7 U.S. Athletes Qualify For Nautique Masters At Qualifier #1

U.S. athlete Jon Travers qualified in men's slalom.

Seven U.S. water ski athletes punched their tickets to the 2021 Nautique Masters, presented by GM Marine Engine Technology, this past weekend at Event #1 of the 2021 Nautique Masters Qualifying Series at Pickos’ Ski School in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. 

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 international world of water skiing had drastic competitive inconsistencies. Athletes from many countries could not travel, could not compete and had no opportunity to post scores in the 2020 season. Therefore, the Nautique Boat Company announced new criteria for the 2021 Nautique Masters Water Ski & Wakeboard Tournament®, presented by GM Marine Engine Technology, to be utilized for one year only. The 2021 Nautique Masters will be held May 28-30 at Callaway Gardens’ Robin Lake in Pine Mountain, Ga.

The Nautique Masters Qualifying Series is comprised of three qualifying events that will be used to fill the 2021 Masters pro field. The tournament will be taking a maximum of nine competitors in each discipline. The 2019 defending event champions are automatically invited to the 2021 Masters. Therefore, eight spots will be available through the qualifying series. The spots available are for those not already qualified. Once a skier is qualified, said skier may compete in qualifying events, but will not prevent, or block, new skiers from qualifying.

2021 CRITERIA:
1. Defending Open Men and Women Champions of the 2019 Masters in slalom, tricks and jump.
• Men’s Slalom: Freddie Winter
• Women’s Slalom: Regina Jaquess
• Men’s Trick: Patricio Font
• Women’s Trick: Erika Lang
• Men’s Jump: Ryan Dodd
• Women’s Jump: Jacinta Carroll

2. The top three finishers with the single highest score of multi-round Qualifying Event #1 in Open Men and Women’s slalom, trick and jump held May 7-9, 2021 at Pickos’ Ski School in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. Masters qualifiers from this event were the following. Women’s Slalom: Venessa Vieke (Australia), Chelsea Mills (USA), Whitney McClintock (Canada); Men’s Slalom: Nate Smith (USA), Jon Travers (USA), Will Asher (Great Britain); Women’s Tricks: Anna Gay (USA), Neilly Ross (Canada), Giannina Bonnemann (Germany); Men’s Tricks: Dorien Llewellyn (Canada), Louis Duplan-Fribourg (France), Adam Pickos (USA); Women’s Jumping: Regina Jaquess (USA), Hanna Straltsova (Belarus), Taryn Grant (Canada); and Men’s Jumping: Joel Poland (Great Britain), Felipe Miranda (Chile), Taylor Garcia (USA). Scoring From Qualifying Series Event #1

3. The top three finishers with the single highest score of multi-round Qualifying Event #2 in Open Men and Women’s slalom, trick and jump held May 14-16, 2021 at Isles of Lake Hancock, Drew Ross Ski Academy, in Winter Garden, Fla.

4. The top two finishers with the single highest score of multi-round Qualifying Event #3 held May 21-23, 2021 at Jack Travers’ International Tournament Skiing in Groveland, Fla.

**In order to be eligible to compete at a qualifying event tournament, skiers must provide proof of the following minimum scores achieved at a Class R or L tournament in the 2019 or 2020 tournament ski seasons. Proof of performance must be submitted to the qualifying series tournament director with registration. 

• Open Men’s Slalom: 6 @ 10.75 meters
• Open Women’s Slalom: 3 @ 11.25 meters
• Open Men’s Trick: 9,900 points
• Open Women’s Trick: 6,600 points
• Open Men’s Jump: 61.0 meters
• Open Women’s Jump: 43.0 meters

For additional information on the 2021 Nautique Masters, presented by GM Marine Engine Technology, visit www.masterswaterski.com.