half his age. Then Nate Smith made 10.25 look like a warm-up, forcing the others to gamble.

One by one they failed — until Charlie Ross, 20 and fresh off his first pro wins, matched Smith. He ran 10.25 smoother than anyone, tying at 9.75 to force the runoff. Smith, the most reliable closer the sport has ever known, prevailed. But Ross walked away with proof he belonged in the deepest end of the pool.

“I’ve never even tried 41 off the dock in practice,” Smith admitted afterward. “At two, a lot goes through your head — should I stand up, should I turn it? But today, yeah… I’m pretty happy. That’s cool.”

Jump: Shaved Heads and Broken Dynasties

Jump was the crescendo, the shoreline swelling with every flight. The women’s final opened with personal bests — Maise Jacobsen, Aaliyah Yoong Hannifah both cracking 50 meters — before Brittany Greenwood Wharton, back from injury, hit 54.4m (178 feet), her longest in years. Straltsova needed only two jumps to secure the crown and her golden double. “I’m so happy,” she said simply. “It’s hard to defend.”

The men’s jump final had more plotlines than an HBO drama. Tim Wild, just 18, came off the lower ramp and went 68.1m — ten days earlier he’d never cracked 60. Bronze overall, his name now etched into the sport’s future. Duplan-Fribourg faltered in his overall defense, leaving Llewellyn to claim the title he’d chased for years.

But the jump crown itself belonged to Poland. His opening leap — 72.1m, the biggest of his life and a new European record — stopped the shoreline in its tracks. He passed his next two, gambling it would hold. It did.

Ryan Dodd, five-time champion, threw everything he had, cracked 70, but fell short. With that, three decades of North American dominance — Krueger, Jaret, Dodd — ended. Poland’s elation as he hit the water carried something more than victory. It carried release.

“Yeah, that was unreal,” he said, still buzzing. “This shaved head… I might have to keep it. It seems to be working. Over the moon.”

A New Benchmark for the World Championships

In the end, the numbers told the story. Recetto didn’t just host a World Championships — it redefined what one looks like. The cut to make the finals in men’s slalom, men’s jump, and women’s tricks was the highest in history, a staggering testament to the depth of talent on display. Tournament records fell or were matched in women’s tricks, men’s slalom, and women’s slalom, while the podiums in both men’s and women’s slalom and tricks went down as the four highest-scoring in the sport’s history.

The pattern extended across every discipline. The men’s jump final produced the second-highest podium ever, as did the men’s overall — each pushed to the brink by athletes refusing to give an inch. And beyond the headlines and record books came the quieter triumphs: the countless personal bests, the season-best performances, the moments where skiers left the dock knowing they had just redefined their own ceiling.

That’s what made Recetto different. This wasn’t simply another Worlds where one or two stars lifted the level. It was a collective surge, a field-wide elevation that left even veterans shaking their heads. When the dust settles, 2025 may well be remembered as the World Championships where water skiing itself moved to the next level.

Joel Poland of Great Britain is consoled by friend Edoardo Marenzi of Italy after Poland fell early in his trick run during the 2025 IWWF World Waterski Championships at Parco Nautico del Sesia in Novara, Italy.

The Unsolvable Puzzle of Joel Poland at the World Championships

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The unsolvable puzzle of Joel Poland at the World Championships

Joel Poland of Great Britain is consoled by friend Edoardo Marenzi of Italy after Poland fell early in his trick run during the 2025 IWWF World Waterski Championships at Parco Nautico del Sesia in Novara, Italy.

Image: @bearwitnesssportsphotos

By Jack Burden

The storm had blown through. The lake flattened. The crowd, swelling with anticipation all week, angled in for a clear view of the skier many consider the greatest of his generation. After seven world records and nine consecutive professional overall titles, a Joel Poland world crown was beginning to feel like a foregone conclusion.

His toe pass was vintage Poland: powerful, explosive, all big tricks and high-octane energy where most competitors rely on precision and speed. Only a slight miscue at the end hinted at vulnerability. Then came his hand pass — his strongest suit. Commentators couldn’t help but bring up the ghosts of two years earlier, when he submarined on his signature super-mobe-five, only to mount one of the most famous comebacks in World Championship history.

But this time, Poland never even got that far. Midway through an otherwise routine sequence — mobe, mobe, half-jack — he stumbled on a front flip, one of the most basic tricks in his arsenal. Suddenly, the man who makes the impossible look effortless was swimming, staring in disbelief as the moment slipped away.

On the shore, images of Poland sitting slumped, head in hands, echoed the heartbreak of 2023. For the swashbuckling superstar who has turned everything he touches to gold, it was another inexplicable collapse on the sport’s biggest stage.

Since claiming his first world title in 2021, Poland has been untouchable on the professional circuit. He has entered 14 pro overall events, winning all but two, and hasn’t lost a WWS Overall Tour event since October 2022. Tricks — the most cutthroat of the three disciplines — have been the foundation of that success.

In 26 rounds of tricking on the Overall Tour, he’s dipped below 10,000 points only twice, both back in 2022. Across 35 pro starts in tricks, he’s failed to hit that mark only once in the last three years. His career average since 2021 sits comfortably above 11,000. Most remarkably, he has never missed a final at a professional overall or trick event.

Measured by consistency, no male tricker can match him. Pato Font and Matias Gonzalez have piled up more outright wins, but neither boasts Poland’s 80-plus percent podium rate. As Joel himself has put it countless times: “Overall’s about not screwing up.” For half a decade, no one has been better at not screwing up.

Except, it seems, at the World Championships.

For the second straight cycle, Poland’s Worlds campaign unraveled in tricks. The contrast couldn’t be sharper: invincible on the Tour, error-prone at the marquee event. It’s hard to reconcile the two Joels — the unstoppable force who has redefined overall skiing, and the athlete undone by the same mistakes at the same tournament.

This wasn’t always the case. Poland burst into public consciousness with a triple-gold performance at the 2019 Under-21 Worlds, nearly breaking the world overall record in the process. Later that year, he shocked pundits by medaling twice at the Open Worlds. His defining moment came in 2021, in a gladiatorial duel with Dorien Llewellyn that ended with Poland setting a new world overall record to clinch gold.

But since then, Worlds has turned from proving ground into stumbling block. Whether it’s the weight of favoritism, overtraining, or just cruel coincidence, no one — perhaps not even Poland himself — can explain why the sport’s most consistent tricker has reserved his only missed finals for its most important event.

Poland’s misstep reopens an old tension in water skiing: is the World Championships truly the measure of the world’s best?

Many argue no. After winning Worlds in 2023, Freddie Winter himself admitted he had spent the year chasing Nate Smith, usually finishing second to him on Tour. By every measure of consistency, Smith was the best slalomer that year — yet Winter walked away with the title that mattered most.

There’s logic in rewarding consistency. Series and season-long circuits, like the Waterski Pro Tour, offer larger sample sizes that cut through the noise of off-days or lucky breaks. By that standard, Poland — undefeated for 11 months in jump and two years in overall, breaking multiple world records, and banking more prize money than anyone else — is indisputably the best skier on Earth. No one, male or female, has been more dominant in 2024 and 2025.

But the counterargument carries weight too. Not every elite skier can travel the Tour. Financial realities mean many of the sport’s best — Nate Smith, Regina Jaquess — skip most pro stops. The Worlds remains the one event where the entire field gathers, each athlete peaking for that week. Its self-fulfilling prestige lies in that convergence.

For Poland, the paradox endures. By almost every metric, he’s the standard-bearer of modern skiing — a generational talent redefining what’s possible. Yet on the one stage that crowns legends, he has twice fallen short.

Maybe it’s fate. Maybe it’s the cruel symmetry of sport. Or maybe it’s just a reminder that no matter how inevitable greatness feels, nothing in the World Championships is ever guaranteed.

The World Championships run from August 26-31 and will be broadcast live on TWBC.

Brandon Schipper jumps at the 2025 World Waterski Championships

Jump Fest in Recetto: Worlds Opens With Wave of Personal Bests

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Jump fest in Recetto: World Championships opens with wave of personal bests

Brandon Schipper jumps at the 2025 World Waterski Championships

Brandon Schipper jumps at the 2025 World Championships (image: TWBC)

By Jack Burden

RECETTO, Italy — If the early rounds are any indication, the 2025 World Championships are on course to turn into a full-blown jump fest.

The headline act of the opening days belonged to Brandon Schipper, who delivered the performance of his life under unlikely circumstances. Landing in Italy at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, the hulking Minnesotan skipped familiarization, strapped on his skis, and unleashed the three biggest jumps of his career. His best — 67.1 meters (220 feet) — was an eight-foot personal best that should all but secure him a spot in Sunday’s finals.

“I knew I had it in me,” Schipper said afterward, still buzzing from adrenaline. “But man, it’s so hard to stay calm at Worlds when you PB on your first jump.”

The 29-year-old, a CrossFit competitor off the water, has built a reputation for peaking when the lights are brightest. At the 2023 Worlds, he also reached the finals with a personal best. But this was another level.

Announcer Glen Williams could hardly believe what he was watching:

“Brandon Schipper just keeps spanking off big jump after big jump — the big man, it’s a herculean effort. Off a 10-hour flight, no famil, straight out there and over 66 meters on his first go. That 220-foot jump, that’s phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal.”

Schipper wasn’t the only one flying. Of the 40 jumpers from series three and above, more than 60% posted season-bests — most of them all-time personal bests. Over 80% finished within a meter or better of their season’s best.

Strong performances at Worlds aren’t unusual; skiers spend years tailoring their training cycles to peak on this stage. But this sheer volume of PBs points to something more: near-perfect conditions and a towboat setup dialed in for distance.

“I’ve heard from a bunch of the guys — they say that Ski Nautique feels so dialed, super strong,” said announcer Zane Nicholson. “And with this lake being as perfect as it is, everything’s just set up for huge scores.”

Another breakout story belonged to Tim Wild, who cleared 60 meters for the first time just last weekend at the U21 Europeans. In Recetto, he smashed that mark again — flying 65.2 meters.

Jo Nakamura added a new Japanese national record, while Jake Abelson logged a two-meter PB to cement his rising status in men’s overall.

The slight tailwind that lingered through much of the day offered no artificial advantage, making the distances all the more impressive. And for Schipper — all drawn-out vowels, clipped consonants, and that unmistakable Upper Midwest hockey-bro cadence — the post-jump euphoria was impossible to miss.

“Ooooooh, oh my gosh, braaaah, let’s goooo! Holy buckets, dude,” he gushed after watching the replay of his longest jump.

With the sport’s biggest names still waiting in the wings, Wednesday felt less like a warmup than a warning shot.

This isn’t a routine Worlds performance lift. This feels like a signal for takeoff.

If the early rounds are a preview, Recetto may be about to host one of the greatest displays of jumping in World Championships history.

The World Championships run from August 26-31 and will be broadcast live on TWBC.

Charlie Ross vs. Thomas Degasperi

Will the Torch Be Passed? Water Skiing’s Generational Clash at Worlds

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Will the torch be passed? Water skiing’s generational clash at Worlds

Charlie Ross vs. Thomas Degasperi

Charlie Ross, 20, and Thomas Degasperi, 44, both sit in the top five of the Waterski Pro Tour (images: @arthur_sayanoff & @andrea_gilardi_fotografo)

By Jack Burden

The World Championships are supposed to be about gold medals. But in Recetto this week, they feel like something else: a tug-of-war between history and the future.

On one side, the icons. Regina Jaquess, a win away from becoming the most decorated skier in tournament history. Ryan Dodd, who could leapfrog Sammy Duvall on the all-time medal table. Whitney McClintock Rini, chasing her 11th podium to edge past Andy Mapple. And Thomas Degasperi, Will Asher, Corey Vaughn — still hunting titles long after most of their peers retired.

They are proof that greatness can stretch across decades. Only six skiers have ever won Worlds gold after turning 35, yet here in Recetto half a dozen contenders over 40 could not only join that list, but even surpass Mapple’s record as the oldest ever world champion.

But tugging back are the new flag-bearers. Jake Abelson, just 17, who has pushed trick skiing to new heights. Mati Gonzalez, hot on his heels. Charlie Ross, a slalom prodigy itching to test himself against the names he grew up idolizing. Kennedy Hansen, the seventh woman in history to break 10,000 in tricks and still only scratching the surface of her potential in overall.

That’s the real drama of Recetto. Not just who wins medals, but whether this is the week the next generation steps out of the shadows — or the week the legends remind them the torch won’t be passed so easily.

The World Championships run from August 26-31 and will be broadcast live on TWBC.

Lauren Morgan finishing with the silver medal 🥈 with 166 feet in the finals of the 2025 U.S. Masters

Lauren Morgan Announces Retirement from Professional Water Skiing

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Lauren Morgan announces retirement from professional water skiing

Lauren Morgan finishing with the silver medal 🥈 with 166 feet in the finals of the 2025 U.S. Masters

Image: @bretellisphotography

By Jack Burden

A week before the World Championships, one of the sport’s pre-event favorites has decided to step away. Lauren Morgan — better known on the pro circuit as Poochie — announced today that she is retiring from professional water skiing.

For more than a decade, Morgan has been one of the world’s top women’s jumpers, a fixture on the podium, and a competitor known for her fearless approach to the ramp. But at 32, with a PhD in Criminology & Criminal Justice and a career outside skiing gaining momentum, Morgan says it’s time.

“Seventeen years ago, I set out on the journey of professional waterskiing, and wow, am I glad I did,” Morgan wrote in her announcement. “This sport has taken me to nearly 30 countries, introduced me to lifelong friends, and given me the chance to do something [few] women have ever done: jump 180 feet… But this year, those plans changed… I realized I could no longer give my all heading into Worlds. With my career outside of skiing growing and challenging me in new ways, I knew it was time to step back.”

Morgan’s career coincided almost squarely with Jacinta Carroll, widely regarded as the greatest female jumper of all time. Carroll’s dominance — an unprecedented 12-year winning streak — might have kept Morgan from more titles, but it never diminished her standing as one of the sport’s bravest and most respected competitors.

Few jumpers, man or woman, attacked the ramp with Morgan’s aggression and fearlessness. One of only 13 women ever to fly beyond 55 meters (180 feet), she brought an edge and daring that made her a fan favorite.

Her breakout came in 2012, when the 19-year-old claimed four professional podiums and finished the season ranked third in the elite standings. A year later, she won her maiden pro event, just as Carroll began her streak.

If the early years of her career were about potential, the later stages became a story of resilience. Morgan fought through multiple knee surgeries, including a devastating ACL tear in 2022, only to return 12 months later and win a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships.

It was not the first time she proved her toughness on the world stage. She first broke through with dual junior world titles in slalom and jump at the 2010 U17 World Championships, then added two Under-21 jump medals before finally standing on consecutive Open Worlds podiums in 2021 and 2023. In 2022, she reached the pinnacle with a Masters title and World Games gold.

Morgan closes her career with three professional victories, 20 professional podiums, two World Championships medals, and the distinction of being one of the few women ever to jump 180 feet. Yet, as she wrote in her farewell, the results aren’t the part she’ll carry with her.

“It taught me discipline and perseverance. How to focus under pressure. How to love the process, not just the outcome. How to keep going even when it would’ve been easier to stop.”

Though her “5.5-foot career” is over, Morgan hasn’t left the sport behind. She plans to remain around the lake, helping at events and, as she joked, maybe even making a return in senior competition: “Let’s just say… Senior Worlds 2028, I’ve got my eye on you.”

With that, one of the sport’s fiercest competitors turns the page. Poochie may be retiring, but her legacy of bravery, perseverance, and resilience on the jump course is firmly set.

Recetto, Italy will host the 2025 World Water Ski Championships

2025 World Championships Preview: Who Takes the Gold in Recetto?

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2025 World Championships preview: Who takes the gold in Recetto?

Recetto, Italy will host the 2025 World Water Ski Championships

Recetto, in Northern Italy, will host the 2025 World Championships (image: Pressmare)

By Jack Burden

The World Championships—waterskiing’s marquee event—return to Recetto, Italy this summer, the same site that saw a 17-year-old Regina Jaquess claim her first world title in 2001, and a then-titleless Freddy Krueger finish second in jump.

Two decades later, the names have (mostly) changed, but the stakes remain colossal.

With the biennial blockbuster on the horizon, we’re throwing caution, restraint, and any fear of being wrong to the wind—forecasting the head-to-heads, highlighting the spoilers, and offering our best guesses at who takes home gold.

Let the speculation begin.

Jaimee Bull at the 2025 San Gervasio ProAm

Image: @robhazelwoodcreative

Women’s Slalom

RTB Picks

Frontrunners: Jaimee Bull (CAN) vs. Regina Jaquess (USA)

Challengers: Whitney McClintock Rini (CAN), Allie Nicholson (USA)

For arguably the first time, Jaimee Bull enters a World Championships as the outright favorite. With back-to-back world titles and a dominant run on the Waterski Pro Tour, the young Canadian has earned her status. But Regina Jaquess is still Regina Jaquess. The world record holder may have scaled back her pro appearances, but her top-end scores remain unmatched.

A gold here would not only make Jaquess the most decorated women’s slalom skier ever—surpassing Helena Kjellander—but would also tie her with Liz Allan for the most world titles (11) in the sport’s history.

Freddie Winter slaloms at the 2025 Monaco Waterski Cup

Image: @arthur_sayanoff

Men’s Slalom

RTB Picks

Frontrunners: Nate Smith (USA) vs. Freddie Winter (GBR)

Challengers: Thomas Degasperi (ITA), Charlie Ross (CAN), and honestly, about 10 others

Trying to pick a men’s slalom winner lately feels like trying to play darts in a hurricane. Smith and Winter—owners of five of the last six World titles—remain the obvious picks, but their form has diverged. Winter leads the 2025 Waterski Pro Tour and looks sharp in his comeback year. Smith has shifted focus off-tour but still shows flashes of brilliance.

Degasperi has the résumé, Ross has the momentum, and the rest of the pack is deep enough that a piece of three at 10.25m (41′) might not secure a finals berth. Buckle up.

Erika Lang at the 2025 Swiss Pro Tricks

Image: @swissprowaterski

Women’s Tricks

RTB Picks

Frontrunners: Erika Lang (USA) vs. Neilly Ross (CAN)

Challengers: Anna Gay Hunter (USA), Giannina Bonnemann Mechler (GER)

Lang looked untouchable all season—until she didn’t. Ross’s late-season charge and commanding win at Botas proved there’s still room for surprises. The margins are thin, the scores are huge, and it’s likely the winner will need to flirt with the world record to seal gold.

And if they falter? Don’t count out Hunter or Mechler, both capable of hitting big numbers when it counts.

World record holder Jake Abelson

Image: @bearwitnesssportsphotos

Men’s Tricks

RTB Picks

Frontrunners: Jake Abelson (USA) vs. Patricio Font (MEX)

Challengers: Louis Duplan-Fribourg (FRA), Matias Gonzalez (CHI), Joel Poland (GBR)

We’re being unfair to Gonzalez by listing him as a “challenger.” He, Font, and Abelson have split almost every major final this season and regularly trade blows above 12,500.

Abelson gets the edge here: he broke the 13k barrier, swept the richest trick events of 2025, and looks nearly unbeatable. But tricks is chaos. A dropped handle or flubbed toe pass can flip the final standings in seconds. Expect fireworks.

Hanna Straltsova jumps at the 2025 LA Night Jam

Image: @matthewleach.photography

Women’s Jump

RTB Picks

Frontrunners: Hanna Straltsova (USA) vs. well… Hanna Straltsova

Challengers: Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya (USA), Brittany Greenwood Wharton (USA)

Straltsova is in a league of her own. She’s jumped over four meters farther than her nearest rival in 2025, hasn’t lost a pro event in more than two years, and looks poised to defend her title with room to spare.

The only person who can beat Hanna right now is Hanna—injury, illness, or divine intervention aside. She’s as close to a lock as sport allows.

Joel Poland jumps at the 2025 Masters Water Ski and Wakeboard Tournament

Image: @bretellisphotography

Men’s Jump

RTB Picks

Frontrunners: Ryan Dodd (CAN) vs. Joel Poland (GBR)

Challengers: Jack Critchley (GBR), Luca Rauchenwald (AUT)

Since 1995, only three men—Jaret Llewellyn, Krueger, and Dodd—have won world jump titles. But with Krueger sidelined following knee surgery, only Dodd remains in the hunt. The defending champ will be aiming to tie Andy Mapple and Patrice Martin with a sixth title in a single event. If he pulls it off, he would also become the oldest champion in World Championships history.

But Poland is the favorite. Undefeated this year and winner of 9 of the last 11 major events, his flying form is undeniable. That said, jump finals are volatile. On any given day, anyone in the top eight could go 70+ and steal gold.

Hanna Straltsova jumps at the 2024 WWS Canada Cup

Image: @bearwitnesssportsphotos

Women’s Overall

RTB Picks

Frontrunners: Giannina Bonnemann Mechler (GER) vs. Hanna Straltsova (USA)

Challengers: Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya (USA), Kennedy Hansen (USA)

Straltsova is the reigning champion, and she’s been breaking records all season. But Bonnemann Mechler might be peaking at the right time. Already tricking near her best, the question is whether her slalom and jump can catch up in time.

Kennedy Hansen is the dark horse—only the seventh woman ever to score over 10,000 in tricks, and still on the rise. Danisheuskaya is consistent, and a past winner, but may need an upset to regain the top spot.

Joel Poland at the 2025 WWS Canada Cup

Image: @lorth.jpeg

Men’s Overall

RTB Picks

Frontrunners: Dorien Llewellyn (CAN) vs. Joel Poland (GBP)

Challengers: Louis Duplan-Fribourg (FRA), Martin Kolman (CZE)

Poland is the clear favorite, coming off back-to-back undefeated seasons on the WWS Overall Tour and a string of world records. Our pick for his biggest challenge goes to Llewellyn—more on potential than form—while Duplan-Fribourg, the reigning world champion, has consistently been second-best over the past two seasons.

Still, Llewellyn’s personal bests across the three events—into 10.25m (41′ off), just shy of 12,000 points in tricks, and over 70 meters (230 feet) in jump—make him the skier who can most seriously challenge Poland at his peak. If Poland stumbles, the depth in men’s overall is arguably at an all-time high, and several others could mount a title run.

Teams podium from the 2023 IWWF World Water Ski Championships

Image: @iwwfed

Teams

RTB Picks

Frontrunners: Canada vs. USA

Challengers: France

Team USA are strong favorites to retain their title, with arguably their deepest roster in years. Canada will certainly keep them honest and has the firepower to reclaim the crown. And France—aka the Duplan-Fribourg family and friends—could very well stage an upset if the stars align. The stage is set for an intense battle for the World Championships title.

The World Championships run from August 26-31 and will be broadcast live on TWBC.

Axel Garcia tricks during the IWWF U21 waterski championships at Predator Bay waterski club in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Axel Garcia: The King of the Half Jack

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Axel Garcia: The King of the Half Jack

Axel Garcia tricks during the IWWF U21 waterski championships at Predator Bay waterski club in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Axel Garcia tricks during the IWWF U21 waterski championships (image: @bearwitnesssportsphotos)

By Jack Burden

When the conversation turns to innovation in modern trick skiing, it almost always starts with Joel Poland. The multitalented Brit has made “super flips” part of the sport’s everyday vocabulary, turning his signature super-mobe-five into a tournament staple.

But there’s another name worth saying—one rising fast.

Seventeen-year-old Axel Garcia of France has been quietly building a résumé that demands attention. Third at last year’s Under-17 Worlds behind Mati Gonzalez and Jake Abelson. Multiple-time European champion. Top seed into the finals at the recently concluded Under-21 World Championships.

And above all, he’s developed a reputation for one thing: launching himself into frontflips with the kind of style and ease that makes fellow skiers double-take.

Among elite trick skiers, Garcia has been dubbed by some as the “King of the Half Jack.” The half jack—named after American skier Kevin Jack—is a frontflip variation where the skier edges into the wake from an inverted back position before throwing the flip. It’s a close cousin to the wakeboard “tantrum” and has quietly become one of the most common moves in top-level runs. These days, a mobe–reverse–half jack combo is almost as standard as a side slide.

Some, like world record holder Jake Abelson, still favor the more orthodox BFF (frontflip from a regular back position), but that’s becoming rare. The half jack’s speed, consistency, and smooth transition make it the go-to choice.

Garcia hasn’t just mastered it—he’s reinvented it. In 2023, he submitted a clip of himself landing a reverse FFLF, which the IWWF approved as a brand-new trick.

Recently, he posted an Instagram video that made waves: both regular and reverse FFLFs, plus both regular and reverse FFLBBs (frontflip 360s), all starting from the inverted back like a half jack. The reverse FFLBB isn’t even in the rulebook yet—but if Garcia submits it, he could add another flip to the official trick list.

Top names took notice. Pato Font, Mati Gonzalez, and Neilly Ross all jumped into the comments with praise.

Garcia’s skillset is a case study in a long-running debate: whether the IWWF’s trick scoring table needs an overhaul.

Take backflips. Progressing from a basic backflip (BFL) to a backflip 540 (BFL5F) is worth 350 more points—about a 70% increase. But frontflips? A basic FFL is worth 800 points. The 540-degree version (FFL5F) gets just 150 more—less than a 20% bump.

Why? Because of an arbitrary 1,000-point ceiling. Years ago, the double backflip was set at that max value, despite no skier ever landing it. Since then, every trick has had to fit between 500 and that cap, squeezing the spread for higher-difficulty frontflips into a narrow range.

The result: Garcia gains little by throwing his most jaw-dropping tricks. At the Under-21 Worlds, he topped the prelim leaderboard with a run of safe, fast mobes, half-twists, and just two frontflips. Why risk a reverse half jack or a front-full for an extra 100–150 points when a 750-point half-twist is cleaner and safer?

He’s not alone. Abelson regularly posts outrageous frontflips online—no-wake FFLBs, front-fulls from a regular wrap—that never see a start dock in competition. Pato Font has ski-line and spin variations that would make even Cory Pickos jealous. Every top trick skier has an ace or two they leave at home on tournament day.

Part of the reason is difficulty: in trick skiing, you can’t afford an early fall. Speed and consistency win. That’s not a flaw—it’s part of what makes the sport thrilling. But with a different point spread, more of those “party tricks” could become prime-time tricks.

Axel Garcia is exactly the kind of skier trick skiing’s future needs—innovative, fearless, and stylish. His flips are already redefining what’s possible off a ski wake, even if the scorebook hasn’t caught up.

For now, his wildest moves might remain for Instagram. But if the sport wants its brightest stars to keep pushing the limits, it needs to make sure the risk is worth the reward.

Because Garcia may not just be the King of the Half Jack—he might be next in line for the whole trick skiing crown.

Neilly Ross signs with Goode Skis

Neilly Ross Joins Team Goode

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Neilly Ross joins Team Goode

Neilly Ross signs with Goode Skis

Image: @neillyross

By Jack Burden

After a cryptic Instagram teaser — including a blurred-out ski shot — Neilly Ross has made it official: she’s now riding for Goode. The Canadian star announced the move with clips of her both slaloming and trick skiing on Goode skis, adding the caption: “Change is Goode.”

Goode Skis returned the sentiment: “Welcome to Team Goode! Can’t wait to see what the future holds! 💪🏼🔥”

The switch marks the end of a decade long partnership with Reflex, the European-based brand best known for its hardshell bindings but also a boutique producer of high-end skis. For Goode, it’s one of the biggest signings in recent memory.

Ross is arguably the hottest property in world water skiing. No athlete has stood on more pro podiums in 2025, her rapidly improving slalom form complementing her well-established dominance in tricks, where she’s been trading the world record with Erika Lang. She’s also one of the sport’s most marketable names, with a social media following of close to 350,000 across Instagram and TikTok.

For Goode, the move bolsters a growing presence in trick skiing. Since launching trick skis in 2019 under founder Dave Goode in collaboration with Martin Kolman, the brand’s designs — including the 2022 Avalon, crafted by Jimmy Siemers and Richard Abelson — have gone from experiment to world-record machines. Jake Abelson’s historic run of record scores was set entirely on Goode.

Now, with Ross joining an already stacked roster, the Utah-based manufacturer has a superstar capable of winning at the very top level in both slalom and tricks — and turning heads on and off the water.

Get ready to watch Wakeboard, Wakesurf, and Cable Wakeboard, all taking place in Chengdu, China, from August 7–17, 2025.

Water Skiing Just Lost the World Games. Maybe We Deserved It.

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Water skiing just lost the World Games. Maybe we deserved it.

Get ready to watch Wakeboard, Wakesurf, and Cable Wakeboard, all taking place in Chengdu, China, from August 7–17, 2025.

Wakeboard, Wakesurf, and Cable Wakeboard, all took place in Chengdu, China, from August 7–17, 2025 (image: IWWF)

By Jack Burden

The knives are out for the IWWF. They always are. This time, it’s over water skiing’s absence from the 2025 World Games in Chengdu. Forty-plus years of tradition gone, replaced by wakesurfing’s debut. Another bureaucratic misstep? Another case of bad leadership? That’s the easy take — and the one our sport seems most eager to reach for.

You’ve heard the grumbling: How could they let this happen? Don’t they know water skiing was one of the Games’ founding sports? We take it personally because it feels personal — a door slammed in our face after decades of loyal attendance. And yes, the decision was made in consultation with the IWWF. And yes, the optics are ugly. But let’s not pretend this was a bolt from the blue.

The World Games is a product, not a sentimental reunion. It exists to fill stadiums, sell tickets, and justify broadcast time. In that context, swapping three-event skiing for wakesurfing isn’t madness — it’s arithmetic. Wakesurfing needs less infrastructure. It plays better in urban venues. It comes with a soundtrack and an image package you can sell on TikTok. And China, our host, has a ready-made roster of wake athletes but exactly zero active three-event skiers. The organizers didn’t choose wakesurfing to spite us. They chose it because it fits their event better than we do.

Here’s the harder question: why wouldn’t we fit?

For years, our competitive structure has been almost aggressively insular. Our tournaments are for us. Our coverage is by us. Our audience is… well, mostly us. Many in the sport barely flinched when the news broke. The World Games? Please. It’s an outcasts’ Olympics, they say — full of fringe and gimmicky sports nobody watches unless they stumble across them on TV.

But that’s exactly the point. The World Games gave us legitimacy in the wider sporting world. In more than a few countries, national federations used our place in the Games to justify government funding. And when was the last time water skiing got real terrestrial TV coverage? For those still pining for the ESPN Hot Summer Nights era, this was as close as we’d come in decades. Now it’s gone.

Wakesports have embraced spectacle and accessibility; we’ve clung to purity and tradition as if they were a form of currency the real world still accepts. They aren’t. Not to the World Games, and not to any outside partner who needs more than nostalgia to justify a slot.

So, yes, the IWWF could have fought harder. Maybe they should have. But what exactly were they supposed to fight with? A product that hasn’t been meaningfully reimagined in decades? A fan base that barely exists outside our own families and training partners? A sport whose public face is often a locked gate to a private lake? That’s not leverage. That’s a liability.

And now we’re talking about the Olympics. “We are actively bidding for inclusion in Brisbane in 2032… we might have an actual chance to get in there,” IWWF President Jose Antonio Perez Priego said recently. Encouraging words — but when your most recent headline is We just lost the World Games, it’s hardly the kind of momentum you want for an Olympic pitch.

The truth is we weren’t pushed out — we drifted out. Slowly. By choice. By choosing to play only to ourselves. By defining “success” as keeping the same people happy instead of adding new ones. By treating the outside world as a distraction rather than an opportunity.

If losing the World Games feels like a punch to the gut, it should. But don’t waste your energy swinging at the IWWF. This isn’t a one-off scheduling decision. It’s a preview of our future if we keep doing exactly what we’ve been doing.

Because if we want to stop losing places — at the World Games, in media coverage, in the public imagination — we’re going to have to start competing off the water as fiercely as we do on it. Otherwise, this won’t be the last goodbye. It’ll just be the latest.

12 times European & Africa Champion.

44 and Still on Top: Degasperi’s Record-Breaking European Win

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44 and still on top: Degasperi’s record-breaking European win

12 times European & Africa Champion.

Image: @this_is_tgas

By Jack Burden

At 44 years old, Thomas Degasperi is still rewriting water skiing’s record books. Over the weekend, the Italian captured his 12th European & Africa Slalom Championship—his sixth consecutive—cementing his place as one of the sport’s enduring greats.

“12 times European & Africa Champion. No words,” Degasperi posted afterward.

With the win, Degasperi moves into second all-time for most European titles in a single discipline, trailing only Patrice Martin’s 15 trick titles. He also climbs to 10th on the all-time titles list, but holds the record for the most titles by a single-event specialist. His 12 slalom crowns are more than double the total of the next closest men’s champions—Martin and Roby Zucchi—who each own six.

The latest triumph comes in the middle of another age-defying season. Degasperi currently sits third on the Waterski Pro Tour leaderboard after a string of podiums and a home-soil victory at July’s San Gervasio Pro Am. Only tour leader Freddie Winter has stood on more professional podiums in 2025 than the ever-present Italian.

A two-time world champion and five-time worlds medalist, Degasperi now turns his focus to the World Championships later this month, where he will once again ski in front of a home crowd.

In the European final, Degasperi held off a stacked field that included Sacha Descuns, Brando Caruso, and Tim Tornquist to extend his continental reign.

Other champions crowned in the tournament included Ukraine’s Danylo Filchenko, who took gold in both tricks and overall—mirrored on the women’s side by new mother Giannina Bonnemann Mechler, also winning tricks and overall. Additional titles went to Katerina Vrabcova, Luca Rauchenwald, and Jutta Menestrina.