One of our very first major WORLD CUP ambitions was to make sure that our legacy would be to kick-start the ambition of youngsters all around the World once they were given that opportunity to see and enjoy the skills of our World Cup Stars up close. If this inspired them to raise their standards, get out on the water and share in the thrills of our sport, our investment in time, money and energy would be worth it.

After completing no less than 32 successful WORLD CUP Stops in Sarawak and Linyi recently, the impact is now showing clearly. Here is a great example straight from Indonesia today where the South-East Asian Games have just taken place.

IS THIS A WORLD’S FIRST ? Take a look at this item from the London Times today – young 8 year old Malaysian Skier Aaliyah Yoong, sister of F1 Driver Alex Yoong and daughter of World Cup Super Stop organiser Hanifah Yoong, taking a GOLD MEDAL in Women’s Tricks at the South-East Asian Games. The Silver Medalist was 26 years older ! It all happened in Palembang in Indonesia – and The Times confirmed that this is definitely real news ! Congratulations Aaliyah – and we hope to see you in our World Cup series some day soon.

Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah in action in Malaysia

Now that we are closing out one year and about to welcome in another World Cup year, it is really great for our World Cup Team and fans to be reminded of the impact made by our THIRTY Stops around the world to date. The legacy created by our outstanding athletes is clearly seen in the particular case of Malaysia’s seven-year-old Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah.

When our World Cup Team first brought the Series to the magnificent Putrajaya site on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, one little girl in the audience was just about three years old. The impact made not only sowed the seeds for the development of a future National Waterski and Wakeboard Team in Malaysia, it also helped to show this one athlete the magic of competition at the highest level. Watching World Cup stars did the business ! Having a father by the name of Hanifa Yoong Yin Fah also was an advantage as his son Alex made his international reputation as an outstanding Formula 1 Driver some years ago. Now its Aaliyah’s turn to share the spotlight !

Just this week, young Aaliyah scored 3120 points in Shortboard/ Tricks in Malaysia – a new National Record. After just 10 months training, this is impressive by any standards. In the coming days, she will join the Malaysian Team at the Muscat Asian Beach Games. Her progress has been phenomenal and now she will be on the dock in Muscat with the big guns ! What a prospect for this little star !

Good luck to Aaliyah – and our World Cup Stars will be watching your progress very closely in the coming week.

One of the great privileges flowing from involvement in our Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup series is recognising that it can make an important and very positive impact on entire communities. Inspired by seeing our top World Cup athletes in action, lives can change in a very positive way. Here is a great example that caught the headlines today.

Malaysia hosted our World Cup for the first time at Putrajaya’s Watersports Complex in November 2008 – less than two years ago. The sport was almost unknown at that time. There were very few Malaysian Skiers or Riders. Last weekend, Putrajaya hosted a Round of the Malaysian Waterski & Wakeboard Championships.  A total of 83 athletes took part and half of these were from Malaysia. Putrajaya City’s President, Tan Sri Samsudin Osman presented the medals. Paul Fong, Confederation President of the IWWF, officiated.

In just two years, this is an extraordinary achievement. However, it is in the details that we really see how far Malaysia has come at grass roots level, where it really matters. For example, two years ago, gifted photographer Armand Ali attended our first World Cup Stop at Putrajaya. On returning home, he was processing his shots when his young son Anakin Ali asked “what’s that Dad ?” Last weekend, just two years later, the same 8 year old Anakin broke Malaysia’s Shortboard Record with a very impressive score of 1040 points. It was only his second competition ever. Also, the competition’s youngest athlete was Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah. This 6 year old athlete also set a new Shortboard Record for her category of 960 points !

Anakin Ali breaks National Shortboard Record

Congratulations to Putrajaya, the Malaysian Waterski & Wakeboard Federation, and to Hanifah Yoong Yin Fah who has worked tirelessly in creating a very impressive squad of young Waterski and Wakeboard athletes in Malaysia – all in just two years !  Watch our for Malaysian athletes at major international events in the not too distant future. This sets a great example to other communities around the globe. The World Cup legacy is certainly alive and well !

Packed Grandstand enjoys June Fladborg's performance

MALAYSIA NOW LOOKS TOWARDS A WAKEBOARD WORLD CUP

With our 2010 World Cup season kicking off in late August this year, discussions are continuing with exciting new Stop venues for this year’s calendar and details will be released as soon as the contracts have been completed. With 29 World Cup Stops already successfully completed, we will celebrate the 30th Stop in the very near future.

One of the most exotic World Cup venues on our schedule was Putrajaya – near Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The impact created there by the World Cup on the development of our sport has been quite extraordinary. Much of this is due to the foresight and dedication of the Putrajaya Corporation and the Malaysian Waterski & Wakeboard Federation. Regarding plans for 2010, we have just received this information below from Hanifah Yoong Yin Fah on behalf of Malaysian promoter WWWC Sdn. Bhd.

Putrajaya World Cup Winners

Malaysia’s promoter for the Putrajaya Waterski World Cup announced today that Putrajaya City in Malaysia will take a break from hosting Malaysia’s Waterski World Cup.

“We have made good inroads towards developing tournament waterskiing in Malaysia via our waterski and wakeboard school established as a result of Putrajaya Corporation hosting the inaugural 2008 Putrajaya Waterski World Cup. The city has now been firmly established as a waterskiing destination for tourists worldwide after the second running of the World Cup in 2009,” said Hanifah Yoong Yin Fah on behalf of Malaysian promoter WWWC Sdn. Bhd.

“We thank Putrajaya Corporation for being the sport’s most excellent host for the past two years and as indicated by the President of Putrajaya Corporation there might well be a return to the hosting role sometime in the future. We therefore now like to move on to further develop the sport and promote a Wakeboard World Cup in a most exotic venue within Malaysia so that we can take this sport to the new venue’s state.”  Added Hanifah.

He said that WWWC Sdn. Bhd. will most probably be able to make an official announcement before mid June whether this proposed IWWF Wakeboard World Cup in a new venue and a new state in Malaysia will be held in 2010 or in 2011. To end, he said that Malaysia will definitely organise another Waterski World Cup in the very near future.

Putrajaya Maritime Centre

It is not often that a young athlete aged eight years and six months makes history. This is the happy news from Putrajaya, Malaysia. Young Anakin Ali landed his first jump at the Putrajaya Maritime Centre where Malaysia’s athletes of the future have been based over the past year.  This is no small achievement. Following the staging of the successful Waterski World Cup Stop in 2008, the Malaysia Water Ski Federation (MWSF) set about creating a comprehensive programme to develop Waterskiers and Riders in a very professional way. Young Anakin has now proved that the World Cup legacy has major benefits. Congratulations to Anakin and the Malaysia Water Ski Federation. For our World Cup team, this is also great news. One of the major objectives from the start 29 World Cup Stops ago, was to act as the catalyst to bringing as many new youngsters to our sport and especially in countries new to our sport.

We have all heard of the sad news of the accident which has hospitalised World Cup Star Kyle Eade yesterday and wish him a speedy recovery at this worrying time for him and his family. Kyle was actually one of several well known international coaches brought to Putrajaya to help their impressive training programme for youngsters with promise. We know he will be delighted to hear the news of Anakin’s history making jump.

Anakin Ali makes Jump history

Anakin landed his first jump on his first day !  Before leaving for the lake this morning, Anakin said “I’m doing this for Kyle”. Make a note of that name as we are very likely to hear a lot more of Anakin Ali in the future.

Putrajaya Jump Winners - Men

NEWS FLASH : Our special feature World Cup Video clip here on our Home Page captures some of the thrills of our recent Putrajaya World Cup Jump Finals. Watch Freddy Krueger USA and June Fladborg DEN take the titles in style. For the perfect Christmas present, the full TV Show CD will be available shortly. Watch out for details here.

Jump Winners Putrajaya - Women

Did you know that you can also see all our special WORLD CUP highlights Video Clips on our special YouTube Channel ? Here is the URL to Bookmark on your Computer :

http://www.youtube.com/user/IWSFworldCUP

Enjoy another great Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup season

and watch out for the 2010 World Cup Calendar soon.

This 29th Stop of the Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup Series ended with perfection on many fronts. In temperatures reaching 35C, the 51 athletes from 15 countries were provided with outstanding facilities in Putrajaya Malaysia for this last event of the 2009 World Cup calendar. Based at the Putrajaya Watersports Complex, a short distance from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, an estimated 20,000 spectators attended over the November 7/8 weekend. As a vacation destination, it is certainly one not to be missed !

Freddy Krueger USA at the limit in Putrajaya

This was the second highly successful World Cup Stop organized by Putrajaya Corporation and the Malaysian Waterski Federation. MasterCraft were again the official boat sponsors. This final Stop of the season included Slalom, Shortboard and Jump. Live national TV coverage was provided by RTM. The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) supplied the extensive Webcast facilities for global access. A special TV News Edit was distributed by Satellite to 300 million viewers and an edited TV Show will be distributed to 200 million viewers later this week.

IWWF President Kuno Ritschard and Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, Putrajaya Corporation President

Apart from a short rain disruption in the Preliminary Round, the tight World Cup competition schedule provided non-stop action on the water throughout. In the Slalom Preliminaries, the main surprises came from World Slalom Champion Will Asher GBR, past World Junior / U21 and Open Champion Nicole Arthur GBR and co-holder of the World Record Karina Nowlan AUS. Uncharacteristically, they did not make it through to the Finals.

In the Women’s Slalom Finals, defending Putrajaya champion Clementine Lucine FRA set the pace with a score of 2 buoys on the 12m line/ 35off. Returning quickly from a maternity break, Karen Truelove USA responded with a very impressive score of 0.5

Slalom Winners Karen Truelove USA, Anais Amade FRA and Clementine Lucine FRA

buoys on the shorter 11.25m line / 38off. Just back from a shoulder injury, Anais Amade FRA got close but had to settle for 5 buoys on the longer 12m line. For Karen Truelove, this was a very rewarding World Cup victory, ahead of Anais Amade and Clementine Lucine. The Men’s Slalom Finals kicked off with a surprise from World Record holder Chris Parrish USA. His score of 1.5 buoys on the 11.25m line / 38off did not earn a podium position. It was Jean Baptiste Faisy FRA, who set the pace with 4 buoys on the 11.25m line /38off. Jodi Fisher GBR, World Cup 2008 season overall winner, was the first to reach the 10.75m line / 39off with a score of one buoy. However 34 year-old Slalom specialist Nick Parsons from Utah USA was in a league of his own. His score of 2.5 buoys on the 10.75m line took the title – ahead of Jodi Fisher and JB Faisy.

In Shortboard there were also some Preliminary surprises. World Record Holder Nicolas LeForestier FRA is progressing well from his serious 2008 injuries but did not make the Finals. World Silver Medalist Herman Beliakou BLR was ill in the Preliminaries and also did not make the cut. However, the top scores for both Women and Men were outstanding. The huge Jumbo Screen in the packed Putrajaya Grandstand

Shortboard Winners Aliaksei Zharnasek BLR, Olivier Fortamps BEL and Jimmy Siemers USA

showed every moment of the Webcast. The slow-motion Shortboard replays kept the spectators glued to the screen ! Two-time World Champion Mandy Nightingale USA kicked off with an impressive score of 7790 points. Natalia Berdnikova BLR then entered the arena. She has a pending World Record of 9080 points – making her the first woman ever to break the 9000 barrier. Her score of 7930 points gave her the lead. Then it was all down to 19 year-old Marion Aynaud FRA to take up the challenge. As the 2006 World Junior Champion and 2007 World U21 Champion, she has been an extraordinary discovery for the World Cup series. Her score of 8130 points was flawless and she very much deserved the gold medal – ahead of Natalia Berdnikova and Mandy Nightingale. In the Men’s event, the US Masters Champion and defending Putrajaya World Cup Champion, Jimmy Siemers USA, set the pace with a score of 9700 points. Belgium’s recently married Olivier Fortamps was very happy to score 9890 points. With only one skier remaining, both Siemers and Fortamps were guaranteed Podium places. Last out was the new World Shortboard Champion, Aliaksei Zharnasek BLR. He stunned the cheering Grandstand spectators with a flawless performance and a score of 11470 points. This really did make it a perfect year for Zharnasek.

With the hot afternoon sunshine illuminating the Maybank Jump Ramp, the hundreds of photographers moved even closer to the water’s edge. All expected to be thrilled and none were disappointed ! The only surprise in the Jump Preliminaries was for

Jump Winners Freddy Krueger USA, Tom Asher GBR and Jason Seels GBR

Jaret Llewellyn CAN. His distance of 58.1m was not enough to make it through. In the Women’s Finals, Denmark’s June Fladborg was first in to the arena. Having already taken both Australia’s Moomba Masters and US Masters titles this year, she desperately wanted to finish on a World Cup high. Her opening score of 48.3m immediately set a new Course Record ! World Overall Cable Jump Champion, Iryna Turets BLR, got close with 45.5m. Now it was all down to Marion Mathieu FRA who came second behind Fladborg in the Moomba Masters. With a distance of 48.1m, she was also second to Fladborg again in Putrajaya. This was a perfect World Cup conclusion for June Fladborg. In the Men’s event, Scot Ellis USA set the pace with a distance of 59.8m. Thomas Asher GBR pushed the lead up to 63.2m. Jason Seels got very close with 62.2m. As soon as the name Freddy Krueger USA was announced, the stampede of photographers to the water’s edge was a sight to behold. Krueger did not hold back on his very first jump. In fact, it was about as close to the limit as is possible. He really did want to retain this Putrajaya World Cup title and his distance of 69.0m got a standing ovation from every single person in the huge Putrajaya Grandstand. With a new Course Record and a new World Cup Series Record, the World Record holder Krueger added yet another title to his extraordinary collection of awards.

The Putrajaya Watersports Complex was the perfect venue for the final Stop of the 2009 World Cup season. This exotic Tropical location has everything with first class spectator, media, catering, accommodation and management facilities. The level of commitment from Putrajaya Corporation, the Malaysian Waterski Federation (MWSF) and the multiple sponsors is impressive. No doubt the new waterski and wakeboard youth development programme of the MWSF will ensure that Malaysian athletes will also hit the headlines in the years ahead.

Freddy Krueger at altitude on his way to 69.0m

SLALOM WINNERS – Women
1. (USA) Karen Truelove – 0.5 buoys at 11.25m
2. (FRA) Anais Amade – 5 buoys at 12m
3. (FRA) Clementine Lucine – 2 buoys at 12m

SLALOM WINNERS – Men
1. (USA) Nick Parsons – 2.5 buoys at 10.75m
2. (GBR) Jodi Fisher – 1 buoy at 10.75m
3. (FRA) Jean Baptiste Faisy – 4 buoys at 11.25m

SHORTBOARD WINNERS – Women
1. (FRA) Marion Aynaud – 8130 points
2. (BLR) Natalia Berdnikova – 7930 points
3. (USA) Mandy Nightingale – 7790 points

SHORTBAORD WINNERS – Men
1. (BLR) Aliaksei Zharnasek – 11,470 points
2. (BEL) Olivier Fortamps – 9890 points
3. (USA) Jimmy Siemers – 9700 points

JUMP WINNERS – Women
1. (DEN) June Fladborg – 48.3m
2. (FRA) Marion Mathieu – 48.1m
3. (BLR) Iryna Turets – 46.5m

JUMP WINNERS – Men
1. (USA) Freddy Krueger – 69.0m
2. (GBR) Thomas Asher – 63.2m
3. (GBR) Jason Seels – 62.2m

Early morning on the Starting Dock

Today the first of the Preliminaty Rounds kicked off at 11.00hrs in glorious sunshine and 32C temperatures. As Round Four of the Malaysia Waterski Championships came to an end and the young Riders and Skiers came ashore, the World Cup Women and

Anais Amade tops the Prelims with 2 at 11.25m

Men Slalom Skiers took to the water. The Women were fighting to take one of the 4 Finals places and the Men chased one of their 6 places. The World Cup Webcast with 8 cameras, a large Jumbotron Screen in the Grandstand and all the latest technology, brought the

Marion Aynaud tops Shortboard Prelims with 7610 points

closeup details to the worldwide audience. At about 17.00hrs, some dark clouds and wind moved in to the area we were forced to take a break but this soon passed and the day finished with Womens Jump.

The World Cup stars of today included Anais Amade FRA and Nick Parsons USA in Slalom, Marion Aynaud FRA in Shortboard and Marion Mathieu FRA in Jump. It really

Marion Mathieu tops Jump Prelims with 47.0m

was a day for the French World Cup Stars today. The weather break today stole some time from the tight schedule and so we will be back on the water with Mens Tricks and Mens Jump Preliminary Rounds at 07.00hrs tomorrow, Sunday. This will the be followed with all the Finals at Noon.

MasterCraft on stage today at the Putrajaya World Cup Stop

For all the World Cup Results from today – check out :

The Putrajaya site has to be one of the most spectacular in the world. With 5 star accommodation on site for the World Cup athletes and officials, the Grandstand, Glass Control tower and wide solid starting docks, the facilities set a very high World Cup standard. Hopefully those who enjoyed our Webcast got a feeling for the Putrajaya Malaysia area and will make this a vacation venue in future years. With a great Waterski and Wakeboard facility on the doorstep, it is the perfect spot for a holiday with a difference.

Official World Cup Hotel - Putrajaya Pullman

As the rain cleared, the World Cup Skiers adjusted to the exotic Putrajaya site. The large team from the Malaysian Waterski Federation and the Putrajaya Corporation

Putrajaya World Cup signs on site

worked on an enormous range of event facilities without a break. These included the construction of a giant Jumbo Screen, a lakeside Tented Village, over 1km of high quality signage, the building of a huge range of

Building the big World Cup Jumbo Screen

sound towers throughout the site, the erection of several VIP viewing areas and some with catering and air-conditioning facilities, inflatable entry gates, fully branded Prize Podium, the supply of Golf Carts for visitors and Skiers, and much more. This is an enormous team effort.

On the technical side, the RTM OB TV Truck arrived early on site today for planning meetings with the World Cup Communications team. They completed the final

Eight TV Cameras in place

arrangements for the installation and positioning of eight TV cameras, the linking system for the World Cup multi-screen Webcast Studio four floors directly above the Slalom site in the distinctive Putrajaya Glass Tower, connections to the Jumbo Screen and Sound Desk and Judges Tower, plus links to the distinctive red MasterCraft competition boats. The World Cup

World Cup Webcast Studio

Communications team has pioneered this multi-camera Webcast system and the moment of truth will arrive at 11.00hrs tomorrow morning with the Womens Slalom Preliminary Round. Fingers are crossed that all this delicate technology will stay well away from Murphy’s Law !

The last chore tonight was the final cleaning and polishing of the two new MasterCraft boats. As we left the site, they really did look ready for action ! Our World Cup athletes then had two options kindly offered by our hosts – a special visit to the historical City of Malacca on the coast or a quiet night in the luxurious Village Restaurant at the official World Cup Hotel on the lake, the Putrajaya Pullman. All is now set for a great Saturday Preliminary Round and we hope that the hot rain will move away for the coming days.

World Cup athletes enjoying their eveing meal together

While the World Cup will kick off at 11.00hrs, at 08.00hrs, Leg 4 of the Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Nationals will take place on site. This will be a unique

World Cup MasterCraft gets its final polish for tomorrow

opportunity for the Malaysian athletes to share the stage with the top Skiers in the World and is all part of the very impressive development scheme launched just one year ago after the 2008 World Cup experience.

Don’t forget to check out our Putrajaya World Cup Website tomorrow by just clicking on our LIVE VIDEO tab above.

Ty Openlander testing the Putrajaya Slalom Course

Enjoying the sunshine this afternoon were Ty and Rick Oppenlander USA, Clementine Lucine FRA, Marion Aynaud FRA, Danyelle Bennett USA, Aliaksei Zharnasek BLR, Herman Beliakou BLR, Nicolas LeForestier FRA, Freddy Krueger USA, Karen Truelove USA, Natalia Berdnikova BLR, Will Furze GBR/MasterCraft, Boris Laval FRA, Anais Amade FRA, Billy Susi USA, Aaron

Natalia Berdnikova

Larkin NZL, Jonathan Travers USA, Nick Parsons USA, Jodi Fisher GBR and Will Asher. Many more will arrive later tonight.

Will Furze MasterCraft

Friday will see the start of Official Practice at 08.00hrs. The RTM TV crews will also set up their EIGHT camera positions. Our World Cup team will set up the very sophiscticated Webcast Studio and the sounds checks will continue

Aliaksei Zharnasek

in the main Grandstand area.

Today the President of the Putrajaya Corporation, Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, paid a visit to the site to inspect the installations and meet some of the World Cup skiers and

Danyelle Bennett

he will return at the weekend with many other very important guests from Government and the Business community.

We are all looking forward to a great Practice Day on the water tomorrow – and as the sunshine is guaranteed every day, it promises to be a special experience once again for all concerned.