The fourth annual SportsInsurance.com Queen’s Cup is just around the corner, and with it comes skiers from across the country and beyond for the opportunity to ski on a world record lake for big scores, cash, prizes. And more.

The Queen’s Cup women’s slalom event, with a purse exceeding $10,000 in cash and prizes, is scheduled Sept. 21-22 at Little Mountain Lakes near Charlotte, N.C. The event is presented by SportsInsurance.com and area Nautique dealer Race City Marine of Mooresville, N.C.

Numerous other sponsors jump into the mix and treat the ladies competing like royalty.

Trish Burt of Florida is among those who have felt the love. She’ll be making her fourth trip to the event, which is for women ages 30 and older, of all skill levels.

“This event creates so much excitement,” Burt said, “not just to compete as a water skier, but to come together with so many passionate, personally and professionally successful, and ultimately amazing women from all over North America.”

From the friendly, supportive atmosphere at the starting dock to the motivational Saturday night banquet, the Queen’s Cup is a unique event.

“The word camaraderie easily gets thrown into a comment like this,” Burt said. “We read it and think it's ‘neat.’ Camaraderie. Yes! But the gift of experiencing genuine camaraderie is beyond description. Finding a group of individuals who truly get you is perfect.”

The event is designed to parallel the men's Nautique Big Dawg World Tour and to give women the opportunity to take center stage at an elite event on a renowned lake. Little Mountain Lake is the site of numerous national and world records.

Regional, national and world champions are among the skiers entered, with some 15 national champions on the running order.

The event is open to any level, from first tournament to skiers in their 70s. Among those skiing this year are Hall of Famer Jennifer Leachman LaPoint of Florida and perennial national champion and record-setter Joy Kelley of Tennessee.

Skiers from throughout the United States as well as Europe, Australia and Canada competed in the first three Queen's Cups. The top 16 skiers after two rounds of Saturday qualifying advance to Sunday's head-to-head finals. Those outside the top 16 get a third round of skiing Sunday morning.

Cash and prizes are awarded to the top three skiers who most exceed their average scores Saturday, based on a handicap system, regardless of whether they advance to the Sweet 16, thus giving skiers of all levels multiple ways to win cash and prizes.

The most unique aspect of the Queen's Cup is parity. All ages compete on equal footing, as boat speeds are taken out of the equation. For example, women whose maximum boat speed is 30 or 32 mph get the same buoy scores as those whose top speed is 34. A 28-off pass -- or any other -- counts the same at any boat speed.

That format propelled Kelley, 58 years old at the time, into the head-to-head final against 34-year-old Josefin Hirst at the inaugural Queen's Cup in 2016. Kelley's top boat speed was 32; Hirst's was 34. Kelley defeated 34-mph skiers Brenda Baldwin and Chelsea Mills in the rounds of 8 and 4, before falling to Hirst in the final. Australian Vennesa Vieke, who trains and lives in Florida, won the 2017 crown, and tournament host skier Mills won in 2018.

The 2019 Queen’s Cup title is up for grabs. To enter, go to usawaterski.org for tournament information.

For sponsorship opportunities and other information on the Queen’s Cup, contact tournament director Jeff Gilbert at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

-- Marjo Rankin

The fourth annual SportsInsurance.com Queen's Cup is set for Sept. 21-22 at Little Mountain Lakes near Charlotte, N.C., returning with its unique slalom format and created to provide women the opportunity to compete for cash and prizes at a world record site.

The Queen’s Cup, with a purse exceeding $10,000 in cash and prizes, is presented by SportsInsurance.com and area Nautique dealer Race City Marine of Mooresville, N.C. The event is designed to parallel the men's Nautique Big Dawg World Tour and to give women the opportunity to take center stage at an elite event. Little Mountain Lake is the site of numerous national and world records.

Regional, national and world champions are among the skiers entered, with some 15 national champions on the running order. The event is open to any level, from first tournament to skiers in their 70s. Among those skiing this year are Hall of Famer Jennifer Leachman LaPoint of Florida and perennial national champion Joy Kelley of Tennessee. Other former or current national champions entered include Gail Case of North Carolina and Trish Burt of Florida.

Skiers ages 30 and older from throughout the United States as well as Europe, Australia and Canada competed in the first three Queen's Cups. The top 16 after two rounds of Saturday qualifying advance to Sunday's head-to-head finals. Those outside the top 16 get a third round of skiing Sunday morning.

Cash and prizes are awarded to the top three skiers who most exceed their average scores Saturday, based on a handicap system, regardless of whether they advance to the Sweet 16, thus giving skiers of all levels multiple ways to win cash and prizes.

The most unique aspect of the Queen's Cup is parity. All ages compete on equal footing, as boat speeds are taken out of the equation. For example, women whose maximum boat speed is 30 or 32 mph get the same buoy scores as those whose top speed is 34. A 28-off pass -- or any other -- counts the same at any boat speed.

That format propelled Kelley, 58 years old at the time, into the head-to-head final against 34-year-old Josefin Hirst at the inaugural Queen's Cup in 2016. Kelley's top boat speed was 32; Hirst's was 34. Kelley defeated 34-mph skiers Brenda Baldwin and Chelsea Mills in the rounds of 8 and 4, before falling to Hirst in the final.

Australian Vennesa Vieke, who trains and lives in Florida, won the 2017 crown, and tournament host skier Mills won in 2018.

To enter, go to usawaterski.org for tournament information. For sponsorship opportunities and other information on the Queen’s Cup, contact tournament director Jeff Gilbert at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Eddie Roberts has played a pivotal role in the progression of waterskiing through his work at both HO Sports and Radar Waterskis. As Herb O'Brien's right-hand man Eddie was a sponge as he learned from the master. This allowed him to become a product manager for the waterski division where he would oversee production and manage R&D for waterski design. Eddie has been at the forefront of innovation as he implemented new processes and constructions into manufacturing. Eddie has also helped shape tournament skiing in the PNW as a pioneer for early events and lakes that have come to fruition. We couldn’t be more stoked for Eddie as he’s being awarded the Award of Distinction for all his accomplishments.

9th September 2019

For Immediate Release

IWWF Notable Changes, A New Dawn has Arrived

IWWF President, Jose Antonio Perez Priego

In conjunction with 2019 IWWF World Waterski Championships in Putrajaya Malaysia the International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (IWWF), the world governing body for towed water sports, celebrated its Biennial Congress encompassing more than 39 national federations present at the meeting.

Leading up to the congress, the IWWF Bureau and Executive Board met to discuss the future of the sport and upcoming challenges both short and long term. President Jose Antonio Perez Priego (MEX) presented a diagnostic of the current situation and proposed an “athlete centric” strategy to propel future growth and sustainability of the sport. Several actions were presented to these bodies and a clear mandate emerged from the constituency, “move forward with the plans”

Key strategies, both new and in progress, are:

1. Development and deployment of an Event Management System (EMS) to provide athletes, officials, event organizers, media and sponsors a single point of contact with the IWWF. Once deployed athletes of all sports disciplines will be able to create their own profile, register themselves to compete in events, consult their rankings, etc. Event organizers will be able to create events, populate them, score and publish results. It will become easier and transparent for relevant stakeholders to track Anti-Doping and Safe Sport violations. Media and Sponsors will be able to find out about records, past and upcoming participation of athletes and consult public profiles and a media bank. Jose Antonio Perez Priego stated “we are very excited to be in the final stages of this multi-layer project which should be rolled out by year end”
2. Creation of an international IWWF Licence for athletes who participate worldwide in IWWF sanctioned and ranked events in all disciplines. IWWF will rollout in conjunction with its EMS an international licence to identify its ranked members and provide cost saving opportunities by partnering with major corporations which cater to our athletes such as car rental companies, hotels and airlines thus offering our athletes savings opportunities at a modest annual registration cost.
3. One of our sport’s biggest challenges across all disciplines is finding the right organizers/partners to run IWWF world titled events. Due to our sanction fee and related organizing costs in the past, some sites with inappropriate conditions were chosen because the organizer could afford to paythe sanctioning fee. ‘No more” said President Perez Priego during congress. Going forward “adequate and safe Field of Play for our athletes will be paramount in our decision to awarding IWWF world titled events to venues”. IWWF is departing from its current financing model in favor of a new one based on less risk for the local organizers and complete control by IWWF on how to run World Titled events. This means reduced sanction fees, a shared risk/reward financial model for both LOC and IWWF more global sponsorship opportunities for advertisers and a consistent ‘Look and Feel’ at all IWWF events.
4. Morphing of the current IWWF World Cup series into a professional circuit of pre-established events worldwide with a fixed calendar and a uniform distribution platform that will allow professional athletes to compete for prize money and offer amazing sponsorship opportunities for visionary companies that want to be associated with one of the most exiting sports on the water, featuring its lifestyle and athletic ability. This tour will be comprised of current major existing waterski and other disciplines and will allow for new events to join the circuit on a continuous or sporadic base.

   Read more: IWWF Notable Changes, A New Dawn Has Arrived

Malibu Boats and WaterSki Events LLC is excited to announce the 2019 Malibu Open Professional Waterski event held at Trophy Lakes on John’s Island, September 13th and 14th, 2019. The event will feature the worlds best men’s and women’s professional water skiers. These athletes will compete for more than $70,000 in prize money in the slalom and jump events. The event will conclude with an exciting men’s night jump finals on Saturday, September 14, 2019. Come out and watch these jumpers travel in excess of 220 feet in the dark. The Malibu Open End of Summer festival will be held in conjunction with the Charleston Water Week. Enjoy the skiing along with live music from Charleston’s hottest bands throughout the event.

https://www.malibuopenfestival.com/

The Horton family and the water ski community lost a pioneer, a friend, an amazing father and an incredible grandpa today.

Rest in peace Jack Horton. With love, your family.

Below is a small excerpt on Jack Horton’s influence on our sport, written by his granddaughter.

A desert oasis, built by the brute of bare hands that were often marked by hard-earned callouses, the telltale sign of an athlete…a die-hard, dedicated athlete…a waterskier.

Horton Lakes was built in the 1960’s. From the moment the first pile of Mohave desert sand was shoveled and the banks were leveled smooth, a family history was born. But, it wasn’t until the two islands at either end of the lake were resurrected from the ground that a global legacy caught fire. If you haven’t heard of the Horton name, are you truly a water skier?

Jack’s cutting-edge design, constructed with wind-breaker tree lines and roller diminishing turn islands, is the reason why we can religiously wake up at the crack of noon and still be welcomed by a butter-smooth lake. In fact, this blueprint is one of the many contributions he made over his lifetime to our beloved sport and one of the reasons why he holds a spot in the Water Ski Hall of Fame.

At his little diamond in the desert, Jack opened his doors to anyone who was crazy enough to strap on one of his old pairs of Connelly combo skis (tied together by a faded, frayed rope mind you) and hang on to the paint-chipped white boom as he sat behind the wheel outfitted with an ear-to-ear grin and a straw hat brimming his face.

When Jack wasn’t tirelessly piloting his Ski Nautique, he was sitting in the coach’s seat, his sharp eye watching every buoy turn or edge to the wake, each set never complete without his most famous tip - keep your lead shoulder up!

Horton Lakes served as the catalyst for many skiers’ accomplishments. Whether it was opening his site as a training ground for the Masters or creating unforgettable summers for staff, Jack and his passionate love for life on the water impacted many and left an indelible mark on the sport.

Jack was a legend, a family man, a passionate water skier, and the best grandfather a family could have asked for. He will be dearly missed.

Building on the DNA of the 2019 GT-R, our 2020 flagship ski boasts epic efficiency, maneuverability and acceleration throughout the course. However, a lot of ski companies claim speed, control, and stability —   promising effortless, polished passes. With today’s advanced technology, there’s no doubt that each brand delivers on their pledge. But in an era with so much talent and battles to the last buoy, it’s about the ski's performance at your last pass. 

Let me start off by saying that I have been a waterskier and a fan of waterskiing literally for all of my life. Even though I became a wakeboarder, I feel my induction to the Waterski Hall of Fame this past April was because of my Overall  love, passion, and dedication for all aspect of water sports. Even though I may not ski as much now, I still watch the live webcast from Masters and Moomba every year, and love to talk sking anytime I’m around my old three event friends. 

I am always thinking ways I can possibly make Wakeboarding better or different and I have been thinking about slalom and talked with many skiers over the past year. Now, let me add, one of the coolest things about waterskiing is that they protect and keep the past relevant by keeping rules and variables the same through the years to protect past champions. With that said, this idea I’m thinking of would not change any records from the past. In my mind, this will just allow skiers more strategy to get the score they need. 

Symmetrical Slalom Course. 
The skier has the option to go through the gates in either direction, for choice of an onside one ball or for an offside one ball. It’s undeniable in slalom, you have a good side and a bad side. That’s just the way it is when you have a sport with a left or right foot forward stance. I’ve talked to skiers and they’d roughly say that 80% of professional men’s slalom events are decided between 2-4 buoys at 41 Off. I feel having a symmetrical course will give the skier the option to strategize the conditions for the score needed and very very critical moments at slalom tournaments. 

Traditionally thinking, I know this sounds crazy, going through the course the other way. But if ya think about it, really on any ski  level, not just professionals, this can help. When you only need 3 or so buoys on a run you often have trouble with  having 2 out of 3 on your good side as opposed to bad side, that could possibly be the difference between a podium or not. Maybe some people would never try it, just  because of what they are used to, and that’s ok. But for people getting into the sport or kids learning, It would be amazing if they only knew a slalom course as a symmetrical course. I think announcing events having this course will be easier and more compelling as they are explaining to the crowd why the skier is opting to run the course this way. Is it cause of bounce back rollers on 2 and 4. That their avoiding an offside?  Is it the 15 mph cross wind why they opted to go the other way @ 39 1/2. It will really add a level of strategy to the sport or than just opting up a run due to head and tail winds. There will be many variables why I feel skiers would sometimes (maybe not always) but sometimes would want to go the other way. Conditions depending. 

All in all I feel this could be a great addition to competitive slalom skiing, while still protecting all the old records from years past. Give it a thought, I’d love to hear what everyone thinks about it. I’m sure this is not the first time someone had this idea. But I think it would be cool to watch as a spectator and a fan of waterskiing! Thanks everyone for the time. Ttys

-Parks Bonifay : : : : : :