IWWF Trick Committee Moves Toward Major Scoring Overhaul
Image: @pato.font
By Jack Burden
The long-awaited reform of trick skiing’s scoring system is finally gaining momentum.
Meeting in Italy on September 1, the IWWF World Waterski Council received a proposal from the Trick Committee outlining sweeping changes to the sport’s point values—the first comprehensive overhaul in more than two decades.
Led by Sergio Font, the committee’s recommendations would increase the value of 10 high-difficulty flips, including most “super” flips and backflip variations of 360 degrees or more. Several would surpass the long-standing 1,000-point ceiling that has capped trick progression for years. Three non-flip tricks—wake-seven-back, ski-line-seven-front, and toe-wake-line-front—would also see modest increases. No tricks are proposed to decrease in value.
Font said the proposed changes reflect months of collaboration and are designed to make trick skiing “more entertaining” while better rewarding flips that are currently “undervalued.”
Under the plan, the anachronistic double backflip and backflip-stepover would be removed from the rulebook. The committee expects to deliver accompanying rule-change proposals this month, with implementation targeted for December 2026—giving athletes a full year to adapt before the changes take effect.
Council Chair Candido Moz endorsed the measured rollout, saying it will “allow skiers and coaches to consider the implications” ahead of the next World Championships cycle.
The proposals follow mounting criticism from elite athletes, including world record holder Joel Poland, who has argued that the current system “cripples trick skiing” by undervaluing the sport’s most difficult flips.
If adopted, the new points table would mark a historic reset—breaking the ceiling on trick difficulty and potentially reshaping elite runs for years to come.
