The Radar Nation Tour is a multi-stop demo series allowing local skiers to have a fun day with fellow swervers and try new Radar gear in the process. We’d love to welcome you to the Radar Nation with open arms, so whether you want to come out and demo the latest Radar Skis or you already ride a Radar and just want to come hang out and ski we’d love to have you. We’ll even have a beautiful new MasterCraft ProStar to rip behind. This completely free day is full of rad times and shredding, sign up today at radarskis.com/
It is with a heavy heart that GOODE Skis announces the passing of its founder and president, Dave Goode.
Dave, 64, died Wednesday while taking part in one of his many passions, piloting his airplane.
Through his numerous technological advancements in both water skiing and snow skiing, and financial support of countless events and athletes in both sports, Dave touched the lives of thousands of people by helping them, and the sports they love, push the limits of performance.
A 2014 USA Water Ski Hall of Fame Award of Distinction recipient and member of the Michigan Water Ski Hall of Fame, Dave was an accomplished international competitor in both sports, recently winning the downhill event at the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Masters National Speed Series and earning a bronze medal in trick skiing at the Pan American Senior Water Ski Championships.
Dave leaves behind his beloved wife Dawn, parents Paul and Mimi, children Michael Goode, Lisa Goode McHugh (John), Whitney Hebard Felkl (Hans), Gregory Hebard (Adrianna), and granddaughters Maple Julia McHugh and Sunny Elizabeth Hebard.
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 Click anywhere on the above graphics for the 2020 NYD GIVEAWAY and 2019 CHRISTMAS SALE |
| A sincere THANK YOU for supporting SIA in 2019, and we look forward to serving you in 2020! MERRY CHRISTMAS, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year! LarryG@SIA |
We are saddened to share the news of Eddie Roberts passing this morning (Nov 28, 2019). He always lived life to the fullest and for that we can be thankful. Eddie played an integral part in the development of waterskiing but more than that had the biggest heart and love for people. Anyone that knew Eddie had a story that would make you cry laughing and the love the Eddie shared for his family was the greatest of all. We know Eddie is in a better place and we’re thankful for all the time we got with him.
Brooks Wilson
The biggest technological leap forward water skiing has seen since the introduction of carbon fiber skis is now featured in two of the most legendary skis ever made.
GOODE’s revolutionary Carbon Core is the centerpiece of two new-for 2020 ski models: the XTRcc and the 9970cc.
The innovative Carbon Core drastically increases durability while giving it enhanced performance characteristics that can best be described as “supercharged.” The softer flex made possible by the ultra-strong core combines effortless, symmetrical turns with quicker rebound that leads to increased side-to-side speed. And the thinner profile allows the ski to ride slightly deeper in the water, creating a stable, predictable ride throughout the course.
“The ski seems to settle in, drop in and it’s fast out of the buoy so it kinda combines both worlds,” says Dave Miller. “Fast, easy yet very connected to the water and stable.”
“The carbon core ski is amazing,” adds Chet Raley. “For my money the carbon core ski is a winner in every way.”
The XTRcc and 9970cc join the first carbon-core ski in GOODE’s lineup – the ReVOcc – which was released at the 77th GOODE U.S. Water Ski National Championships last August.
“After seeing how the Carbon Core performed in the ReVOcc, we knew we were really on to something that was going to move this sport forward and help skiers get more buoys,” said Dave Goode, president and founder of GOODE Skis. “This new core technology takes skis that were already very, very good to a whole new level.”
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:
- 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”
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
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 : : : : : :
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Breaking News by Ellie Rae Horton
Ellie Horton is three event and third generation competitive water skier. She grew up skiing at Horton Lakes, which was built by her grandfather Dr Jack Horton, and began competing when she was ten years old.
Currently, Ellie is a second year student at Florida Southern College. She is studying journalism and skis on scholarship for the FSC water ski team. is ranked 3rd overall in the nation, 9th in the U21 overall world standings, and has her open women’s rating in overall.
She is a member of the D3 water skis Factory Team and is sponsored by CAMARO wetsuits and NewCity Clothing.
Her recent successes have included winning Division I women’s tricks at the 2013 collegiate nationals as well as taking the tricks and overall title at the U21 2014 Pan Am Championships.
