By Jack Burden

Speaking at an IWWF World Waterski Council meeting earlier this year, world record holder Joel Poland called for a long-overdue overhaul of trick skiing’s point system. Citing current scoring as a barrier to innovation, Poland argued that high-difficulty tricks—like his own recently approved “Matrix” and “UFO”—aren’t making it into tournament runs because the reward doesn’t match the risk.

“The point values for high-difficulty flips are crippling trick skiing,” said Poland. One of the sport’s most creative and technically gifted athletes, he has been increasingly vocal about the need for reform. He points to discrepancies such as the “Matrix”—a frontflip with a ski-line 540—earning just 150 points more than a basic frontflip.

The Tricks Working Group, formed nearly two years ago to address point disparities, has yet to deliver a proposal. That responsibility now falls to Sergio Font, who will lead the review and deliver recommendations at the September Water Ski Council meeting.

While there is broad agreement that the current system needs revision, progress has been slow—largely due to competing interests among athletes. Council Chair Candido Moz has voiced support for reform, but the IWWF has so far deferred to the skier community, whose inability to reach consensus has stalled change.

With elite runs becoming increasingly repetitive, Poland’s push adds renewed urgency to a debate many in the sport feel is long overdue.