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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 The IWWF is delighted to announce that Italy and Australia have been selected as the hosts for the 2025 and 2027 IWWF World Open Waterski Championships, respectively.
Italy will host the 2025 IWWF World Open Waterski Championships from 3rd to 7th September 2025, and Australia will host the 2027 edition from 16th to 22nd February, 2027. USA-WSWS Statement On Skiers Transferring Federations
Skiers may be a member of more than one National Federation. Skiers who have represented one National Federation (country) may compete under another National Federation (country) only if they meet certain requirements under the IWWF rules. Notwithstanding this rule, several benefits and opportunities, such as representing the United States in certain competitions, participating in select competitions, and enjoying certain other benefits require a skier to be a U.S. Citizen. Individuals who represent the United States but are not U.S. Citizens may compete in international events independently under the IWWF “white flag” until they become U.S. Citizens and thus eligible to ski under the U.S. flag as members of a U.S National team or U.S. independent athlete. Event organizers shall recognize these athletes as members of the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports Federation but representing/skiing under the IWWF flag rules within all event communications. A transfer to the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports Federation is not fully complete until USA-WSWS accepts the athlete with approval from the applicable Sports Discipline board. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Q: Is an athlete that transfers federations eligible to compete on a U.S. team (e.g., World Team) in an international competition? Athletes must by U.S. citizens to be considered for selection to a World Team. Q: Can an athlete that transfers federations but has not yet achieved citizenship in the new country be eligible to compete as an independent in World competitions? Athletes may compete under USA Water Ski & Wake Sports as an independent if they meet the IWWF requirements and those of USA Water Ski & Wake Sports. Q: Can an athlete that transfers federations be eligible to represent the U.S. at the Pan American Games? Unless the athlete is a U.S. citizen, he/she is ineligible to compete for USA Water Ski & Wake Sports at the Pan American Games per PASO and USOPC requirements. Q: Can an athlete that transfers federations be eligible for USOPC benefits like Elite Athlete Health Insurance (EAHI) and Operation Gold benefits? Unless the athlete is a U.S. citizen, he/she is ineligible for any USOPC benefits per USOPC requirements. Q: Can an athlete that transfers federations ski at the U.S. National Championships? Unless the athlete is a U.S. citizen, he/she is ineligible to compete at the U.S. National Championships per Sports Discipline rules. Q: Can an athlete that transfers federations appear on the U.S. Rankings list? Unless the athlete is a U.S. citizen, he/she is ineligible to be recognized on a U.S. rankings list per Sports Discipline rules. Q: Can any foreign athlete whose country has been sanctioned by the IOC and/or IWWF participate in USA Water Ski & Wake Sports sanctioned events? Yes, athletes may participate with the approval of USA Water Ski & Wake Sports and Sport Discipline’s board of directors. Q: How should athletes that transfer federations but do not meet citizenship be recognized by event organizers? Event organizers shall recognize these athletes as members of the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports Federation but representing/skiing under the IWWF flag within all event communications such as running orders, international rankings list, website stories and webcasts 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 Scot Ellis To Be Inducted Into USA-WSWS Foundation Hall Of Fame
The USA Water Ski & Wake Sports Foundation’s Hall of Fame Selection Committee has announced that former pro water ski jumper Scot Ellis (Auburndale, Fla.) will be the 2025 inductee to the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports Foundation’s Water Ski Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place on May 3 at Nora Mayo Hall in Winter Haven, Fla. Ellis’ love for water skiing began as a kid in Central Florida when he happened to catch a show by the Lakeland Water Ski Club. At age 7 he was a member of that Lakeland show team, and at 8 he was skiing three-event, too. Used to playing team sports where you might get one trophy at the end of a long season, Ellis won his first three-event water ski trophy and never looked back. “I could walk away with four trophies every weekend,” he says, “and I was hooked.” Most of those trophies eventually came in jumping, but Ellis was more than capable in slalom and was an overall skier into the 1990s. His breakout came at the 1988 Junior Water Ski World Championships. Without a major victory to his name yet, Ellis went to Australia and won gold in slalom and overall, silver in jump and bronze in tricks. They soon knew his name when he broke into the pro ranks in 1990, winning four events and the tour title right off the bat as a 19-year-old. During an era when pro ski tournaments were shown on ESPN and extreme sports were booming in popularity, Ellis was like a literal rock star. Over three decades at the elite level, Ellis was a 10-time World Cup champion, 10-time Pro Tour champion, 3-time Moomba Masters champion, 3-time Australian Open champion and 2-time Moomba Masters Night Jump champion. He also won professional jump titles at the U.S. Masters, U.S. Open and Italian Open. He set 14 U.S. national jumping records throughout his career. At the 2021 IWWF World Waterski Championships, Ellis, at age 50, made the finals and finished in a tie for 10th place. It was his final major tournament before retiring a few weeks later. 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 Hello Drivers,
The IWWF Drivers Portal is ready for your use. Please login to your account and see your driving data. Watch the Help Videos (links below) and explore how to search and analyze your personal data. HELP LINKS:
Encourage drivers you know to register for the Portal at www.drivers.ski They must be a registered user to participate in the clinic and receive attendance credit. Please reach out if you have any questions to info@drivers.ski Thanks, IWWF Drivers Portal Team Remember when you drive – Always login into the Rover with your Name and Unique PIN Drivers Clinic - Slides and Video for Sure Path
Session 1 SLIDES (35 MB) https://www.dropbox.com/s/8a6sq5txdgzahzx/DRIVERS%20CLINIC%202022%20SLIDES%20Session%201.ppsx?dl=0 Session 1 VIDEO (3.3 GB) https://www.dropbox.com/s/vp94yyg3ku7g3ge/DRIVERS%20CLINIC%202022%20VIDEO%20Session%201.mp4?dl=0 Session 2 SLIDES (4.2 MB) https://www.dropbox.com/s/vwjteyape0llthj/DRIVERS%20CLINIC%202022%20SLIDES%20Session%202.ppsx?dl=0 Session 2 VIDEO (1.6 GB) https://www.dropbox.com/s/mnbnj5ng207n4i5/DRIVERS%20CLINIC%202022%20VIDEO%20Session%202.mp4?dl=0 Will Bush 8920 Shortline Lane Elk Grove, CA 95624 (916) 837-7464 willbush@att.net www.shortlinelake.com BEWARE OF SPOOFERS AND PHISHERS
One of our AWSA Southern Region members received an email yesterday, which used the name of Bob Harris and his title of EVP of AWSA Southern Region. The email address used was gs469@comcast.net which is not an address belonging to Bob. If you receive any emails using Bob’s name or title like to the one below, please forward to Bob at rbtharris@yahoo.com. It will be reported to the FBI internet fraud department, just like the one received by the member yesterday was. A subsequent email to the member requested a loan of money, to be repaid later. You can also file a complaint yourself to https://www.ic3.gov/Home/FileComplaint From: Bob Harris <gs469@comcast.net> Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2022, 11:29:56 AM CDT Subject: Re: Greetings Are you available at the moment? Regards Bob (EVP of AWSA Southern Region) One of our AWSA Southern Region members received an email yesterday, which used the name of Bob Harris and his title of EVP of AWSA Southern Region. The email address used was gs469@comcast.net which is not an address belonging to Bob. If you receive any emails using Bob’s name or title like to the one below, please forward to Bob at rbtharris@yahoo.com. It will be reported to the FBI internet fraud department, just like the one received by the member yesterday was. A subsequent email to the member requested a loan of money, to be repaid later. You can also file a complaint yourself to https://www.ic3.gov/Home/FileComplaint From: Bob Harris <gs469@comcast.net> Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2022, 11:29:56 AM CDT Subject: Re: Greetings Are you available at the moment? Regards Bob (EVP of AWSA Southern Region) 
Shannon Waters is now Southern Region Rep for Jr. Development and Allison Blair is now the 'Chair' for the AWSA Jr. Development Committee
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