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.

Bring on Morocco.