By Jack Burden

For the first time in decades, tournament jump measurement is getting a genuine technological rethink. The World Waterski Council has officially approved SplashEye Fly—a single-drone system that could replace the maze of fixed cameras, cables, scaffolding, and setup hours traditionally required to measure jumps at elite events.

It’s the latest chapter in an evolution that has spanned generations. Jump measurement moved from meter stations on shore, to fixed-camera grid systems, to today—a drone hovering 210 feet above the landing zone. The tools have changed, but the mission hasn’t: find the truth in a plume of spray.

The Council’s approval, confirmed at its October 27 meeting, came after months of testing against existing systems. The results were excellent: SplashEye Fly consistently measured within 10 centimeters of the current gold-standard setups, held up over full-day tournament schedules, and delivered a cleaner overhead view that eased the challenge of judging splash-point contact.

The system’s simplicity is its sell. Instead of building a camera network across the lake, officials place two large printed ground-target banners on shore. The drone locks onto those fixed points and recalibrates after every jump, requiring no GPS, internet connection, or mid-jump piloting. Once airborne, it flies a set pattern, returns for battery swaps, and resumes with a few taps. The only real limitation is distance: the shoreline must sit within about 160 feet of the ramp so the drone can see both targets—a range SplashEye hopes future drone improvements will expand.

For founder Donal Connolly—who has spent more than 30 years building tournament software—the approval marks a turning point. “SplashEyeFly is a game-changer,” he said. “Most of the cost and time of installing a traditional jump measurement system comes from the camera infrastructure. Now you can arrive on a new site and be measuring jumps within minutes.”

Cheaper setup means more flexibility—and potentially more jump events. Remote sites, fresh ramp locations, and clubs without deep resources suddenly become viable hosts. As Connolly put it: “This will open up jump tournaments to new sites at an affordable price point.”

SplashEye is also expanding beyond jump. Recorder HD, Gates HD, and Trick Timer HD—new high-definition tools for slalom and tricks—extend the company’s modernized suite across all three disciplines.

With its inclusion in the 2026 Rulebook, SplashEye Fly becomes the sport’s newest approved jump-measurement system—and the first to take the job to the sky. For tournament skiing, the overhead era just arrived.