ATHLETES ARRIVING AND SITE PREPARATIONS ARE ALMOST DONE   Jumpers Jason Seels and Damien Sharman first to arrive at Liuzhou First impressions – this is going to be a very very special World Cup Stop !  The site is spectacular – riverfront surrounded by green hills with Pagodas on top plus Asia’s largest underwater fountain beneath the water surface between the World Cup Jump Ramp and the spectators. A massive red carpeted Stage with a huge sound and lighting system have been prepared for tomorrow night’s Opening Ceremony. Grandstands, lighting systems, flags, and hundreds of blue shirted volunteers will all converge here at 20.00hrs tomorrow, Thursday, to greet our World Cup Waterski and Wakeboard athletes Jason Seels GBR and Damien Sharman GBR are...

WATERSKI & WAKEBOARD ATHLETES ARRIVE IN LIUZHOU TO SUPPORT PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA’S 60th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS  With 53 of the highest ranked Waterski and Wakeboard athletes in the world arriving in Liuzhou in Central-Southwest China from 17 countries to help celebrate the Nation’s  60th Anniversary Celebrations, media interest has been intensive from the moment they arrived. To date, the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) has completed 27 World Cup Stops with two more yet to come in 2009.  Large numbers of spectators are expected to attend this 28th Stop of the Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup Series. It will be staged on the City’s very attractive downtown winding Liu River with its impressive skyline...

LIUZHOU IS CERTAIN TO SEE A BATTLE OF THE WORLD CUP GIANTS In the coming 10 days, we will see the very best of both Wakeboard and Waterski Jump capture the imagination of the huge crowds anticipated in Liuzhou City in South West China. Predictions are almost impossibe at this stage. It is a first time visit to this spectacular downtown Liu River site. It will be our first 2009 World Cup Stop for our Riders following a hectic 2008 World Cup season for them. For our Jumpers, all we can do is look back at our Dubna Russia World Cup Stop earlier this summer and guess what might happen Ryan Dodd takes the Dubna Russia World Cup Stop title In Dubna Russia, with almost 30,000 enthusiastic World Cup fans, Ryan Dodd CAN and June Fladborg DEN stole the show. Ryan jumped 67.1m to take the title...

OVER 30 VIDEOS – DON’T MISS THIS – TAKE A LOOK AT OUR OWN WORLD CUP TV CHANNEL RIGHT NOW – ON YouTube WORLD CUP TV - 31 Video Clips now on our YouTube TV Channel We are now just days away from our World Cup Stop in Liuzhou in South-West China. THIS WILL BE OUR 28th WORLD CUP STOP ! Each World Cup Stop is featured in TV News Edits plus a special 26 minute TV World Cup Show. Although these are distributed to over 500 million viewers, no everybody gets a chance to enjoy the action and share in the adventure. We have now solved this challenge !  We have launched our very own YouTube TV Channel – dedicated solely to World Cup action. This is available to you 24/7 - http://www.youtube.com/iwsfworldcup At this stage, we already have 31 World Cup Videos for...

KUNO RITSCHARD ANNOUNCES MAJOR FIVE YEAR WORLD CUP AGREEMENT Finding both new suitable World Cup sites and capable World Cup hosts and sponsors is not an easy task. This is why our IWWF President, Kuno Ritschard, does not get home to Switzerland as often as he might like !  Long hours in the air are however paying off for the World Cup and its future. Liuzhou City offers a spectacular World Cup stage ! When both a good site and suitable partners are located, it is a time to celebrate. This is why the World Cup Team are delighted to announce the new FIVE year World Cup agreement with the Liuzhou Municipal Government to bring the World Cup series to the South-West region of China. Working with the Water Sports Administration of China, Chinese Waterski Association and Liuzhou Sports...

BRANDING IS VITAL TO BOTH THE WORLD CUP AND MasterCraft Strong World Cup Podium Branding is vital to all our Hosts and Sponsors We all know how important well managed branding is to major Corporations. Just take a look at the clean lines and colour of CocaCola, Mercedes, BMW, Apple Mac and others. The management of our own World Cup brand is really no different. Earlier this month, there was an important World Cup planning meeting in London. There to work out the challenges were Kuno Ritschard and Des Burke-Kennedy of the IWWF World Cup Team – and Ian Birdsall and Will Furze of the MasterCraft Team.  For both organisations, strong branding is vital. One of the actions agreed was to take a much closer look at how we brand our World Cup podiums at the various Stops around the...

LIUZHOU CITY SIGNS FIVE YEAR AGREEMENT WITH IWWF With 53 of the highest ranked Waterski and Wakeboard athletes in the world arriving in Liuzhou in Central-Southwest China in the coming days from 17 countries to help celebrate the Nation’s  60th Anniversary Celebrations, media interest will be intensive from the moment they arrive. To date, the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) has completed 27 World Cup Stops with two more yet to come in 2009.  Large numbers of spectators are expected to attend this 28th Stop of the Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup Series. It will be staged on the City’s very attractive downtown winding Liu River with its impressive skyline creating a perfect backdrop. Water Sports Administration of China, Chinese Waterski Association, Liuzhou...

World Cup Stars head For Spectacular South West China To mark the 60th Anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China at the International Aquatic Carnival in the City of Liuzhou, the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) will present the next Stop of the successful World Cup series in a truly spectacular location. This will all take place over the coming October 1st / 3rd weekend. Liuzhou Prefecture is the industrial centre of Guangxi Province located on the banks of the winding Liu River in Central-Southwest China. It is 727km west of Hong Kong. With a history of over 2,000 years development, the City is now a base for three of China’s top vehicle manufacturers. It is also a centre for steel production, heavy engineering, forestry, sugar cane, silk and fruit. Surrounded...

INJURIES FOR SOME WORLD CUP STARS – LATEST UPDATES Since our last Waterski World Cup Stop in Dubna, Russia, a great deal has happened in the lives of our athletes. As is often the case in major international competition, injuries are part of the mix no matter how good the preparations. As we now approach our next World Cup Stop in Liuzhou, China on October 1/3, some will have to miss this next World Cup adventure. Narie Vympranietsova and Ageliki Andriopoulou with Akeliki's mother Cristiana in Calgary The current two-time Ladies World Jump Champion, Ageliki Andriopoulou GRE, has had an ongoing knee problem for some time which came to a head after the 2009 Calgary World Championships. The good news is that she has already had successful surgery and expects to be back to full...