A recent article in PWI (Personal Watercraft Illustrated) points to “a bit of controversy” in Pro Freestyle at the World Finals.
Starting on page 20 you will find an article that covers the 2006 World Finals at Lake Havasu. It would appear that there was a boycott by some of the big name riders mostly in Pro Freestyle.Allthough the absence of racers like World Champion Nicholas Rius showed that racing also has some things to work out. I however will leave that to those more qualified to speak on that subject.
My background is in freestyle. More Importantly as well as being a competitor ( APBA Pro card #70914) I have been involved in producing contests both in snow skiing and then in jet skiing with the Liquid X Pro Freestyle Tour starting in 2002. From this I can tell you that keeping competitors happy in a judged contest can be very challanging.
According to PWI riders stayed away because of the new 1200cc allowance and over the 2005 World Finals when Eric Malones Killer run was brought into question over possible violations concerning Eric’s boat. I thouht it was a great step forward that PWI reconized the importance of telling the whole story instead of just feeding us the happy highlights. Kudos to Josh Burns who wrote the article. Lets face it we have all been a little guilty of not wanting to say anything bad about our sport. Sometimes it is importantfor us to aknowlage our shortcommings in order to move more positively forward.
My teammate Gary Burtka wrote and asked his friend Alexander Lenzi way he did not come. This is what he wrote back “About world finals we decided not to go this year because we want to make sure, what is going on with the rules in the future. For me it is very expensive to go to America compete, spend a lot of money and then at the last minute the rules don’t have valitity, they decide what is better for them and this is not honest! but I hope they do something good for everybody and the the jet ski sport can be bigger. I hope to compete next year”. Alexander has also competed in the X-Jet Games a tour that uses rules similar to the rules that were developed on the Liquid X Pro Freestyle Tour. Sergio Beuno producer of Fine XFT hulls and accessories has been very involved in the X-Jet Games. He tells me that the system that they use seems to be working. Sergio said “that no matter if a rider finishes first or fifteenth they are still happy”. This has helped to encourage new riders to jion in and more importantly it keeps them comming back.
As Freestyle competitors we need real rules three fourths of a page in the APBA rule book just doesn’t cut it. When I was competing USSA Freestyle ( United States Skiing Assoc.) they devoted an entire book just to freestyle and it was several pages longer than the APBA book. Don’t get me wrong I do not wish to complicate things with a ton of rules and regs. Like racing freestyle breaks down into 2 basic cattagories. Boat requirements and rider requirements.
When it comes to boat requirements it is a matter of economics. Not many can afford a carbon fibre cornflakes hull with a big bore and a titanium setback pump. Fun to watch but with competitors numbers dropping it is getting hard to call it a contest. Pro freestyle has been “Show Freestyle” for to long.We get paid to ride in shows but we PAY to compete and want a fair and even playingfield.Joe Kenny has done a good job by setting limmitations on boats for his Free Ride events. He reconized the need to attract riders not scare them away.Every competitor wants to feel that he or she has a fair chance to do well.
As for rider requirements it is tricky First we need consistant judging and judging guidlines. This way competitors can have an idea of what is required of them and what the judges are looking for. I have many ideas and know that others in the sport do too. We need to come together and start a dialog. Hmmm mabey I will call Patrick Mel of the APBA and see what he thinks. You should too.
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