Good news for our fans and athletes on all fronts !

Welcome to the 2009 Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup season. Having successfully completed 26 World Cup Stops to date, paid out over $2,000,000 in cash prizes, distributed our TV shows and edits to 500 million viewers on each occasion and brought the thrills of our sport to new and enormous audiences, we are ready for even more World Cup action. We are also delighted to confirm that MasterCraft, who have been on board as our boat sponsors for all 26 Stop to date, will again support the full 2009 season around the world. With our major Stops scheduled to take place more or less in the second half of the year, we will be chasing the sun and the seasons till November next. We will also be bringing you all the latest World Cup news and photos plus video clips here on our “New Look” World Cup Website – and we hope you like it. We will get the red paint brush out at least once per year to keep it looking as fresh as possible for you.

So, the BIG question is where are we heading for this year ? In spite of the global financial melt-down and a lot of hard work, we are delighted to confirm that we will be bringing the thrills of the Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup this year to Dubna in Russia, Liuzhou in China and Putrajaya in Malaysia. Several other Stops were rolled forward to 2010 for obvious reasons. We may also have at least one more Stop to announce shortly for later this year.

DUBNA RUSSIA / July 10-12 This spectacular site on the Volga River, with permanent seating for 30,000 World Cup fans, will this year comprise JUMP and SHORTBOARD. All our top World Cup Stars will be there, our World Cup TV crew is ready to deliver our special edited TV show and News Edit to 500 million viewers, and the citizens of Dubna are already sending us messages of Welcome Back. This Stop has hosted our World Cup stars every year since 2004 – the longest of any City around the world. Congratulations to Mayor Prokh and all the team in Dubna.

LIUZHOU CHINA – This is an entirely new venue for our World Cup audience and athletes and will be a special adventure for the 2009 season. This Stop will include JUMP and WAKEBOARD to give our audience a sample of what may happen in future years in Liuzhou. The picturesque City is located on a river and is surrounded by water, hills and caves. It is a short flight west of Hong Kong and south west of Beijing. More details will be featured here as we get closer to the World Cup dates of October 1/3. Having had some fascinating previous World Cup Stops in Changshu and Beijing, we are all looking forward greatly to returning to China once again in October.

PUTRAJAYA MALAYSIA – For the first time last year, this exotic location, just a short drive from Kuala Lumpur, opened its doors to the World Cup team. The results were spectacular. The site was constructed for major international occasions and this is precisely what made it very special. The enormous Grandstand on the edge of the water, the large glass and stainless steel Judges Tower, the five star Pullman Putrajaya Hotel located a stone’s throw from the three large starting docks – and the excellent organisation skills, made this a Stop to remember. Since last year, Putrajaya has launched a serious Waterski and Wakeboard development programme. During our November 6/8 World Cup Stop which will feature SLALOM, SHORTBOARD AND JUMP, we will include local contestants in a parallel event to give them even further encouragement.

The athletes who have qualified for the first World Cup stop of 2009 will be announced here shortly – so watch this space. Competition for inclusion has been fierce, as usual. In trying to be fair to all, some will be disappointed but others will have the thrill of joining the World Cup team this season in Dubna Russia, Liuzhou China and Putrajaya Malaysia. We wish them every good fortune and thank our sponsors and host cities for the much appreciated generosity.