Nautique Masters, Junior Masters Set For This Weekend

The 61st Nautique Masters Water Ski & Wakeboard Tournament, presented by GM Marine Engine Technology, and 28th Nautique Junior Masters will take place this weekend at Callaway Gardens’ Robin Lake in Pine Mountain, Ga. The Nautique Junior Masters will take place Friday, and the Nautique Masters will be held Saturday and Sunday. All of the action will be available via a live webcast Friday through Sunday.

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 Nautique Masters Qualifying Series was comprised of three qualifying events that was 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 were available through the qualifying series. The spots available were for those not already qualified. Once a skier was qualified, said skier could compete in qualifying events, but would not prevent, or block, new skiers from qualifying.

In addition, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee has designated the 2021 Nautique Masters as its Operation Gold event for 2021. U.S. water ski athletes competing in slalom, tricks and jump will earn additional cash-prize funds by finishing among the top-four placements.

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 (Not competing in 2021 due to injury)
• Men’s Trick: Patricio Font
• Women’s Trick: Erika Lang
• Men’s Jump: Ryan Dodd (Not competing in 2021 due to injury)
• Women’s Jump: Jacinta Carroll (Not competing in 2021 due to travel restrictions)

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; Not competing due to injury), Hanna Straltsova (Belarus), Taryn Grant (Canada); and Men’s Jumping: Joel Poland (Great Britain), Felipe Miranda (Chile), Taylor Garcia (USA). 

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. Masters qualifiers from this event were the following. Women’s Slalom: Jaimee Bull (Canada), Manon Costard (France), Allie Nicholson (USA); Men’s Slalom: Dane Mechler (USA), Robert Pigozzi (Dominican Republic), Robert Hazelwood (Great Britain); Women’s Tricks: Paige Rini (Canada), Brooke Baldwin (USA), Hanna Straltsova (Belarus); Men’s Tricks: Aliaksei Zharnasek (Belarus), Joel Poland (Great Britain), Martin Kolman (Czech Republic); Women’s Jumping: Giannina Bonnemann (Germany), Lauren Morgan (USA), Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya (Belarus); and Men’s Jumping: Freddy Krueger (USA), Dorien Llewellyn (Canada), Jack Critchley (Great Britain).

4. The top two finishers with the single highest score of multi-round Qualifying Event #3, May 21-23, 2021, at Jack Travers’ International Tournament Skiing and Sunset Lakes in Groveland, Fla. Masters qualifiers from this event were the following. Women’s Slalom: Brooke Baldwin (USA), Brie Carter (USA); Men’s Slalom: Sean Hunter (USA), Cole McCormick (Canada); Women’s Tricks: Valentina Gonzalez (Chile), Alice Bagnoli (Italy); Men’s Tricks: Edoardo Marenzi (Italy), Thibaut Dailland (France); Women’s Jumping: Brittany Greenwood (USA), Dominique Grondin Allard (Canada); and Men’s Jumping: Rodrigo Miranda (Chile), Louis Duplan-Fribourg (France).

Results from the three qualifying events can be found here.

For additional information on the 2021 Nautique Masters, presented by GM Marine Engine Technology, including the live webcast, schedule of events and field of competitors for the Nautique Junior Masters, visit www.masterswaterski.com.