Immediately after the World Cup Finals at the Floating Platform in Marina Bay in Singapore, our ProActive World Cup Camera Team headed for their Editing Suite in the Roxy Mercure Hotel in Roxy Square. There they created a 2.5 minute News Edit which was immediately distributed to 300 million TV viewers via the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) satellite system.

Singapore ProMen Winners

The next step was to produce the regular 26 minute World Cup TV show. This has since been distributed to another 200 million viewers. The TV listings for this large global audience differ from country to country. The first to appear is the SKYSPORTS listing for Western Europe in Waterspoprts World and here are the times .

29/10/08        23.00-24.00     Skysports 3
30/10/08        08.00-09.00     Skysports 3
30/10/08        12.00-13.00     Skysports 3
30/10/08        16.00-17.00     Skysports 3.

The next to become available will be the ESPN Star schedules for the Singapore Region. As soon as we receive them, we will post them here on our World Cup Web site.  This 24th World Cup Stop was organised by Singapore Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (SWWF) and supported by the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) and Tote Board & Singapore Pools.

Shelby Kantar USA at our Singapore World Cup Rail Jam 2008

Here you can now access all our Singapore 2008 Video clips – and also see a great range of action photos. Check out our World Cup Gallery. The spectacular scenes and background at night and during the day have created some amazing scenes. We hope you enjoy them too.

Next Stop – Waterski World Cup Stop in Putrajaya, Malaysia on Novemeber 7/9

Dean Smith AUS has a close call in Singapore

Today was possibly one of the greatest multi-discipline days of the past 24 World Cup Stops. From 10.00hrs, the spectators were treated to a feast of choices – all built around the World Cup programme. Supported by the Singapore Sports Council and Tote Board & Singapore Pools, there was something today for all. This included Wakeboard, a Rail Jam, free Boat and Jet Ski Rides for spectators, Touch Rugby for the World Cup Riders, F3000 Power Boat Races and finishing with the first ever Hip-Hop party on the Floating Platform in Marina Bay which is scheduled to run till 04.00hrs on Sunday morning ! With DJ’s from seven countries on stage, this may keep Singapore awake all night !

Dean Smith AUS, Kris Bower AUS and Jeff Weatherall enjoying Singapore

To the surprise of many spectators, the World Cup Riders Touch Rugby Team put in a performance as good as many Rugby Clubs and Andrew Adkison was an impressive scorer. In the F3000 Power Boat Heats, the leading boats exceeded 160kph right in front of the very elegant World Cup VIP catering area. One of the most successful events today was the Rail Jam. This was perfect for the fans as the three huge water tanks were located right in the middle of the Floating Platform. The World Cup Pro Riders mixed it up with the local Singapore talent and produced some eye-watering crashes ! All the owners of some very impressive Nikon and Canon cameras went home happy too.

As the World Cup Pro Men Qualifying Round kicked off at 15.30hrs and with temperatures exceeding 32C, all eyes turned to the spectacular Marina Bay lagoon. Against the towering backdrop of Singapore, China’s Luo Jian was the first Rider on the water in Heat 1. Only three Riders from each Heat advanced to the World Cup Semi-Finals. Luo was unlucky today and this allowed Chad Sharpe CAN, Trevor Hansen USA and Dan Knott GBR to advance.

World Cup Rail Jam in Singapore

In Heat 2 five Riders fought for three places. The last one off the dock and six-time NZL National Champion, Jeff Weatherall, was in blistering form and took the top score. In this Heat, Ronnie Cheung HKG and Max Christian SIN were not so lucky. Two-time Australian National Champion Dean Smith had a very close call and only just scraped ahead of Ronnie Cheung. Those who moved through with Jeff Weatherall were Park Sung Jun KOR and Dean Smith AUS.

Heat 3 was always going to be tough. IWSF World Champion Andrew Adkison USA was last off the dock and he put in the most outstanding performance of the day. That left two places in this Heat. Nick Davies GBR is just 19 years of age and has already taken the World Cup Stop title at Hacienda Bay in Egypt just a few weeks ago. Although he did not outscore Andrew Adkison, he took a Semi-Finals place and put all on guard that the Singapore World Cup title could also be his tomorrow. That left one place in this Heat. Kim Yongil KOR took this comfortably pushing out Wan Ka Choi HKG and Giulliano Molli ITA.

World Cup Riders Touch Rugby Team on Floating Platform

Heat 4 was a guaranteed show-stopper. This included rising star Jarrod Askew AUS, 2008 US Masters Champion Rusty Malinoski CAN, Dutch National Champion Michael Timmers, South Africa National Champion Shaun Faccio – and last off the World Cup dock, Phillip Soven USA who has taken the past four World Cup titles here in Singapore. Surprises followed. Sixteen year old Jarrod Askew was first to rock the boat with a stunning and hard-to-beat performance. Shaun Faccio RSA also greatly impressed. Very unusual for him, Rusty Malinoski ran in to all kinds of trouble. Phillip Soven also had some scares and with some scoring delays, as the sun set tonight, the scores of Heat 4 were still being reviewed. Did Rusty Malinoski make it through ? Did Jarrod Askew out perform Phillip Soven ?  Eventually, under the moonlit sky on another very hot evening here in Singapore, the details emerged.  Rusty did  not make it through and Jarrod secured his place with just five points less than Phillip to join Shaun Faccio in tomorrow’s Semi-Finals..

Here are the confirmed Semi-Finalists :

Chad Sharpe CAN
Trevor Hansen USA
Dan Nott  GBR
Jeff Weatherall NZL
Park Sung Jun KOR
Dean Smith AUS
Andrew Adkison USA
Nick Davies GBR
Kim Yongil KOR
Phillip Soven USA
Jarrod Askew AUS
Shaun Faccio RSA

World Cup Riders Meeting in Singapore

The backdrop is breathtaking. Singapore’s towering skyscrapers, booming construction sites and the spectacular downtown Worlds largest floating platform here at Marina Bay are ready for World Cup action. Today was arrival day for our Riders from 14 countries.

This morning kicked off with the Riders Briefing by Steven Tan of the Singapore Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (SWWF)  and Des Burke-Kennedy of the International Water Ski Federation (IWSF). All then moved to the Marina Bay site right in front of the 30,000 capacity Formula 1 waterfront Grandstand. Three enormous water tanks have been constructed on the Floating Platform for the Rail Jam which will be an additional feature of the World Cup programme at Marina Bay. In that event, the Riders will be towed from tank to tank over the Obstacles by an electric winch. The spectators will be able to pack in around these tanks and in front of the Sound Stage for the first Hip Hop Party ever held on this floating structure. It can hold 9,000 people !

Elke Venken, Denise DeHaan, Shelby Kantar, Dallas Friday, Sasha Christian

Dallas Friday (USA) was the first on the water in this afternoon’s unofficial practice session. Elke Venken (BEL), Denise DeHaan (NED), Raim Merritt (USA), Shelby Kantar (USA), Rusty Malinoski (CAN), Chad Sharpe (CAN), Dan Nott (GBR), and others rode till sunset. The competition MasterCraft X2 boat was launched as the Singapore skyline lights turned tomorrow’s World Cup site into a wonderland of color. At this point, the Riders and World Cup officials were escorted to the World’s largest Ferris Wheel known here as the Singapore Flyer. Their cameras clicked non stop as they finished the 30 minute Flyer rotation. It has carried over 1,000,000 visitors in just six months.

World Cup Floating Platform centre stage in Marina Bay

Here you can see a great overview of the entire Marina Bay World Cup from the Flyer and the surrounding structures of downtown Singapore.

WAKEBOARD WORLD CUP STEPS ON TO FORMULA ONE STAGE AT SINGAPORE’S SPECTACULAR NEW MARINA BAY FLOATING STADIUM

Riders move from Egypt to Marina Bay in Singapore

From the outset, the objective of the Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup series was to bring the best athletes in the world to spectacular downtown locations for public enjoyment. This year, the Singapore Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (SWWF), will host the 24th Stop of the series. They have organized one of the most exciting and unique venues to date. It is known as the Marina Bay Floating Stadium in downtown Singapore.

The World’s first Night Formula One Grand Prix passes right through this new World Cup site in South East Asia. Singapore’s Marina Bay Floating Stadium is the World’s first and largest floating stage. The all-steel structure measures 120 metres long – almost 400ft -  with a  gallery to accommodate 30,000 spectators. It will also be the location of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Summer 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

World Champ Rider Andrew Adkison on his way to Singapore

In addition to Singapore, the 2008 Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup series includes Stops in Russia, Egypt, Malaysia and Qatar. Sanctioned by the International Water Ski Federation (IWSF), 28 Riders from 13 Countries have qualified for entry. With a cash prize fund for this Stop of US$60,000, it is the fifth time the SWWF has hosted the event.

To celebrate the arrival of this World Cup Wakeboard Stop, the action packed weekend will also include the first Hip Hop party on the water at this venue featuring the hottest DJ’s and Live Acts from seven countries, a Wakeboard / Wakeskate Rail Jam on a large man-made pool, free Banana Boat Rides, and a Photography Contest. All of this is part of Waterfest Singapore 2008. Making watersports activities part of normal family life is one of the aims of Waterfest Singapore. More information is available on www.singaporesports.sg

World Cup Star Phillip Soven to challenge Singapore Title

The 2007 World Cup Wakeboard season finished in Doha, Qatar, with the very best Wakeboard Riders taking home the coveted World Cup titles. Top of the podium then were Philip Soven (USA), Andrew Adkison (USA) and Chad Sharpe (CAN). In the women’s event it was Dallas Friday (USA), Raimi Merritt (USA) and Shelby Kantar (USA) who took the titles.

At the recent August World Cup Stop at Palm Hills Development in Egypt, the Pro Men Riders who dominated this season were the first-timer Nick Davies (GBR), the World Champion Andrew Adkison (USA) and the newcomer Harley Clifford (AUS). The top Pro Women podium in Egypt was an all American one with the youngest contender Raimi Merritt taking first place, followed by Shelby Kantar and Dallas Friday. Some serious scores have yet to be settled in Singapore. The international World Cup stars Phillip Soven (USA) and Dallas Friday (USA), did not achieve their more usual top place on the World Cup podium in Egypt and are coming back to Singapore on a mission !  Joining them will be riders from Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Italy, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Great Britain, and the USA. MasterCraft will again supply all the competition boats and technical support. It promises to be an outstanding contest at the spectacular Marina Bay Floating Stadium. Regular updates will be posted on the new World Cup Web site at waterskiandwakeboardworldcup.com

There is also a live Marina Bay Webcam at
http://www.marina-bay.sg/webcam/ESP/index.html

The Free Entry World Cup programme for the action packed weekend at the Marina Bay Floating Platform in Singapore on October 11/12th will be as follows :

Saturday October 11th
10.00hrs – 17.30hrs – Free Boat & Banana Boat Rides
14.00hrs – 17.30hrs – World Cup Wakeboard Qualifying Rounds
18.00hrs – 22.00hrs – Wakeboard/Wakeskate Rail Jam Qualifying
18.00hrs -    till late – Float Hip Hop Party

Sunday October 12th
10.00hrs – 18.00hrs – Free Boat Rides
11.00hrs – 13.00hrs – Wakeboard/Wakeskate Rail Jam Finals
14.00hrs -  17.00hrs – World Cup Wakeboard Semis & Finals

CONTACT : Des Burke-Kennedy, Media Chairman, International Waterski Federation

For Sponsorship opportunities, contact marketing@iwsf.com

Web Site : waterskiandwakeboardworldcup.com

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