AWSA IAC Seeks Officials for 2023 Events

Please see below, spread the word, and act quickly if you are interested in volunteering for any of these events:

On or after Dec. 15, 2022, the AWSA International Activities Committee (IAC) will nominate officials for the 2023 international events listed below. To be considered for any of these events, you MUST COMPLETE AND RETURN THE APPLICATION FORM USING THE LINK BELOW (EMAIL IS PREFERRED) NOT LATER THAN NOV. 3, 2022. The IAC will make its recommended nominations to the AWSA Board, who will finalize the nominations. All persons having responded to this notice will be informed of the Board’s final nominations. Note that for those events listed below as “TBD,” we will resolicit interest once the dates and/or locations have been announced.
2023 World Open Championships – TBD
2023 35 Pan Am Championships – TBD
2023 Junior U.S. Open – Maize, Kansas (June 17-18, 2023)
2023 World U25 Championships – Chapala, Mexico (June 19-25, 2023)
2023 Pan Am Games – Santiago, Chile (October 20-November 5, 2023)
Application Form
https://www.teamusa.org/-/media/USA_Waterski/Disciplines/3-Event-Water-Skiing/2023OfficialsInterestLetter.pdf?la=en&hash=046230ED055B32FAFCCAF21F4A9D357FAE35A9CC

Please email forms or the necessary information to Jeff Smith (jsmith@honigman.com) not later than Nov. 3, 2022. Receipt of all email responses will be acknowledged.

Spring Prep, AWSA Style

As Spring approaches, I thought it would be nice to put together some resources to help with your planning and preparation for the Best Water Ski Season EVER!

It’s never to early to tune up that body for water ski season. Find great information and tips on the USA Water Ski website, like THIS ONE.

Plan for some water ski coaching. Take a trip to the region’s best water ski coaching and training getaway. Corey Vaughn has created an amazing ski school at the Bum Pass Water Ski Club. Check out his blog and schedule a session HERE.
A bit further south in North Carolina you’ll find another haven for water ski coaching at Coble Water Ski Camp. April Coble and Chris Eller run a fantastic operation. More info HERE

Check HERE for tournament listings so you can plan your weekends and potential travel.  New tournaments are added all the time, so check back periodically for updates.

The Gordon Hall Celebration is set for May 22/23.  More information HERE

The Eastern Regional Tournament will be hosted by the Old Farm Skiers in Avon, CT on July 22 – 25 this year.  With the new slalom course and jump surface, they’re set to have an incredible tournament.  Make your plans now!  Site information available HERE

The Goode AWSA National Championships will be held August 8 – 14 at Waters Edge in Wilmington Ill. I hope to see many of you out there. I will be Chief Announcer at Nationals this year and I don’t want to have to make up stories about you. So PLEASE update your Bio. Fill in the login search and you can update your bio now. Do it now.

The new AWSA and IWWF Rule Books are now out.  Be sure to check them out.  Some of the rules that used to be in the AWSA book now reference the IWWF book, so if you’re an official especially, you’ll want to download and print both.  A summary of AWSA changes is available HERE

All tournament hosts, officials and coaches, please remember to update your Safe Sport Certification, HERE’s all you need to know.

Be sure to check both the AWSA East Facebook and AWSAEAST.org site for updates as well.

AWSA Eastern Region Update from the EVP

Let’s Kick-Off 2021 with a Refreshed, Renewed Spirit!

Your Eastern Region (ER) National Directors, Ralph Hall, Doug Robbins and John Wilkins along with me your EVP, all attended the AWSA Board of Directors Winter Meeting this past weekend.  Some great ideas and important decisions were made to help shape our sport and the American Water Ski Association.

AWSA Website
The Board indicated that they were in favor of the Executive Committee proposed creation of an independent website that presents AWSA, Slalom, Tricks and Jump skiing in a more accessible and attractive format.  The hope is to provide a more welcoming introduction to our sport and provide the information that our skiers are looking for.  This is not an attempt to break away from USA WSWS, but a more focused site that can include more AWSA centered information with less digging.   Jeff will request bids and hopes to use the www.skiawsa.com URL.

Continue reading

Digital Officials Forms, keep reading ….

Yippee!  Some of the key official forms (example: assistant judge, assistant scorer) can now be filled out digitally and submitted electronically.

See the attached document for instructions in how to fill out and submit.

Filling_Out_the_Judges_Scorer’s_Driver’s_Form_Online_-_Google_Docs (1)

New (Free) Jump Program Released

IWWF approved the software application “Video Tape Measure” to measure jump distances.  Video Tape Measure runs on Windows 10.  It accepts either standard definition or high definition video streams and employs the same concepts as Bob Corson’s Video Jump and Splasheye, so current jump grids can use this new program without any modification to the site.  A minimum screen resolution of 1920×1080 is required but can run on laptops with less screen resolution use it on an HDMI-attached external monitor.  Video Tape Measure includes an easy-to-use personal video recorder if a jump is missed.  One grid is displayed at a time with the ability to switch between four grid setups.  You need to furnish your own video capture device – see the discussion in the built-in manual for which capture devices work well with Video Tape Measure and which ones don’t.  Video tape Measure can be used for 3-event, barefoot, and sit ski jumping.

The program can be downloaded from the TC Resources webpage in the Slalom, Tricks, and Jump Skiing discipline on the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports website.

To download the program directly here: https://www.teamusa.org/-/media/USA_Waterski/Disciplines/3-Event-Water-Skiing/Technical-Controllers-Resources/VTMv1_0_0.zip?la=en&hash=18DE9E1F3486D9B5B9CF024915A88ED19B720DF7

Webcast of 2020 GOODE Nationals

Help make the 2020 Nationals more visible than ever. We want to share our sport with the world and let those who are unable to travel see their friends and family compete.

* two separate webcasts
* 3 cameras per lake plus
* stream to Youtube
* two announcers
* seated at the brand new announcer desk

Check out the Go Fund Me, setup by AWSA President Jeff Surdej.
Find Out More and Contribute Here

Highlight on Updates from AWSA and USA Water Ski and Wake Sports

USA-WSWS ‘Return To Play’ Announcement

The following link includes links to “Return To Play” Guidelines, FAQ’s, and AWSA Recommendations for Tournament Hosts.
Read more here

Bennett’s To Host 2020 GOODE Nationals

This past weekend, the AWSA Board voted to approve a bid from Bennett’s to host the 2020 GOODE Water Ski Nationals.
Read more here

Keep up with all of the quickly changing news and information at  usawaterski.org

AWSA UPDATE

USA Water Ski & Wake Sports, the American Water Ski Association (AWSA) and the Ski Club of the Palm Beaches announced today that the Ski Club of the Palm Beaches will not serve as the host of the 78th GOODE Water Ski National Championships, Aug. 4-8, at Okeeheelee Park in West Palm Beach, Fla., due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on South Florida. It is important to note that the Nationals event has NOT been cancelled at this time. The AWSA board of directors is actively seeking an alternate site – and alternative dates if necessary – to conduct the world’s largest three-event water ski tournament in 2020.
The South Florida counties of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach have been Florida’s hardest hit areas with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter addressed to the board of directors of AWSA, the Ski Club of the Palm Beaches said: “We agonized over our decision and this certainly was not the outcome we wanted. However, the health and safety of our competitors, officials, volunteers, and staff in these troubled times amidst the Covid-19 virus had to be our priority. We realize that the event is not until Aug. 4, but there is simply no way to tell what the accessibility status of Palm Beach County will be with this health crisis at that time. Many factors went into our decision.”

USA Water Ski & Wake Sports suspended sanctioned events due to COVID-19 on March 18. USA Water Ski & Wake Sports is planning to begin sanctioning events again starting on May 18 and is currently finalizing Return to Play Guidelines for its more than 600 affiliated water ski clubs, nine sport discipline organizations and 14,000 members. Information on all sanctioned events, including the status of AWSA regional championships, will be available at www.usawaterski.org

USA-WWF Scholarship Deadline

Collegiate skiers and parents,

The deadline is quickly approaching to apply for the 2020 USA-WWF scholarships.

Students must have their COMPLETE application submitted by March 15th, 2020 at 11:59 PM. If the application is not complete or turned in by 11:59 PM on March 15th, it will not be accepted.

USA-WWF provides scholarships to help collegiate skiers pay for their education while they are going to school and competing on their respective water ski teams.

We don’t want you to miss out on this incredible opportunity!!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR 2020 SCHOLARSHIPS