The 24th Junior U.S. Open Water Ski Championships will be held June 28-30, 2024, at the San Marcos River Ranch in Martindale, Texas. For the first time in the tournament's history, the Junior U.S. Open will be a three-day/three-round world record capability competition with two preliminary rounds and a final round. The event will feature Junior Men/Junior Women (ages 17 to 21) and Boys/Girls (ages 16 and under) divisions. Some of the world's top junior water ski athletes will compete for titles in slalom, tricks, jumping and overall.
The deadline for registration and score submission is May 19, 2024. Below is the link to the page on the website. https://www.usawaterski.org/jr-us-open Scheduled below: TC Clinic to cover the 2024 CHANGES.
One for the Eastern Time Zone. One for Pacific Time Zone A lot of changes have been made in JUMP, Recommended that all JUMP TCs attend one of the Clinics prior to Chiefing a Tournament. If you need TC maintenance clinic or a tournament credit, registration link below (Required every 4 years). TC Clinics #1 2024 CHANGES ONLY- Eastern Time Zone Schedule Date: April 8, 2024 (Monday) Time: 7:00 – 9:00 PM (Eastern Time/America/New_York)(JUST before Final Championship Game) Please join my meeting from your computer or tablet. https://meet.goto.com/542792885 TC Clinics #2 (repeat) 2024 CHANGES ONLY- Pacific Time Zone Schedule Date: April 16, 2024 (Tuesday) Time: 6:00-8:00 PM Pacific Time; (9:00 – 11:00 PM (America/New_York)) Please join my meeting from your computer or tablet. https://meet.goto.com/608636325 Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts: https://meet.goto.com/install Here's the registration link. https://forms.gle/jjuhQ6pmdEhzcSaM8 Thank You Jerry Jackson AWSA Technical Control Chairman 254 Bohler Drive, Evans, GA. 30809 706-394-9240 KENTUCKY LAKE SKI NUTS TO HOST 50th CONSECUTIVE KENTUCKY LAKE OPEN
The Kentucky Lake Ski Nuts will be hosting the 50th consecutive Kentucky Lake Open on June 22-23 of this year. As with all other Ski Nuts events of the past 40-plus years, this milestone event will be held at the club’s long-time home site – Twin Oaks Lakes in Paducah, KY. The Kentucky Lake Open is believed to be the longest consecutively running local tournament in the U.S., with the exception of the Masters at Callaway Gardens, GA. The tournament, originally sanctioned in 1975, was first held on the public waters of Kentucky Lake – its namesake. Even though it was held on Kentucky Lake for only four seasons, it quickly developed a reputation as a “must attend” tournament for skiers in the northern part of the Southern Region as well as the greater midwest. After four years, the KLO was moved to Cypress Lakes in Calvert City (KY) for 1979 and 1980, and finally came to roost on Twin Oaks Lake in Paducah for the 7th KLO. Twin Oaks Lake was developed into the two-lake site known as Twin Oaks Lakes, one of the top multi-lake tournament sites in the Southern Region. For the past 43 summers, the KLO has hosted an incomprehensible number of competitive skiers at Twin Oaks – including the likes of Freddy Kreuger and Regina Jaquess, both of whom cut some of their youngest water at those early KLO’s. At least two dozen other national and world champions have graced our waters for the KLO over the past five decades. And the Ski Nuts, a strong jumping club starting in the 1980’s, developed some of the best jump drivers and 3-event drivers in the Southern Region – drivers who got lots of practice every day pulling some of the top jumpers and skiers in the country. The 50th Kentucky Lake Open will be as much a celebration as a competition. The tournament will be a Class “L” record event with some of the top drivers, judges, and scorers from our region. Tournament Chairman will be Joe Burkhead, who was chairman of the 1st Kentucky Lake Open back in 1975, and one of the organizers of that first tournament. We’ll draw some of the top officials in the Southern Region: Kirby Whetsel, Chief Judge; Dr. Eric Kelley, Chief Driver; Cynthia Logan, Chief Scorer; and Bob Harris and Roger Logan sharing the Tech Controller duties. But perhaps most importantly, we look forward to hosting skiers who competed in some of those earliest tournaments. We already have one skier who skied in the first and plans to ski in the 50th (the TD), and at least three others already committed who remember skiing in the tournaments out on Kentucky Lake (including the tournament CJ and your current EVP!). There should be quite a few more from those early days, if all goes as planned! And we’ll celebrate! Included in the entry fee will be a banquet ticket for the Saturday evening reception/meal, where we’ll eat, socialize, and no doubt tell stories and show pictures and videos from long past KLO’s. We’ll relive some great skiing that took place and some even better partying and socializing (who remembers having the privilege of being a slalom event judge stationed on the “Miss Monday” in Buckhorn Bay?!). Also, complimentary (included in the entry fee) will be a uniquely designed tee shirt commemorating the 50th KLO. Please refer to the Southern Region tournament schedule for entry details and entry fee. This tournament will be limited to 200 pulls over the two days, so get your entry in early for a spot in the tournament event of the season – the 50th Kentucky Lake Open! We can’t wait to see ya! Joe Burkhead American Water Ski Association Selects
2024 National Junior Water Ski Team Selections based on 2023 Tournament Performances AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Top junior water ski athletes from across the nation have been selected to the American Water Ski Association’s National Junior Water Ski Team for 2024. The 28 selections from the Boys/Girls 3, Boys/Girls 4, and Boys/Girls 5 divisions were based on performances during the 2023 tournament season and the previous 12 months. This team will not collectively represent the United States in any international competitions, but some of these athletes are expected to compete individually in the 2024 Junior Masters Water Ski Tournament, the 2024 Junior U.S. Open Water Ski Championship, and the 2024 Junior World Water Ski Championship. Selected to the 2024 National Junior Water Ski Team were (alphabetical order): Alexia Abelson (Holderness, N.H.), Jake Abelson (Holderness, N.H.), Aaron Bartlett (Wolfeboro, N.H.), BG Bickley (Macon, Ga.), Wesley Blair (Mooresville, N.C.), Giovanni Bloyer (Lake Elmo, Minn.), Vittorio Bloyer (Lake Elmo, Minn.), Bode Bulfer (Northfield, Minn.), George Bulfer (Northfield, Minn.), Ally Custer (Lake Lotawana, Mo.), Cameron Davis (Milford, Va.), Emma Davis (Milford, Va.), Freddy Davis (Milford, Va.), Payton Deming (Round Rock, Texas), Damien Eade (Clermont, Fla.), Jaeden Eade (Clermont, Fla.), Ella Gay (Winter Garden, Fla.), Matthew Greenwood (Scott, Ariz.), Natalie Gustafson (Cleveland, Fla.), Eva Henderson (Gardner, Illin.), Gage Kacprowicz (San Antonio, Texas), Kamryn Massey (Lakeland, Fla.), Maya Maxson (Mill Valley, Calif.), Reid Meinhardt (Alpena, Mich.), Ty Robbins (Wexford, Pa.), Chase Sparks (Dallas, Ga.), Jayden Stabel (Chico, Cal.) and Camryn Waters (Groveland, Fla.). Using selection criteria approved by the American Water Ski Association’s board of directors, these top junior athletes in the country were named as National Junior Water Ski Team members by the Page 2 National Junior Development Committee. Athletes are chosen based on the highest performance standards for slalom, trick, and jump. Juniors with an “open” rating in overall or in any single event will be automatically selected to the team. Using the AWSA National Ranking List, any skiers with “open” ratings who were automatically selected will be purged, and then the top 2 overall skiers for both the previous ski year and the last twelve months in each division listed above will be selected to the National Junior Team. Additionally, if a skier sets a benchmark overall or single event score, regardless of the age division criteria above, and does not otherwise make the team, they will be selected. The National Junior Development Committee may choose up to two skiers for discretionary selection. The American Water Ski Association’s National Junior Development Committee would like to congratulate all the junior competitors and their families for the tremendous amount of time, effort, and dedication they have applied in their quest for excellence! Allison Williams Blair American Water Ski Association Selects
2024 Southern Region Junior Water Ski Team Selections based on 2023 Tournament Performances Top junior water ski athletes from the Southern Region have been selected to the American Water Ski Association’s Southern Region Junior Water Ski Team for 2024. The 31 selections from the Boys/Girls 1, Boys/Girls 2, Boys/Girls 3, Boys/Girls 4, and Boys/Girls 5 divisions were based on performances during the 2023 tournament season and the previous 12 months. The Southern Regional Junior Water Ski Team is chosen to recognize the region’s top performing juniors who have not already been selected to the 2024 National Junior Water Ski Team. Selected to the 2024 Southern Region Junior Water Ski Team were (alphabetical order): Ansley Arnold (Gotha, Fla.), Embry Arnold (Gotha, Fla.), Landon Arnold (Gotha, Fla.), Nicholas Bally (Axis, Ala.), Gavin Bickley (Macon, Ga.) Walker Blair (Mooresville, N.C.), Kiersten Cawley (Tallahassee, Fla.), Wren Delligatti (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Landis Eller (Lillington, N.C.), Bret Ellis (Auburndale, Fla.), Anders Gustafson (Cleveland, Tenn.), Zane Gustafson (Ooltewah, Tenn.), Zeke Gustafson (Ooltewah, Tenn.), Zoey Gustafson (Ooltewah, Tenn.), Adah Hardin (Douglas Hill, Ky.), Grace Hardin (Douglas Hills, Ky.), Ethan Hulscher (Loxahatchee, Fla.), Chase Hyttel (Winter Garden, Fla.), Dash Krueger (Winter Garden, Fla.), Ridge Krueger (Winter Garden, Fla.), Douglas Lohr (Orlando, Fla.), Grace Lohr (Orlando, Fla.), June Phillips (Wake Forest, N.C.), Corbin Pierce (McDonald, Tenn.), Bruno Rodriquez (Apopka, Fla.), Josephine Snape (Central, S.C.), Landon Stisher (John’s Island, S.C.), Tessa Teter (Homewood, Ala.), R.J. Teter (Homewood, Ala.), Sebastian Warren (Enterprise, Ala.), and Luka Zazadze (Miami Shores, Fla.). Using selection criteria approved by National and Regional Junior Development Committees, these top junior athletes in the region were named as Southern Region Junior Water Ski Team members. Athletes are chosen based on the highest performance standards for slalom, trick, and jump. Using the AWSA National Ranking List for both the previous ski year and the last 12 months, any three-event Athletes, Volunteers Honored At Annual Awards BanquetUSA Water Ski & Wake Sports and its respective sport discipline organizations honored respective award recipients for 2023 at USA Water Ski & Wake Sports’ Annual Awards Banquet, presented by Visit Central Florida, on Saturday, Jan. 27 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Fla. The banquet coincided with USA Water Ski & Wake Sports' mid-winter board of directors meeting, which was held on Sunday, Jan. 28 in Auburndale, Fla.
Regina Jaquess (Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.) was selected USA Water Ski & Wake Sports’ 2023 Female Athlete of the Year; Freddy Krueger (Winter Garden, Fla.)was selected USA Water Ski & Wake Sports’ 2023 Male Athlete of the Year; and the USA Adaptive Water Ski Team earned USA Water Ski & Wake Sports’ 2023 Team of the Year honors. Jaquess won women’s slalom titles at the Swiss Pro Slalom, Nautique Masters, Goode Water Ski National Championships, MasterCraft Pro, California Water Ski Pro Am, and Pan American Games, and she set a new world slalom record of 5 buoys at 41 feet off at the 2023 Malibu Open. She won jump titles at the King of Darkness and Pan American Games and recorded top-four placements at the IWWF Water Ski World Championships, Malibu Open and MasterCraft Pro. She also won the gold medal in overall at the Goode Water Ski National Championships and Pan American Games, and earned the bronze medal at the IWWF Water Ski World Championships. Krueger was the most dominant U.S. men’s jumper in 2023, winning titles at the King of Darkness, Goode Water Ski National Championships, MasterCraft Pro, and Malibu Open. He earned the silver medal at the IWWF World Waterski Championships as a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. Elite Water Ski Team, and he placed second at the California Water Ski Pro Am and third at the Nautique Masters. AWSA Virtual Drivers Clinic Scheduled for Feb. 3
Scheduled for Feb. 3DATE: February 3, 2024 TIME: 7:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. (Pacific) 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (Eastern) AGENDA: 1st hour: IWWF Driver's Portal - Interpret and Navigate the Data (Donal Connelly) 2nd hour: SurePath Review (Will Bush) IMPORTANT - If you have not yet registered for the IWWF Driver's Portal, please do so before the clinic at www.drivers.ski CLINIC REGISTRATION: You must pre-register using the link below: REGISTER for AWSA DRIVERS CLINIC CLINIC FEE: Clinic participants must pay a $10 clinic fee to USA-WSWS. Pay via PayPal Here - PAYPAL - USA Water Ski Include your name, membership number, and clinic sanction number (24CL012) in the Notes section. NOTE: For AWSA Western Region Regular and Senior Drivers and all AWSA Eastern Region Drivers, your fee will be paid by your respective region. MEETING LINK: Join the Zoom meeting using the link below: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85884056555?pwd=NitwdTlJbW5iNDVZeTFuUnczejdzQT09 Meeting ID: 858 8405 6555 Passcode: 283235 This is a visual presentation – No call in. Use a desktop, laptop, or tablet to join. This virtual clinic meets the clinic requirement for maintenance and upgrade. 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 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 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 Bulletin No. 2 for the 2023 IWWF Senior Pan American Water Ski Championships is now available to view and download.
The qualifications and procedures (Revised 07/05/23) for the 2023 U.S. Senior Pan American Championships Team and independent skier notification (35-year-old and above skiers only) also are available. The Team for the 2023 Pan American Championships (Sept. 18-24, Skyview Lake Water Ski Club, Harmony, N.C.) will be selected by the AWSA International Activities Committee based on scores taken from the AWSA Data Base from the period May 1, 2022 to August 10, 2023, with a minimum of one score from calendar year 2023. The team selection will be announced approximately Aug. 15, 2021. Notification of Interest to be selected as a member of the US Team (athletes must indicate the event(s) they are in interested in competing in), or to be entered to ski as an independent U.S. athlete (denote what events) must notify International Activities Committee Members Stan Switzer ds.switzer@verizon.net and Jill Smith, bsmith32946@yahoo.com by filling out the form https://forms.gle/nCi5dmcQiyfkiMmK7 no later than Aug. 10, 2021 of their desire to compete to be considered in the team’s selection process. Primary consideration will be given to those individuals that have submitted timely notifications of interest, but the IAC reserves the right to consider other individuals. All independent U.S. Athletes must be entered through this process. Download Q&Ps (Revised 07/05/23) 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) 
Nicholas Kerr awarded Elmer Stailing-Southern Region ScholarshipFor the second year in a row, Nicholas Kerr of Forsyth, Georgia has been chosen as the 2022 recipient of the $2000 Elmer Stailing Southern Region Scholarship. Nicholas is a Senior at the University of Georgia majoring in Biology.
Records Fall At The 2022 Southern Regional Championships By Jeff Clark
The 2022 Southern Regional Championships was a great event hosted by Lyman and Taylor Hardy and their friends in Tuscaloosa, AL this past week. The excellent planning by Lyman and Taylor along with Sandy Cates and their group of volunteers prior to the tournament and during the event with good hospitality provided to all of the competitors and officials made this Southern Regional tournament a great event. During the Council and general membership meeting on Thursday evening, Bob Harris, was reelected Executive Vice President of the Southern Region for the coming year and Lyman Hardy was re-elected to another term as Director for the region. The meeting was very well attended by the membership and there was good input from everyone and we look forward to a great year ahead. The details of the meeting will be available when the minutes are posted. The following Southern Regional Records were set during the tournament: Luca Zazadze from Miami Shores, FL broke the Boys 3 slalom record set in 1992 by Chris Parrish and tied in 2008 by K C Wilson at 4 buoys at 11.25/55kph with a score of 5 buoys at 11.25/55kph. Jaeden Eade from Clermont, FL upped the Boys 4 Overall record that Conner Walsh from Lakeland, FL set last year at 2967.1 points with a score of 3203.0. Eric Macias from Winter Garden, FL set a new Boys 5 trick record with a score of 9120 which eclipsed the previous record held by William Montavon set in 2015 with a score of 7760. Garrett Stallings from Rossville, TN set a new Men 1 Overall record with a score of 3290.3 which exceeded the score of 3188.7 set by Drew Phillips in 2013. Brandon Waters from The Villages, FL beat the Men 3 jump record that he set in 2020 with a distance of 168’/51.3 with a record setting distance of 186’/56.8m. Graham Fizer from Mooresville, NC beat the long standing Men 3 Overall record set in 2006 by Clark Anderson at 3123.8 with a score of 3159.3. Marc Bedsole from Orlando, Fl upped his last years Men 5 trick record from a score of 5030 to new score of 5930. In Men 6 slalom Samuel Ingram from Pompano Beach, FL tied the current record set by Jack Mills in 2017 with a score of 3 buoys on the 10.75 line at 55 kph. In Men 7 Joel Norton from Acworth, GA smashed the 2017 Men 7 jump record held by Hank Longo at 102’/31.0m with a distance of 118’/36.0m. He also upped the Overall record set by Dennis Longo in 2013 at 2746.8 with a score of 2785.2. Joy Kelly from Louden, TN upped her Women 6 slalom record set last year at 2.5 buoys on the 12m line with a score of 4.5 buoys on the 12m line. In her first year in Women 8, Leza Harrison from Chuluota, FL surpassed Frances Wolfenden’s 1997 slalom record of 5 buoys on the 16m line with a score of 2 buoys on the 12m line at 49 kph. She set a new trick record with 2290 points which eclipsed Artis Price record of 1960 set in 2001 and to cap off the day she earned 3592 Overall points which surpassed the record held by Thelma Salmas of 3190 set in 2008. Congratulations to all of our skiers for these great performances at the 2022 Southern Regional Championships held in Tuscaloosa, AL and we are rooting for all of the regions skiers to bring home the medals from this year’s Nationals in Maize, KS. The updated lists of records are located in the Records tab of the website. 
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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