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Our Executive Director, Kevin Michael, will be teaming with the Australian Federation and IWWF to make a presentation to the CEO of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games. Since Water Skiing is very popular in Australia, there may be a good opportunity to get into the Olympics.
Good luck, Kevin Robert Harris 2025 U.S. TEAM SELECTION
and INDEPENDENT SKIER QUALIFICATIONS AND PROCEDURES Under 21 World Championships A. Team Description A six‐member team will be selected to compete at the 2025 Under 21 World Championships. The tournament will be held July 28 to August 2, 2025, in Calgary, British Columbia, Canada. The team will be announced on or about APRIL 29, 2025. B. Team and Independent Athlete Eligibility Requirements Eligibility for selection to the U.S. Team shall be:
To be considered for a position on this team, or to compete as an independent athlete (see IWWF eligibility rules for independent athletes at IWWF Rule 17), ALL ATHLETES MUST FULLY COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING STEPS BY APRIL 6, 2025. 1.Notice of Interest to be selected as a member of the U.S. Team (athletes must indicate the event(s) in which they are interested in competing) must be submitted;
4.In completing these forms, all athletes (or their parent/guardian in the case of minor athletes) must acknowledge and agree to the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports Code of Conduct and Athlete Agreement. Those documents are available for review online at USA-WSWS’s website. All athletes must also complete all applicable SafeSport requirements, and (for athletes 18 years and older) complete a background check. 5.Full payment of all entry and team fees must be received by the official U.S. team manager, not later than the Notice of Interest deadline. All athletes filing a Notice of intent to participate will be advised of the entry and team fees in advance of the payment deadline. All fees are non-refundable (for any reason) except: (a) full or partial refunds will be made to athletes selected as team members in the event/to the extent that team funding is available; and (b) refunds will be made to athletes who only express interest in being selected to the team, i.e., no refund will be made to athletes submitting a Notice of Interest and also indicating an intent to participate as an independent athlete. Forfeited fees will be used to fund team expenses, as determined by the IAC and Team Manager. 6.All minor athletes must be accompanied at the tournament by a parent or legal guardian. 7.A list of all submitted athlete Notices of Interest (who have filed a Notice of Interest and paid all fees) will be available online beginning approximately four (4) weeks before the Notice of Interest deadline. Notices of Interest will not be considered as received unless the Notice of Interest form has been completed and payment of all fees has been received. 8.Primary consideration will be given to those individuals who have completed this process on a timely basis, but the IAC reserves the right to consider other individuals for the team. 9.Questions regarding this process should be addressed to IAC members Lyman Hardy (lymanland@att.net) and Lori Krueger (kruegerski@gmail.com).
The AWSA International Activities Committee (IAC) is tasked with the responsibility of selecting athletes to participate on the Water Ski Teams that will represent the United States in International Competitions. The committee’s primary goal in this process is to select teams that will have the greatest opportunity to win each of the international competitions. In this selection process there are numerous considerations that the committee will utilize in the effort to select the best combination of athletes for each tournament, with the ultimate goal to win the team title. These elements include, but are not limited to: 1. Numerical Division of Male / Female athletes to make up the team; 2. Numerical scores from selected tournaments that precede the event and are close enough in time to the event to produce the most viable team (see Team Selection Score procedures below). These scores are compared to expected scores from other international teams to predict the anticipated scores that may be produced; 3. Each individual skier’s past performance in recent premier tournaments, to include any issues that may or could possibly affect anticipated scores in the target international competition; 4. The ability of any skier to function in a team atmosphere, contribute to a team effort, and other positive or negative factors that may exist. The IAC reserves the right to rely on all of these factors in selecting this team. In the event of unforeseen circumstances which, in the judgment of the IAC, render these considerations and procedures clearly ineffective, the IAC may (by a two-thirds vote of the full IAC committee) amend these qualifications and procedures as necessary to accomplish the goals of the AWSA International Competition Program. E. Team Selection Procedures and Score Calculations (Team Athletes Only) 1. The team will be selected based on the above requirements and criteria. No team trials will be held. 2. Sex distribution for the team shall be 3/3 or 4/2. 3. Each athlete’s "Team Selection Score" shall be determined. The Team Selection Score shall be the average of each skier's two best tournament scores in each event (the "events" being slalom, trick, and jump) which shall be extracted from USA Water Ski & Wake Sports ranking list performances (Class E, L and R only) during the period beginning April 27, 2024 and ending on April 27, 2025 (inclusive). The IAC reserves the right to give preference to scores achieved in calendar year 2025. Each round score must be from a different site. To be considered, all scores must be reported (through each tournament's local organizing committee or scorer) to USA Water Ski & Wake Sports not later than Monday, April 28, 2025 at 11:59 PM (PDT). It is each athlete's responsibility to ensure that all eligible scores are submitted in a timely manner. 4. Team Selection Scores shall be based on the 1,000 point system where 1,000 points is the greater of the average of the top two Ranking Values on the most recent “officially posted as final” IWWF Rankings List and the highest score among U.S. scores posted for this selection process, excluding those who have aged out. The Team Selection Scores shall be computed in accordance with IWWF (U21 Competition) Rule 17.04. The scores resulting from these calculations (including an overall score computed based on the sum of these Team Selection Scores (from each event), in accordance with applicable IWWF Rules) shall be used in the numerical score evaluation process. 5. The top male and female skiers based on "overall score" will be selected first provided that the skier contributes to the team score in at least one event. "Overall score" is computed as the sum of the Team Selection scores from each of the three events. 6. The next skier will be the male or female skier with the next highest "overall score" provided that the skier contributes to the team score in at least one event. 7. The fourth and fifth skiers will be the male and/or female skiers with the highest "two event score" not already selected on the team, provided that the skier contributes to the team score. "Two event score" is defined as the sum of the two highest "event scores" for a skier. 8. The sixth skier will be the male or female skier with the highest “one event score” not already selected on the team, provided that the skier contributes to the team score. 9. The six skiers chosen following the above criteria will be Team 1. Then other combinations of six U.S. skiers will be identified and shall be hereafter referred to as “Team X.” Each Team X shall meet the gender requirements above, and shall have at least three skiers in each event (slalom, tricks and jump). The Team Score for Team X will be calculated by summing the best three individual Team Selection Scores from each gender in each division (3 slalom, 3 tricks, and 3 jump). Consideration will be given to the number of scores per event, with the preference of at least four scores in each event (4 slalom, 4 tricks, and 4 jump). Team X having the highest Team Score will be named the U.S. Junior World Championships Team. 10. If there are no qualifying overall scores meeting some or all of the criteria (male and/or female) set forth in any of the above steps (steps (E.5-8), the IAC will consider alternative criteria and procedures as necessary to accomplish the goals of the AWSA International Competition Program. 11. The IAC reserves the right to choose another combination of athletes who create a higher team overall score than chosen using the above steps. 12. The team selected through this process will be designated as the official 2023 Under 17 World Championships Team. F. Other Information 1. All registered independent skiers for the U.S.A. will be designated by the IAC as alternates to the team. The method of selecting these alternates will be at the discretion of the IAC and will not necessarily be based on any fixed formula. 2. Partial funding may be available for team members, but all skiers are responsible for all unfunded costs. 3. Excellence in competition is the sole determining factor in making any U.S. Team. The policy of the IAC is always to send the best possible team. 2024 AWSA Annual Awards
Junior Skier of the Year- Alexia Abelson G3 National Trick Record, 8,030 pts., Swiss Pro U21 US Team, Pan Am Championships U17 US Team, Pan Am Championships 2024 Moomba Jr. Masters, 1 st in Trick 2024 Moomba Masters, Open Women, 4 th in Trick 2024 Jr. Masters- 1 st in Trick 2024 Jr. Masters- 1 st in Overall U17 World Championships. Calgary, Canada 1 st Trick, 3 rd Slalom; 1st Overall 2024 AWSA Nationals, Bakersfield, California: 1st trick ( 8,040); 1 st slalom with 31/2@38 off 32mph/52k; 2nd jump with 64ft, and 1 st overall. Male Trick Skier of the Year- Jake Abelson AWSA Ranking #1 IWWF Ranking #1 AWSA National Trick Record IWWF World Trick Record (12,970 pts., 2024) 2 nd Swiss Pro Trick tournament (Highest Ranked USA skier) 2 nd U17 World Championships (Highest Ranked USA skier) U21 US Team, Pan Am Championships Elite US Team, Pan Am Championships Female Trick Skier of the Year- Erika Lang World Record 11,450 pts. (Oct, 2024) AWSA Ranking #1 IWWF Ranking #2 (Top USA Athlete) 1 st Moomba Masters 1 st Swiss Pro Trick tournament 1 st Botaski Pro Am Trick tournament Male Slalom Skier of the Year- Corey Vaughn Oxfordshire Pro Am Champion (1st career pro title), Open Men National Champion MasterCraft Pro 3 rd Place Female Slalom Skier of the Year- Regina Jaquess Moomba Masters Champion- Australia U.S. Masters Champion (10 times, 3x Consecutive) King of Darkness Slalom Champion Lake 38 Open Champion IWWF Slalom Ranking #1 (Avg. score 3.0 @ 10.25m) AWSA Slalom Ranking #1 Recognized as Best Female Slalom Skier in History (Return to Baseline, 2024) Current World Record Holder 5 @ 10.25m) Water Ski Pro Tour Season Champion (Highest USA skier) GOODE slalom ski development team United States Olympic Committee Athlete Advisory Board Nominated to Georgia Sports Hall of Fame (2024) Nominated for Pan Am Sports Best Female Athlete Award (Only water skier nominated, 2024) Male Jumper of the Year- Freddy Krueger AWSA Ranking #1 IWWF Ranking #1 (235’) 2 nd LA Night Jam Mastercraft Pro Champion California Pro Am Champion 2 nd Canada Cup Product development Teams- Zero Off/D3 Jumpers/MasterCraft Boats Female Jumper of the Year- Brittany Wharton AWSA Ranked #2 IWWF Ranked #4 2 nd Masters (Highest Ranked USA skier) 2 nd Canada Cup (Highest Ranked USA skier) 2 nd King of Darkness (Highest Ranked USA skier) 3 rd Mastercraft Pro (Highest Ranked USA skier) 3 rd California Pro Am Male Overall Skier of the Year- Jake Abelson Ranked #1 AWSA Ranked #7 IWWF (Highest ranked USA skier) 1 st Overall, U17 World Championships Female Overall Skier of the Year- Kennedy Hansen Ranked #1 AWSA Ranked #2 IWWF (Highest ranked USA skier) U21 World Overall Record (2024, Arkansas) Athlete of the Year- Freddy Krueger Highest ranked USA jumper Recognized as top level jumper for the past 20+ years Product development- Zero Off/D3 jumpers/Mastercraft Boats Team of the Year- 35+ Team 1 st , 13,355 pts, (2,415 pts above 2 nd place) 19 Gold Medals, 15 Silver Medals, 20 Bronze Medals Members of the U.S. 35+ Water Ski World Championships Team were: Patricia Burt, Christopher Eller and Jeff Surdej; 45+; Mitch Grau, Lori Krueger, Sally Montavon, and Randy Sterba, 55+; and Janie Fausold, Joy Kelley, and Eric Lee, 65+. Volunteer of the Year- Lyman Hardy AWSA President (Four years, 2020-Present) AWSA Board of Directors (2000-Present) (24 years) Revised Nationals contract to help LOCs conduct event Changed towboat test funding to provide better financial benefit to AWSA AWSA International Activities Committee Executive Committee Chairman USAWS Board of Directors Senior AWSA Driver Pan Am Driver (one of 12 in USA) Appointed Driver AWSA Nationals (20 times, more than any other driver; Chief 2006) Fred Wiley Award- Top Driver at AWSA Nationals (2005 & 2023) Appointed Driver, Southern Regionals (27 times, two as Chief Driver) Appointed Driver, six Pro Tour events Appointed Driver,35+ World Champs (2014, Milan, Italy) Appointed Driver, four Jr. US Opens; Chief Driver, 2022) Appointed Driver, 2009 Elite Team Trials Appointed Driver, US Masters Qualifier (2021, 2022) Developed and operates Lymanland USA, competition ski facility Sanctioned over 100 tournaments in Tuscaloosa since 1992 Organized and directed three NCWSA Regionals at Lymanland Organized and conducted two world record tournaments in 2024 Hosted several PRO ski events including MC Pro, Malibu Open (2 times) and Malibu Cup; able to secure non-endemic sponsorship for all events including financial support from City of Tuscaloosa. Hosted numerous AWSA Southern Regional tournaments, including 2023, 2021, 2020, etc. Organized Junior Clinics w/Lucky Lowe, Kris LaPoint, Wade Cox (Lymanland) Safety Committee Member (1976-79) Towboat Committee Member (2000-2008) Nominated to Alabama Sports Foundation Hall of Fame Inducted into Alabama Water Ski Federation Hall of Fame University of Alabama Water Ski Team Mentor/Advisor (over two decades Video Boat Judge (developed by Chip Shand) is a new software application that is ideal for capturing and reviewing live boat video for the slalom and trick events. It was created by adapting the Video Gates application to a single full frame video stream. Therefore, the look and feel will be familiar if you are a Video Gates user. Video Boat Judge is free and can be downloaded from the 3-Event Technical Controller Resources page.
Jerry Jackson https://www.usawaterski.org/technical-controller-resources---awsa All votes that were cast for the 2025 Southern Regionals bid were in favor of approval, and there was a majority of votes cast. The Regional Championships will be hosted July 23-27,2025, at Rodgers Lake in Ninety Six, SC.
Thanks a lot to Rodgers Water Ski Club for making their site available, and to Scott Snape for leading the effort for placing the bid and being the tip of the spear to make this happen. The prior Regionals just a few years ago at this site were very successful, and we can all look forward to having another great tournament next year. Bob Harris |
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