WORLD CUP STARS PREPARE FOR 50^th MOOMBA MASTERS AS INJURY HALTS WORLD RECORD HOLDER

Melbourne, Australia is about to roll out the red carpet for the 50^th Moomba Masters Waterski and Wakeboard  Championships – and what a celebration it promises to be. Launched in 1960 on the downtown Yarra River, this is always a spectacular event against the backdrop of the city Skyscrapers. The action will kick off on Wednesday March 3^rd for the Juniors and the Big Guns will start their battle for the prestigious 50^th medals on Friday, March 5^th.  As ever, the Finals will be on the holiday Monday. We will have a full on-site report and photos for you right here on our Website.

Our World Cup Stars will be in Melbourne in real strength this year, in one of the strongest fields seen for a long time. A total of 27 of our World Cup Men and 12 of our World Cup Ladies are now on the

Starting List.  These will include our World Cup 2009 Season Winners, Nick Parsons USA and Karen Truelove USA in Slalom, Aliaksei Zharnasek BLR in Tricks, Freddy Krueger USA and June Fladborg DEN in Jump.  Ageliki Andriopoulou GRE will join our World Cup schedule later as she regains her strength again in that new knee ! The standard will be as high as ever in all events this year. We will watch our World Cup Stars closely for signs of who will wear the red World Cup shirts later on the Podiums around the World Cup Circuit.

One of the great aspects to Moomba every year is often the chance we get for a first glimpse of who is dialed in at this early stage. Certainly our World Cup Stars mentioned above all finished 2009 on a high

at our closing World Cup Stop in Putrajaya, Malaysia, and are expected to be very strong right from the start. The World Cup Champions to watch closely will be Nick Parsons and Karen Truelove in Slalom and Aliaksei Zharnasek BLR in Tricks. Nick will be under enormous pressure in Melbourne from World Slalom Champion Will Asher GBR and past World Champion Thomas Degasperi ITA. Karen will be up against Karina Nowlan AUS, co-holder of the World Slalom Record and very much on home water in Melbourne, and also Regina Jaquess USA, who has now completed her Pharmacy Doctorate and is ready to show why she has amassed no less than 36 World Championship Medals since 1998 and is still just 25 years of age ! For Aliaksei there is a different kind of pressure.  The current World Tricks Record Holder will not make it to Melbourne – see below – but following an extraordinary 2009 season where Aliaksei took both the World Championships and World Cup tricks titles, now he will have to defend these triumphs. Close on his heels will be the enormous talents of Jimmy Siemers USA, Russell Gay USA, Frank Desboyaux FRA and Jaret Llewellyn CAN. All are capable of taking that 50^th Moomba Tricks title.

We have also heard today that World Cup Star, World Tricks Record Holder and 4 time World Tricks Champion, Nicolas Le Forestier FRA , has injured that arm again and ruptured an upper bicep tendon. Training in the Republic of South Africa, he will now need some surgery but hopes to be back on the World Cup circuit later this season. Take a look at that bent ski handle where his arm was trapped !  Nic, we wish you a speedy recovery.

Sadly, the very popular Kyle Eade NZL will miss Moomba this year following his serious Jump crash ten days ago in the South Island while training for the Yarra River event. We all wish Kiwi a speedy recovery in the months ahead and we are certain that he will be following all the scores as they come in and hoping that some day soon he will be back on the water once again.  As a very popular Moomba and World Cup competitor over the past decade, he will be greatly missed by all.