Author: Jack Burden

Trick Skiing’s 13,000-Point Barrier Just Got Smashed

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Trick Skiing’s 13,000-Point Barrier Just Got Smashed

World record holder Jake Abelson

Image: Johnny Hayward

By Jack Burden

POLK CITY, FL — There was a time when 13,000 points in men’s trick skiing felt like a myth. A ceiling. A number whispered with admiration but dismissed with realism. This weekend, Jake Abelson achieved the unthinkable.

On a hot June weekend at Ski Fluid in central Florida, Abelson tricked 13,020 points in the first round of the Bill Wenner Memorial Record tournament. It was a staggering score—one that broke the world record, pending ratification. The next round, he went out and did it again. This time: 13,270.

In a sport where progress inches forward, he had just taken a leap.

In its early decades, the world record climbed by a thousand points every few years—1975, ’77, ’79, ’81, and ’84 each saw new milestones breached as Cory Pickos took the sport over the threshold of 10,000. But as the level of difficulty increased and the stopwatch refused to budge from its 20-second window, progress slowed. From there, each new thousand took longer to fall—six years to reach 11,000 in 1990, another 11 to reach 12,000 in 2001. But 13,000? That mark seemed out of reach. Until now.

From 2005 to 2022, only two men’s world records were ratified—170 total points of progress in 17 years. Trick skiing was often called the most stagnant of the three events. Then came a renaissance, kicked off in late 2022 by Mexico’s Patricio Font, who broke Aliaksei Zharnasek’s 11-year-old record. In the span of 18 months, the event transformed from glacial to white-hot.

That sudden acceleration in progression? It didn’t come from nowhere.

No one embodies that shift more than Jake Abelson.

Abelson is 17. His dad was an elite-level trick skier. His mom? A Junior Masters champion and a regular on the pro slalom and trick scene in the 2000s. His cousin is Patricio Font. He’s a second-generation athlete with deep family ties to the sport—raised with access to the best coaches, the best equipment, and the best ski sites in the world. His story isn’t one of accidental talent. It’s one of purposeful design.

What separates Abelson isn’t just his résumé. It’s the way he blends nearly every key ingredient that defines the modern trick skiing elite.

He has the raw power and strength of Zharnasek, enabling him to throw audacious tricks like wake-seven-front-to-front and ski-line-seven-back-to-back. He has the speed and precision of Font, unlocking the ability to squeeze in one more trick before the 20-second buzzer. And perhaps most importantly, he skis with the quiet poise of a gymnast who’s spent years training for perfection under pressure.

That’s not just metaphor. Jake still competes as a level 10 gymnast. Like Erika Lang, who transferred her tumbling background into becoming one of the greatest women’s trickers of all time, Abelson has brought aerial awareness and body control into a sport that now demands both in spades.

“In trick skiing, the goal is to perform as many high scoring tricks as possible in 20 seconds,” he said. “At a high level, more speed is required to add another trick or upgrade a preexisting one.”

Abelson spent last winter hammering one trick over and over—wake-seven-front-to-front, a brutally difficult 800-point move with a 720-degree spin and two handle passes. By April’s Swiss Pro Tricks, he could land it cleanly and on time, without derailing the rest of the run. In May 2024, he nearly broke 13,000 at a Masters Qualifier, missing the mark by inches—falling on the last two tricks. It was the proof of concept.

Fast forward to June 2025, and he executed.

But there’s a deeper layer to why this is happening now—and why it might not last forever.

Tricking is, at its core, a race against time. And to move faster, it helps to be lighter.

“You’ve got to look at body types,” said Joel Poland on a recent episode of the Grab Matters podcast. “When you’re smaller, you weigh 130 to 150 pounds, faster is easier. You can go slower with the boat, you can move a little faster. As you become a bigger person, you can keep that speed and learn to go fast—but it definitely gets harder.”

That dynamic makes Abelson’s moment feel especially fleeting and perfectly timed. He has the technical base, the gymnastic strength, the trick lineage—but also, the age and size to make speed work for him, not against him. In a few years, his approach might need to change. For now, it’s the perfect storm.

Abelson is quick to credit others. Matias Gonzalez and Martin Labra, the young Chileans pushing boundaries in toe tricks. Joel Poland, whose creativity and flair have inspired Abelson to explore more ambitious sequences. And Font, who reimagined the hand pass with blistering speed and composure.

As Gonzalez put it: “To consistently trick over 12k, the most important thing [is] to focus on speed,” said the 17-year-old Chilean, who already has multiple professional titles under his belt. “Pato showed that 11 tricks on hands were possible. That set the new standard.”

Abelson echoed the point almost word-for-word, crediting “the increase in speed which was demonstrated by Font” as the catalyst for this new era.

The skiing world was forced to take notice. From 2019 to 2023, Font won two World Championships and eight pro titles—one of the highest winning percentages in the history of modern trick skiing. “His consistency,” Abelson said, “[forced] the other competitors to put more time on the water just to be able to compete.”

Abelson’s rise feels sudden, but the data tells a deeper story. In April 2024, his personal best was 11,980. Then, in the span of one month: six scores over 12,000, including two world records at 12,720 and 12,970. His form in 2025 has been unmatched—winning the Moomba Masters, then the US Masters, and now potentially breaking the world record twice.

His record-setting run wasn’t a spike. It was a detonation—evidence not of a fluke, but of an athlete who’s shifted the benchmark.

And he’s not alone. Gonzalez and Labra are close behind. Louis Duplan-Fribourg of France, the reigning world overall champion, has a personal best over 12,500. Font still looms—consistent, decorated, and hungry.

“We started pushing ourselves to a better level,” said Labra. “Being with Mati [Gonzalez] since we were kids… and after that Jake, it helped me a lot to improve… to try to beat [them], we helped each other to be better.”

But Abelson’s ceiling might be higher still.

He’s not just a phenomenal tricker. He’s emerging as one of the most complete skiers in the world—just named to the 2025 U.S. World Championship team in overall. He skis all three events. He tricks like a specialist. And he’s the first American man to hold the world trick record since Cory Pickos in 2001.

In that sense, Abelson’s moment is bigger than a number. It’s a glimpse of what’s possible: not just in trick, but in the sport as a whole.

The only question now: is this the new ceiling—or just the start of something even bigger?

Brittany Greenwood Wharton jumps at the LA Night Jam

Why the LA Night Jam Left Us in the Dark — Literally and Digitally

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Why the LA Night Jam left us in the dark — literally and digitally

Brittany Greenwood Wharton jumps at the LA Night Jam

Image: @lanightjam

By Jack Burden

Last weekend, some of the world’s best jumpers went soaring under the lights in Zachary, Louisiana. The LA Night Jam had it all: a packed shoreline, festival energy, world champions, rising stars, and Waterski Pro Tour points on the line.

But unless you were there in person, you didn’t see a second of it.

There was no webcast. No slo-mo replays. No expert commentary. No drone shots capturing heroic flight. Just the dry final results, posted to an anachronistic website after the spray had settled—black-and-white numbers standing in for what was, by all accounts, one of the most electric nights of the season.

And for diehard fans like me, that felt like a gut punch.

In the post-COVID era, we’ve grown used to watching every pro event live, for free, from anywhere in the world. The quality of these broadcasts has never been better, thanks in large part to The Waterski Broadcasting Company (TWBC). But cracks are starting to show in that model—and there’s a quiet, potentially growing shift away from relying on livestreams to carry the weight of an event.

Two of the four stops on the 2024 WWS Overall Tour were not broadcast, including the Canada Cup, which doubled as a Waterski Pro Tour jump stop and delivered some of the season’s most thrilling competition. The Fungliss ProAm, with the richest men’s slalom purse of the year, also eschewed a webcast.

Why? Because streaming costs money. And despite loyal viewership, the audience hasn’t really grown. TWBC’s YouTube views have plateaued since 2020. The downgrade of the Swiss Pro Slalom—still the most-watched water ski webcast every year—drives the point home: if the sport’s most visible livestream can’t generate enough sponsor revenue to stay on tour, something’s broken.

Still, many—including me—believe high-quality webcasts are a worthwhile investment. Maybe the audience isn’t there yet. But what better vehicle exists to grow the sport long-term? Who else is grinding to tell skiing’s story with the polish and persistence of TWBC?

That doesn’t mean, though, that every tournament needs to look the same.

The LA Night Jam reminds us there’s another way—one rooted in the past, but maybe just as vital to the future.

Rather than catering to a global digital audience, LA Night Jam pours its resources into the on-site experience. It’s a deliberate throwback—a water ski festival, as event coordinator Tucker Johnson described it in a local TV interview: “It’s fun for the whole family… a pro tournament set up with tons of events around it as well.”

There are trick exhibitions. Slalom head-to-heads. Freestyle skiers. Adorable kids on combos. In one memorable stunt, someone even barefooted out of a hot air balloon. It’s all designed to dazzle the crowd—many of whom arrive knowing nothing about water skiing and leave wanting more.

The funding model reflects that philosophy. Instead of relying on industry sponsors trying to reach a global audience, the event is backed by local businesses. Their website, perhaps vindictively, notes that the “event is not sponsored by MasterCraft Boat Co.”—a nod to the departure of their former headline sponsor and the pivot toward a community-first approach. It’s a stark contrast to the traditional, industry-funded model.

Here, the crowd isn’t just a backdrop. It’s the point.

And LA Night Jam isn’t alone. The 2024 WWS Canada Cup followed a similar formula: local crowd, local sponsors, no webcast. We’ve also praised the King of Darkness for its festival-like atmosphere and crowd engagement—though that event still pairs its in-person spectacle with a top-shelf livestream.

These formats don’t just recycle the same core audience—they expand it. They draw in new families, new eyeballs, and potentially new sponsors. Yes, physical crowds come with constraints—parking, logistics, capacity. But they offer something livestreams haven’t cracked yet: the ability to convert the curious into the committed.

As reigning world champion Freddie Winter put it recently on the TWBC podcast: “We shouldn’t just be skiing in backyard tournaments… getting in front of people is also fantastic.”

Back when waterskiing was booming, it had both—crowds and broadcasts. Passion and reach.

So maybe it’s not about choosing one or the other. Maybe it’s about trying everything, everywhere, all at once. Because if there’s one thing the sport can’t afford right now, it’s to put all its eggs in one basket.

It’s become cliché to quote the line about insanity being doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. But it’s worth reflecting on. TWBC has poured heart and soul into their livestreams. And while their numbers are respectable, they haven’t meaningfully grown in five years. Meanwhile, their side projects like The Unknown Sport of Waterskiing and The Rise of Waterskiing arguably have the greatest potential of breaking through to new audiences.

At the same time, LA Night Jam and others like it are bringing fresh energy, new money, and new eyeballs into the sport—and paying athletes in the process.

With only five pro jump events on the 2025 calendar, every one counts. The fact that LA Night Jam delivered a full purse without a webcast isn’t a failure—it’s a sign of creativity and resilience.

So maybe the real takeaway is this: not everything in waterskiing needs to be built for people like me. Sometimes the best thing we can do for the sport is reach someone who’s never seen it before. Ideally, yes, we’d have both—a packed shoreline and a global livestream. But if resources are limited, I’m glad events are experimenting.

Throw enough at the wall, and something might just stick.

The future of water skiing won’t come from clinging to one tournament model. It will come from daring to try new ways to bring the sport to life.

If that means leaving some fans in the dark—so be it. But if it means lighting up a new generation, then the gamble is worth it.

Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly implied that the Lake 38 ProAm had shifted away from TWBC for budget reasons. In fact, TWBC was the organizers’ first choice, but was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts.

Erika Lang & Neilly Ross

Lang Chased a Record. Ross Chased the Boys. The Rivalry Is Just Getting Started

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Lang chased a record. Ross chased the boys. The rivalry Is just getting started

Lang vs. Ross: The Ultimate Showdown

By Jack Burden

This past weekend, one of the sport’s most electric rivalries continued — not in a head-to-head showdown, but on opposite sides of the world.

In California, Erika Lang quietly added another pending world record to her résumé, scoring 11,450 points — equaling the mark she set last month, which is still awaiting IWWF approval. She’s already notched three straight wins in 2025, an unbroken streak that includes Moomba, Swiss Pro Tricks, and the Masters. Just months after losing the record to Canada’s Neilly Ross, Lang has left no doubt: she wants it back — and she wants it badly.

Meanwhile, Ross was in Monaco — a place better known for superyachts and Formula 1 than women’s trick skiing. She’d traveled there expecting to compete in her signature event, only to discover the women’s trick division had been quietly dropped. Rather than pack up and head home, Ross entered the men’s field. No shortcuts, no caveats — just her versus the world’s best male trick skiers.

It didn’t go to plan. She pushed for a massive score, overreached, and landed outside the prize money. A third-place finish in women’s slalom offered some consolation — and helped offset the cost of the trip.

But if the scoreboard favored Lang, the spotlight — such as it exists in professional waterskiing — leaned toward Ross. While Lang was setting records in the back corner of a lake, witnessed only by officials and a handful of skiers, Ross was putting herself on stage. The Monaco Waterski Cup drew fans, sponsors, and some of the sport’s best production value. The risks were high — but so was the visibility.

Both athletes are expected to headline this weekend’s Royal Nautique Pro in Rabat, Morocco. The event promises big prize money, an exotic setting, and a rare chance for direct competition in women’s tricks. The site — a downtown river with excellent spectator access — could produce anything from chaos to classic, depending on conditions.

But the contrast between scoring and competing runs deeper than a single weekend. Lang’s performance in California could trigger a substantial bonus from Nautique — potentially exceeding the entire trick purse at Monaco. She lives and works on the West Coast, holds a full-time job, and turns 30 later this year. Jetting across the globe for every introductory-level event doesn’t make sense — financially or professionally.

Ross, 24, is in a different phase. Fresh out of college, increasingly competitive in slalom, and not yet tethered by the same responsibilities. Her gamble in Monaco wasn’t just bold — it was brand-building. A shot across the bow in a sport still figuring out what the next generation looks like.

And that’s the rub. World records may make great marketing material. But putting yourself out there — in the crucible of competition, under pressure, in public — might actually grow the sport.

Records are impressive. But the real fireworks happen when these two are on the same starting dock, on the same day, with everything on the line.

Regina Jaquess is continuing to dominate into her 40s

Can Anyone Stop This U.S. Team at Worlds?

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Can Anyone Stop This U.S. Team at Worlds?

Regina Jaquess is continuing to dominate into her 40s

Image: USA Waterski

By Jack Burden

The names are in. The roster is set. And for the first time in nearly two decades, Team USA will head to the Open World Championships with a male overall skier in the lineup.

The American Water Ski Association’s International Activities Committee has announced the six athletes who will represent the United States at the 2025 IWWF Open World Championships in Recetto, Italy, from August 26–31:

  • Jake Abelson
  • Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya
  • Kennedy Hansen
  • Regina Jaquess
  • Freddy Krueger
  • Erika Lang

It’s a loaded team—experienced, decorated, and packed with world records—but the headline is 17-year-old Jake Abelson, the first male overall skier selected for Team USA since Jimmy Siemers in 2009. It’s been almost as long as Abelson has been alive.

Since Siemers’ retirement, men’s overall has been America’s Achilles’ heel—despite a steady pipeline of overlooked talent. Abelson, the breakout trick skier of 2025, with rapidly improving jump and reliable slalom scores, could signal a long-overdue shift.

Another standout addition is Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya, the 2021 World Overall Champion—then skiing for Belarus. She’s now under the U.S. banner, having lived and trained stateside for over a decade and recently marrying American jumper Taylor Garcia.

Her inclusion raises eyebrows—not for lack of pedigree, but because of her international path. Danisheuskaya was among a group of Belarusian athletes who switched affiliations after the IWWF banned Russian and Belarusian skiers in response to the war in Ukraine. In 2023, she and Hanna Straltsova competed under the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports (USAWSWS) umbrella in a legal gray zone that blurred nationality rules. With the ban now lifted and new eligibility procedures in place, Danisheuskaya’s spot on Team USA is both official and, from a competitive standpoint, a major asset.

Alongside her are legends still at the top of their game. Regina Jaquess remains an ageless force. Erika Lang is a perennial threat. Freddy Krueger, now in his 50s, continues to fly farther than athletes half his age. And Kennedy Hansen—one of the sport’s best young all-arounders—brings team balance and three-event reliability.

It’s a squad built not just to defend the world team title reclaimed in 2023—but to do it with depth and purpose.

Standing in their way, however, is the most consistently dominant team of the modern era: Canada. Led by Dorien Llewellyn and Paige Rini Pigozzi, their ceiling is as high as any—if their health and form hold. Dorien, once trading records with Joel Poland, is still working back to his best after a major injury. Paige, an elegant slalomer and capable tricker and jumper, hasn’t competed much in overall since the 2023 Worlds.

If they’re sharp, the Canadians will be hard to beat.

France, Great Britain, and Australia are all podium threats as well—though none may have the six-skier depth to match the U.S. or Canada across all events.

But for Team USA, this isn’t just about the podium. This roster represents something bigger: a return to the formula that once made them untouchable. From the 1950s to the early ’90s, the U.S. never lost a team title. Since then, they’ve won just 7 of 17. The gap? Often, it’s been men’s overall.

Jake Abelson might not win gold in Recetto. But his selection is a signal—of belief, of change, of remembering what built a dynasty in the first place.

Team titles aren’t won with six individual stars. They’re won with balance. With skiers who fight for every point in every event. With teams that feel—not just strong—but complete.

This one finally does.

Let the countdown begin.

Centerline Handle by Spray Research

New Tournament-Approved Handle Offers Fresh Take on Water Ski Safety

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New tournament-approved handle offers fresh take on water ski safety

Centerline Handle by Spray Research

Image: Spray Research

By Jack Burden

The water ski handle hasn’t changed much in decades—but a new option from Spray Research is quietly challenging that status quo.

Officially launched this week, the Centerline Handle—formerly known as the T-Handle—is now available for order through Spray Research’s new website, sprayresearchusa.com. Engineered by Jason Peckham, a Masters Men skier and design engineer, the handle rethinks how rope and handle connect by eliminating the traditional open bridle in favor of a central attachment point.

The design aims to reduce the risk of serious injury during falls, like the one Peckham himself experienced in 2022 when his arm became entangled in a conventional handle at 39.5 off. The result: a fractured radius, torn tendon, and an extended recovery.

The Centerline’s signature feature—a rigid “Centerline Stiffener”—creates a closed, stable loop where the rope meets the core bar, reducing the chances of limb entrapment. It’s already been approved for a 24-month trial in IWWF tournaments, allowing athletes to put the handle through real-world paces at the highest level.

While early testers, including juniors and seasoned skiers, have reported a positive feel, the handle’s radically different shape and grip may require a period of adjustment. As with any departure from long-established gear, adoption may be gradual—and not every skier will prefer the feel.

Questions remain about how the handle performs in high-speed releases, its long-term durability, and whether a new shape can gain traction in a sport deeply rooted in tradition. But its arrival signals an important moment: a meaningful attempt to improve safety without compromising performance.

Available for $225 USD with free U.S. shipping through June, the Centerline Handle is poised for a wider audience this summer. Whether it becomes a staple on docks around the world remains to be seen—but it’s certainly one to watch.

William Asher slalom skier

The Relentless Reinvention of Will Asher

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The relentless reinvention of Will Asher

William Asher slalom skier

Image: @jmommer2

By Jack Burden

In the early morning glass of a Florida lake, Will Asher slices the slalom course like a man trying to solve a riddle only he can hear. At 42, he shouldn’t be this vigorous. But this ride isn’t just about winning—it’s about understanding.

That understanding, it turns out, might be the only thing keeping him going.

In a season that was supposed to mark the rise of the next generation, it was the old master who stood tallest. Asher, already a two-time world champion and one of the most decorated slalom skiers of all time, didn’t just show up in 2024—he took over. Four professional wins, more than double the next closest competitor. A three-stop sweep through Morocco, the south of France, and Monaco, where he ran 10.25 meters (41’ off) not once, but twice. Against men half his age, Will Asher was untouchable.

Ask what changed, and he doesn’t talk about dominance—he talks about freedom.

“We made a breakthrough [with my equipment],” he said in a recent episode of the FPM Podcast with Marcus Brown. “And when you get to that point, you’re able to just switch off.”

There’s a calmness to Asher now—a kind of peace forged not by slowing down, but by refining his purpose. In a sport where most of his contemporaries have long since moved on, he’s still here. Still evolving. Still building.

Charting a New Course

What do you do when you’ve won almost everything? For Asher, the answer wasn’t to walk away. It was to go deeper.

Ski design—once a curiosity, now an obsession—has become his new frontier. His latest creation, the Syndicate Works 01, isn’t just a ski. It’s the result of a decade-long search for feel, feedback, and flow. A physical manifestation of everything he’s learned—and everything he still doesn’t know.

For Asher, it’s not about tournament wins anymore. It’s about chasing the perfect feel.

And it’s not just about his performance. It’s about the craft. The satisfaction of building something that matters.

“It’s like my babies,” he says. “Thousands of my children out there that people are trying to experience. And it does feel good when people say, ‘That changed my life.’ That’s their release. Their enjoyment. Their pleasure.”

This isn’t legacy-building. It’s presence. Pride. Passion shared.

Asher often speaks of skiing as more than sport. It’s structure. It’s meaning. A daily ritual that gives shape to life.

“Yeah,” he says, when asked if skiing brings purpose. “It keeps me on the straight and narrow. Keeps me motivated. Gets me up in the morning. Makes me go to bed. Make good decisions… most of the time.”

But underneath the laugh is something harder. At 42, he knows his competitive days are numbered. And he’s honest about what comes next.

“Essentially a piece of me is going to die,” he says. “We don’t see the timer, but we know there’s a timer. [Maybe] this year, maybe next year, it could happen next week.”

Then, more quietly: “And when people put their whole life into one thing and it suddenly goes away—it’s full of depression and anxiety. You’ve got to fill that hole, right?”

That’s the part athletes don’t talk about. The collapse waiting just off-stage. The slow erasure of identity. For Asher, the antidote isn’t legacy. It’s curiosity.

“I think specialization is a terrible thing,” he says. “[It’s] one of the worst things that can happen for the potential of a child in athletics. I don’t understand why it’s not also true for adults.”

He finds refuge in other routines: cycling, lifting, running, foiling. “It’s like my kind of therapy,” he says. “To get away from everything.”

Even his on-water habits reflect that mindset. “I will actively go out of my way to not ski with people that are just too obsessed and cannot switch it off.”

Another form of escape? R&D.

Asher’s work with HO Skis has become a space beyond the slalom course. A place where he can tinker, rebuild, and reimagine what a ski can be.

He talks about design with reverence. Like a miner chasing gold.

“You know there’s gold down there,” he says. “You’ve done the tests. You’ve done the experiments. You see it—it’s there. But you still have to go dig it out.”

That treasure—the perfect ski—remains elusive. And maybe that’s the point.

“As crazy as it may sound, after 20 years I’m still trying to understand the basics,” he says. “It’s unbelievable how many variables there are in just one ski.”

Flex. Rocker. Width. Concave. Materials. Layup. The way a ski flexes and twists. It all matters. And yet, no formula guarantees feel.

“On paper, you can maximize everything. [But] if you maximize everything, that thing doesn’t work,” he says. “You can get performance, but sometimes it’s almost scary. To actually go to that place on the ski—it’s not comfortable.”

Still, he chases it.

“I feel like it’s my life’s work to get all that to come together into one place.”

Staying Unfinished

It’s not just theory. Asher’s skis are reshaping how elite skiers approach the sport. Team Syndicate riders won more than 40% of all professional slalom titles last season, with roughly the same share of podiums. An extraordinary haul in a field where seven different ski brands earned at least one win.

Less rigidity. More feel. Less fear. More flow.

The lab has become a second course. A proving ground for risk and reinvention.

Because perfection isn’t really the point. The point is to keep going.

What’s most remarkable about Asher isn’t the titles—though there are plenty. It’s that, two decades in, he still believes there’s something essential left to discover. That his life’s work isn’t a résumé of wins, but a trail of questions.

And that legacy is starting to echo—in younger skiers looking beyond the podium. In those chasing meaning, not just medals.

That’s Will Asher’s influence. Not just as a champion. But as a craftsman. A philosopher of flow. A man still mid-process.

Back on the lake, Asher is testing again. Not skiing for scores, but for feel. Riding a prototype. Making notes. Chasing something invisible.

It’s not about being the best anymore. It’s about staying unfinished.

Because the perfect ski—like the perfect run—probably doesn’t exist.

But if you spend your life looking for it… maybe that’s enough.

Brisbane 2032 Games Vision

IWWF Urges Water Ski Community to Weigh In on Brisbane 2032 Olympic Vision

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IWWF urges water ski community to weigh in on Brisbane 2032 Olympic vision

Brisbane 2032 Games Vision

Shaping the Future: Brisbane 2032

By Jack Burden

The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) is calling on athletes, fans, and anyone with a stake in the sport to speak up, as the Brisbane 2032 Olympic organizers open the door—just slightly—for public input on the Games’ direction.

A short survey, open to the public until June 20, invites people from around the world to help shape the vision for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It’s a rare chance for the waterskiing community to register on the radar of Olympic decision-makers—and maybe, just maybe, push the sport one step closer to the five rings.

This campaign comes at a curious and potentially pivotal moment. For the first time in years, the Olympic conversation doesn’t feel like a one-way street. According to insiders, it was the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee—not the waterski federations—that initiated talks about possible inclusion. That’s a reversal big enough to raise eyebrows across a sport long relegated to the Olympic sidelines.

Cindy Hook, the CEO of Brisbane 2032, may be part of the reason. She has a background in skiing—not just the kind with lift tickets and après, but the kind pulled behind a boat. How much that personal link matters is anyone’s guess, but in Olympic politics, connections have always mattered more than most people would like to admit.

USA Water Ski & Wake Sports Executive Director Kevin Michael recently confirmed that the organization has launched a new Olympic campaign, anchored by meetings with Brisbane officials. “We’re making the right pitch to the right people at the right time,” he said in The Water Skier magazine. “No promises yet, but this journey will absolutely pay dividends for the sport.”

Whether those dividends come in the form of Olympic inclusion—or simply more visibility and legitimacy—remains to be seen. The waterski world is split. Some see this as a tired, expensive dream that has sapped energy from more realistic efforts to grow the sport. Others view it as a necessary gamble, a long shot worth taking if only to show future generations that the sport hasn’t stopped dreaming.

Behind the scenes, there’s cautious optimism. Rumors are circulating of quiet support within the International Olympic Committee, and even whispers of water skiing being considered for exhibition status at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. But for now, it’s all speculation and strategy meetings.

What isn’t speculation is this: there’s a survey open, and the people running Brisbane 2032 say they want to hear from the public. So, if you’ve ever had an opinion about where the sport should be—or where it could go—now’s the time to speak up.

Take the Brisbane 2032 survey here. Deadline: June 20.

Shocking loss of Stephanie Stange

Gone Too Soon: Water Ski Community Mourns Stephanie Stange

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Gone too soon: Water ski community mourns Stephanie Stange

Shocking loss of Stephanie Stange

Image: AWSA South Central

By Jack Burden

The water ski world is mourning the sudden and tragic loss of Stephanie Stange, a beloved figure in the sport both on and off the water. Stange, 55, was fatally struck by a pickup truck while bicycling outside Denison, Texas, on Thursday evening, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. She was transported to Texoma Medical Center, where she later died from her injuries.

A multiple-time national slalom champion, Stange most recently won the Masters Women’s slalom title in 2023. Off the water, she was a Senior Scorer and served as an appointed official at the 2024 National Water Ski Championships.

Her influence on the sport extended through her family as well. Her two children, Parker and Griffin Stange, were standout skiers for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, graduating earlier this year after helping lead the Ragin’ Cajuns to multiple collegiate titles.

In a statement shared by the AWSA South Central Region, Stephanie was remembered as “vibrant, down-to-earth, and full of joy,” someone who brought warmth and humor to every conversation. “She had an incredible way of making everyone feel seen and valued… Stephanie lived her life with courage, laughter, and love.”

Beyond skiing, Stange was a chiropractor in Sherman, Texas, and an adventurer with a deep love for her family, her community, and the sport she helped elevate for decades.

She is survived by her husband Dave, and their two children Parker and Griffin. The entire water skiing community joins them in grieving the loss of a remarkable woman — an athlete, official, mother, and friend who gave so much to the sport and the people within it.

2026 Ski Nautique

“Drastically Better Wakes”: Pros Weigh In on the 2026 Ski Nautique

Media

“Drastically Better Wakes”: Pros Weigh In on the 2026 Ski Nautique

2026 Ski Nautique

The Next Generation (image: Nautique)

By Jack Burden

The 2026 Ski Nautique has been out in the wild for barely a week, but it’s already generating real-world feedback from the world’s best. Pro slalom skier Cole McCormick took his first set behind the new model earlier this week — and while his analysis comes with the disclaimer of being a one-set impression, his verdict was clear: this boat skis very differently.

“The wakes are drastically better,” McCormick wrote in a detailed review posted to BallOfSpray. “And that’s coming from a guy who really, for the most part, doesn’t care how the wakes feel.”

According to Nautique, the 2026 model is the result of a complete hull redesign — a new blend of carbon fiber and fiberglass, reimagined lifting pads, and a reshaped HydroGate. The result is a lighter, more responsive boat that rides higher in the water, creates less displacement, and theoretically, produces flatter, more supportive wakes.

McCormick echoed that claim, highlighting one area in particular: “There is basically no trough at all at short line. This makes controlling load off the second wake after a heavy turn much easier. That’s probably the number one reason I lose runnable 41s.”

Another notable change is how the boat carries speed through the course — something McCormick says stood out immediately. “With the current boat, I would turn, feel a drop in RPM, then the boat would pick me up as I approached the first wake. With this new boat, it feels like there is almost no drop in speed. It’s a very odd feeling at first, but I suspect once I get used to it, it will be a big improvement at short line.”

That sensation isn’t accidental. Nautique says its Zero Off integration has been recalibrated to work in tandem with the new hull and prop setup, creating more consistent pull characteristics across the letter scale. According to Matt Rini, who walked through the new model in a recent video, “We’ve fine-tuned the feel at the end of the line. This gives the skier more adjustability in the pull… and keeps RPMs consistent across different conditions.”

McCormick noticed the effect immediately. Despite using the same Zero Off letter settings as before, the boat felt like it was pulling entirely differently. “I think there’s a good chance you will have to change your letter on this boat from the previous model,” he said.

While McCormick’s early review holds weight thanks to its independence, it also represents a very specific use case: shortline slalom at top speed. For most buyers, that’s not where they live. A far more important question — especially for the 30-to-34 mph, long-line crowd — is whether those benefits translate at lower speeds.

Team Nautique’s Charlie Ross believes they do. “At the high level, I think it’s a world record boat,” he said. “But even at longer line, the wake’s almost non-existent. It’s going to push the sport to new levels and make it easier for beginners to improve.”

Industry veteran Ski Dunlap echoed the sentiment with a grounded comparison: “You look at the wake at 36 [mph], and you look at the wake behind this boat at 30 [mph], and there’s almost no difference. How they ever figured out to get this boat up on top of the water at 30 mph with no rooster tail and just a flat table — it’s phenomenal.”

Following the boat’s announcement last week, we posed the question: Is this a true leap forward, or just a refined refresh?

The answer won’t come from promotional videos or contract-bound testimonials — it will come from ski rides. Across speeds, skill levels, and disciplines. Behind the wheel, off the dock, and at both ends of the rope.

Early indicators suggest that the 2026 Ski Nautique is far more than just an aesthetic overhaul. As McCormick summed it up: “I think this will be a major improvement across the board in slalom.”

But the real test begins now. As this boat makes its way into dealer demos and amateur hands, a more complete picture will emerge — one that includes the long rope, 32-mph crowd just as much as the pros skiing through 41 off.

Freddie Winter 🏆MASTERS SLALOM CHAMPION 🏆

Banned, Broken, But Never Beaten: Winter Headlines Blockbuster Masters

News

Banned, broken, but never beaten: Winter headlines blockbuster Masters

Freddie Winter 🏆MASTERS SLALOM CHAMPION 🏆

Freddie Winter celebrates his victory in men’s slalom (image: @bretellisphotography)

By Jack Burden

PINE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — The 65th Masters Water Ski & Wakeboard Tournament wrapped up Sunday beneath the tree-lined shores of Robin Lake, with records, redemption arcs, and rare feats all leaving their mark on one of the sport’s most storied stages.

History doesn’t just hang in the air at Callaway Gardens—it breathes down your neck. From the stirring boat parade to the veteran-honoring ceremonies, the Masters isn’t just a tournament; it’s a stage where legacies are made, and occasionally, broken. And this year, they cracked wide open.

Let’s start with the history on Friday. Germany’s Tim Wild delivered a performance for the ages, sweeping all four Junior Masters titles: slalom, tricks, jump, and overall. In doing so, he became the first male ever to achieve the sweep and only the third skier in Junior Masters history to pull it off—joining legends Regina Jaquess and Brandi Hunt. Wild’s path to perfection included victories over multiple reigning junior world champions and a tricks field featuring the 12,000-point club’s newest member.

By the end of Saturday’s brutal semifinals—where 45 skiers battled for just 12 final spots per gender—much of the sport’s royalty had been dethroned. Patricio Font. William Asher. Whitney McClintock Rini. Jaimee Bull. Gone. In their place: hungry challengers, career comebacks, and a few bold debutantes.

Sunday’s finals opened with one of the most anticipated showdowns, with the intensifying battle between Erika Lang and Neilly Ross for the world record expected to play out real time on the waters of Robin Lake.

Lang continued her stranglehold on the division, scoring 10,530 points to win her sixth Masters title. Her record in professional events since the start of 2023 now extends to 10 wins in 12 tournaments—including all three this year: Moomba Masters, Swiss Pro Tricks, and now the U.S. Masters.

Yet in many ways, it was Germany’s Giannina Bonnemann Mechler who stole the spotlight. Making a triumphant return to the podium less than a year after giving birth, she edged out defending champion Anna Gay Hunter and world record holder Ross with back-to-back 10,000+ scores.

In the men’s tricks final, Jake Abelson proved that last year’s world record was just the beginning. He threw down 12,190 points to win his second major title of 2025—a leap of faith rewarded after skipping Junior Masters eligibility to compete in the Open division.

“A dream come true,” shared the 17-year-old after his victory.

Joel Poland’s third-place finish may have come as a shock. After two stand-up passes and an exuberant celebration from the Brit—the top seed and last skier off the dock—the announcers couldn’t call it between Poland and Abelson, speculating, “I think it’s going to be extremely close, only a couple hundred points that separate them.”

But the final score told a different story: more than 1,500 points separated the two. Judges scrubbed multiple tricks from both of Poland’s runs—but even if all had been credited, his score still wouldn’t have caught Abelson’s winning mark. Nevertheless, the apparent controversy may have lit a fire under Poland for what came later.

If tricks was about cementing legacies, slalom was about redemption.

For the women, 41-year-old Vennesa Vieke, who seems to get better with each passing year, set the pace early with a gritty 1.5 @ 10.75m (39.5′ off). Her mark held through challenges from defending champion Jaquess and Ross. Then came Allie Nicholson, navigating the minefield to a clean 2 @ 10.75m—and her first Masters title.

Arguably the hardest-working skier in professional slalom today, Nicholson has competed in more pro events over the past two years than anyone—male or female. Often stuck behind the dominant trio of Bull, Jaquess, and McClintock Rini, she looked composed as the final skier off the dock—doing exactly what was needed to take the win and perhaps signaling a long-awaited sea change.

The men’s final? Pure Hollywood.

He was banned. He was broken. But now, he’s back.

Less than a year ago, Freddie Winter suffered a potentially career-ending injury—a shattered femur from a crash. Adding to the drama: he had been banned from the 2023 Masters for alleged unsportsmanlike conduct in 2022.

Now, back on Robin Lake, the fiery Brit skied like a man on a mission. Chasing a lead score of 2 @ 10.25m set by world record holder Nate Smith, Winter—last off the dock—threw himself outside of three ball for the win. His third Masters title. His sweetest yet.

“Probably the most emotional moment of my life,” Winter said. “So much self-doubt and fear I wouldn’t get back here over the last 10 months and 29 days.”

“I’ve won here before, but those meant nothing compared to this.”

In women’s jump, a Hanna Straltsova victory often feels inevitable in the post-Jacinta Carroll landscape. But this one felt anything but secure.

Americans Lauren Morgan and Brittany Greenwood Wharton came out swinging in prelims with 174- and 175-foot jumps, respectively—easily outdistancing Straltsova’s 169.

Then, skiing early in the finals, Straltsova posted 53.6 meters (176′). The door was open, but neither Morgan nor Wharton could capitalize.

“You are never prepared enough for the Masters,” shared a reflective Straltsova. “It shows you your weak points and teaches you lessons every time you come.”

Then came the grand finale.

Remember: Poland barely made the final, edging Louis Duplan-Fribourg by a single foot. First off the dock, he put any questions about his jump form to rest—launching a monster 70.1-meter (230′) leap to lay down a massive target.

The remaining finalists—Luca Rauchenwald, Igor Morozov, and Ryan Dodd—all charged hard at the lead. Poland watched nervously from the pavilion.

“Anticipation was 11/10,” he said. “Felt sick waiting for the results.”

Dodd, the world record holder and reigning world champion, came closest. But when the Canadian passed on his final attempt, Poland had his win—and a statement. It’s now been over a year since Dodd claimed a professional title, and the pressure is mounting ahead of his bid for an unprecedented sixth straight world championship.

By sunset, the story was clear. This wasn’t just another Masters. This was a turning point.

From milestone performances to long-awaited redemption, the 65th Masters was a showcase of resilience, risk, and razor-thin margins. And with the debut of the 2026 Ski Nautique onsite—complete with on-air walkthroughs—the event also hinted at what’s next.

For now, the numbers are in, the titles awarded, and the world’s best return to the road—leaving behind another unforgettable chapter on Robin Lake.

And the summer? It’s just getting started.