Canada, USA and Mexico post spectacular tricks scores on first day of IWWF U21 Waterski World Championships In Dnipro, Ukraine

This was the first day of the IWWF U21 WATERSKI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS at the magnificent Sentosa Waterski Club site in Dnipro. With 85 athletes from 22 countries taking part in the Opening Ceremony, the Athletes Oath was taken by Ukrainian Skier Prosvietova Stanislava. Kuno Ritschard, IWWF President, joined site owner Alexey Martynov and City Vice Mayor Oleksandr Sanzhara at the athletes parade against the city’s historic backdrop.

With three more days of competition yet ahead, already today’s Preliminary Round Trick scores were sensational. Three athletes broke the 10,000 point barrier – two women and one man. Considering their very young ages, all three will qualify for U21 events for another four years!

As anticipated, the continuing battle for Tricks supremacy in Series 1 between Nautique sponsored seventeen year-old Anna Gay (USA) and 16 year-old Neilly Ross (CAN), got off to a fascinating start. As the holder of the World Open Tricks record of 10,610 points, Gay also has Junior Worlds, Moomba Masters and Nautique Masters titles in her collection. Her score today of 10,440 points was just 170 points short of the World Record. Ross, 2017 Nautique Masters champion and 2016 Jr Masters champion, was the youngest ever to make it to an Open IWWF World Championships at the age of twelve in 2013. She again rose to the occasion today with just 90 points less than Gay at 10,350 points. While these scores were preliminary ones as we go to print, Sunday’s Tricks Finals may yet see a new World Record !

The third athlete to break 10,000 Tricks points today was in the Men’s Series 1 group, Mexico’s Patricio Font. As the 2016 Junior IWWF World Tricks champion, this 15 year-old athlete had a great battle against Ukraine’s own Danylo Filchenko with just 210 points behind Font’s 10,010 points. Again this will ensure a very exciting Sunday Tricks Finals.