ON ST. PATRICKS’S DAY

Freddy at 120kph heads for Mandurah !

The EYRES Action Sports Games, scheduled for March 16/18 in Mandurah, promises to be one of the most exciting World Cup challenges for some time. Apart from the anticipated 100,000 spectators on site, this 33^rd Stop of the Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup series has already received confirmed entries from every relevant current World Champion and World Record holder in Waterski Jump and Shortboard and also in Wakeboard. Add to this the 3,000 hours of annual sunshine of Mandurah, and we now have the perfect combination to guarantee outstanding performances and great memories.

In Wakeboard, Ireland’s David O’Caoimh will share the World Cup challenge with World

David O'Caoimh ready for World Cup No.33

Champions Harley Clifford AUS and Raimi Merrit USA. As we know, David just brought home his Jr GOLD Medal from the Europe Africa Wakeboard Championships yesterday and is really looking forward to the battles of the giants. Harley and Raimi must be hot favorites to dominate but it will not be easy for them. They earned those World Champion titles in Italy last Summer. They were also elected 2011 Riders of the Year by the IWWF. Both won the World Cup Stop in Sarawak, Malaysia last season. Clifford added to this the Wakeboard World Cup title in Linyi, China, in September. As this Mandurah Stop will be the first major event of 2012 for these World Cup Wakeboard champions, all eyes will be on Australia’s Amber Wing as the challenger. She took the World Cup title in Linyi, China, ahead of Raimi Merrit, and will push hard to show her home spectators who is the champion ! Past World Wakeboard Champion Andrew Adkison USA, who is always a serious contender, will be in Mandurah to challenge Harley Clifford’s dominance. Will we have two Oz Champions this time around ?  It might just happen.

With two Waterski events included, Jump and Shortboard, again the world’s best athletes are already on this high quality entry list. Both current World Jump champions, Freddy Krueger USA and Natalia Berdnikova BLR, will test the Jump Ramp at speeds exceeding

Natalia Berdnikova will push for Tricks title

100kph. Krueger and Berdnikova also happen to be the holders of the current World Jump Records. As ever, there will be very strong competition. Krueger has had an outstanding career to date. Last season alone he had 10 podium successes, including 7 gold medal awards. He broke the World Jump Record seven times since 1999. Berdnikova is also on a roll. Although her new World Jump Record set last October was her first in the Jump discipline, she also set an Overall World Record. She has so far broken the Shortboard World Record three times. Snapping at her heels in Jump in Mandurah will be Australia’s young sensation Jacinta Carroll from Geelong and Denmark’s star Maj Lund Jepsen. This will be another spectacular battle in the EYRES Action Sports Games.   Finally, the

Jacinta Carroll AUS will be local favorite

Shortboard event will certainly be a thriller. Here we will have current World Champion and World Record holder Aliaksei Zharnasek BLR and again World Champion Natalia Berdnikova BLR. Zharnasek set the new World Record last April at 12,570 points and is in top form. He took the Record from Nicolas LeForestier FRA who is pushing hard to recover from injury in time for Mandurah but might not make it. Berdnikova will be even more focused than ever as she lost the World Shortboard Record to Clementine Lucine FRA just five months ago. She will be totally committed to getting it back again. Bring your cameras to this World Cup stop and you will certainly capture some very special moments.

This 33^rd World Cup Stop will be the first for Mandurah in launching its four-year agreement with the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation. Eventscorp, the events division of Tourism Western Australia, has the full support of Tourism Minister Kim Hames and the Minister for Regional Development, Brendon Grylls, in the staging of this World Cup Stop. MasterCraft will again be the Official Boat Sponsors and they too will celebrate their 33^rd time in doing this ! The EYRES Action Sports Games will also feature BMX, Skateboarding and Freestyle Motocross, with a shootout between Australia and New Zealand.

The World Cup Timetable for the weekend of March 16/18 will be circulated shortly, together with the Webcast arrangements for our global World Cup fans.   For those seeking Media Accreditation, please see the attached applications form.   END

PRESS A BUTTON & SPREAD THE NEWS

As our regular Website visitors will have seen recently, each of our regular NEWS items now has a set of Social Media buttons below the text. A simple CLICK on these sends that NEWS item of your choice straight to your own FaceBook page, Twitter, etc. In other words, this helps us to spread the details very quickly – via a simple CLICK on your part.

Does this work ? In other words, are more and more friends enticed to check out our Website having seen your FB and Twitter button action ?

The answer is YES.  Since January 20th / one month ago, a typical day saw 103 unique visitors on our pages. We invested in Social Media Integration then to turn this into a much more impressive number of fans. After all, the NEWS content upload is the hard part – but it is only worth while if it is seen and if others know where to see it. Compared with the old average of 103 unique visitors per day, last Saturday this peaked at 439 – an all time record. This was during our Europe Africa Wakeboard Championships in the Republic of South Africa where Team Ireland brought home one Gold, one Silver and two Bronze medals. It was a special weekend on all fronts !

Thank you all for supporting our Website – and we have lots more good news for you to CLICK on over the coming season.

GOLD+SILVER+BRONZE

AT EUROPE AFRICA WAKEBOARD CHAMPIONSHIPS

 At the last EA Championships staged in Fagersta, Sweden, our Team Ireland Riders scored one Silver, one Bronze and our Team came in 9th place.

Things have greatly improved …….

At the Awards Ceremony tonight the individual athletes were presented with their medals and then the Team placings were announced. Team Ireland won the Bronze Medal with South Africa taking Silver and Italy winning Gold. What a perfect end to an amazing week!

Team Bronze - best performance ever for our Riders

Here are the individual results for all the athletes:

Sian, David and Lindsay celebrate

David O’Caoimh – Junior Men – Gold

Sian Hurst – Open Ladies – Silver

Lindsay Whelan – U14 Girls – Bronze

Aisling Deegan – U14 Girls – 6^th

David Coates – Open Men – 7^th

Paul Johnston – Open Men – 10th

Jonny Crawford – Masters Men – 7^th

The Award Ceremony was attended by some 300 people and was followed by a buffet dinner at the Convention Centre in the Emerald Casino Resort beside the Vaal River. The Irish celebrated in style and thoroughly enjoyed the night and the team is already looking forward to the Ukraine Championships in August .

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the South African Waterski and Wakeboard Federation for their fantastic organisation of the Championships at such a wonderful location. We would also like to thank Team Manager, Linda Johnston, and Team Captain David Coates, for their Trojan efforts both prior to, and during the event.

AT THE EUROPE AFRICA WAKEBOARD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Great Irish fans always make an impression !

It was a cliff hanger right down to the end this afternoon in South Africa. Our thoughts go back to those cold Winter practice sessions on the water here at home when our dedicated Riders refused to let low temperatures spoil their preparations. Team Captain David Coates worked hard at bonding the Irish Wakeboard team together and this can make all the difference when the nerves kick in on the big day. Well, it all paid off and great credit is due to the Riders, their parents and supporters and to all who helped along the way. Thanks also to Helen Dolan who somehow managed to get reports to us every day without exception. Here is Helen’s latest update – all the way from the banks of the Vaal River an hour ago ……

Rain cleared in time for the Finals

GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE FOR IRISH RIDERS

Sian smiles at Silver results

What an incredible day here on the banks of the Vaal River. Having watched Irish Rider Lindsay Whelan take the Bronze Medal in U14 Girls yesterday, it was Sian Hurst who won the Silver Medal in Open Ladies at lunch time today and then David O’Caoimh made it a trio when he went all out and took the Gold Medal in the Junior Men division of the Europe Africa Championships

Today was ‘all or nothing’ in terms of pushing those tricks to the limit. Not only do the judges look at intensity, execution and composition, but technical difficulty and style are incorporated too. With high-end tricks, such as Mobes, it is impossible to be consistent all the time. Falls are inevitable and the objective of each rider is to balance high-end tricks with good solid inverts and spins and make them all as stylish and different as possible, in addition to having a good fluid run.

The Open Ladies Finalists were first off the dock. Sian Hurst from Ireland was up against riders from France, Germany and Sweden. The Irish applause was deafening as Sian crossed that wake again and again and landed an amazing run including her 5. This ensured that Sian took the Silver Medal for the 2011 Open Ladies’ Europe Africa Championships. It was actually an extremely tight call between Sian and Caroline Djupso (SWE) for top spot and Sian only lost out on Gold by 2 points. Congratulations Sian on such an impressive performance.

David enjoys that Gold moment

As the crowds built up along the river bank it was the Junior Men Finalists turn to hit the water. With six riders, David O’Caoimh was last off the dock thus giving him the opportunity to watch the other athletes’ runs. This can be advantageous but also puts a lot of pressure on. As each athlete hit the water the level of riding rose and high end mobes and massive air tricks were the order of the day. Massi Piffaretti (ITA) was the fourth rider out and threw down some amazing tricks but unfortunately fell and failed to land the double up. Dylan Mitchell (RSA), another extremely talented athlete, had a superb run and landed a 7 off the double up. Could David take him? The supporters were almost hoarse by this stage, and as David zipped across that wake to land trick after trick cleanly the tension mounted…. he then landed the double up and rode back to the dock dry. We waited with bated breath for the scores and yes, David had done enough to beat Dylan Mitchell. What an incredible achievement – the first ever Gold for an Irish athlete at a European Wakeboarding Championships. Well done David!

The closing ceremony will be held tonight, followed by a dinner. We will all be celebrating the Team’s great results and will send some photos later.

IN THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

We will have a full report for you shortly – but here is the headline we were all waiting for : Europe Africa Wakeboard Championships GOLD, SILVER and BRONZE for Team Ireland.

GOLD – David O’Caoimh      SILVER Sian Hurst      BRONZE Lindsay Whelan

Lindsay captures our first Championships Medal today

Due to inclement weather forecasted for tomorrow, Saturday, the U14 Girls and Boys Finals were brought forward to today. Irish Team Rider Lindsay Whelan was first off the dock and threw down two great passes. Despite falling on a 180 she got straight back up and nailed a 360! That took a lot of guts and Lindsay just missed the Silver by two points! Katie Bachelor (GBR) took Silver and Gina Gregoria (ITA) won the Gold. This is only Lindsay’s second international competition and what a fantastic result! Congratulations Lindsay – the whole Irish contingent is very proud!

Paul Johnston, Jonny Crawford, David Coates, David O'Caoimh

Today also saw Jonny Crawford compete in the Masters’ Semi-finals. Jonny rode really well and although he fell on a toe 5 he got back up and landed it! Other highlights of Jonny’s run were a Heel 5 and a huge Raley. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to ensure him a place in the Finals tomorrow but it was very close.

The Junior Men semi-finals kicked off after lunch and David O’Caoimh rode like a man on a mission! He completed two perfect passes and returned dry to the dock. This ensured that David qualified with the highest score in semis and he will compete in the Finals tomorrow. Well done David!

Jonny Crawford almost makes Finals

Next up were the Open Men semi-finals with both Paul Johnston and David Coates in very difficult heats with five riders in each.  Paul was the first Irish team rider off the dock, and he was up against top ranked athletes such as World Cup star Nikita Martianov (RUS), Morgan Krause (RSA) and Shaun Faccio (RSA). Despite falling on his first trick Paul came back with some amazing riding and threw down all his hammers including a Pete Rose, Tootsie Roll, Whirly Bird, and a massive KGB. It was very tight but unfortunately Paul just missed out on Finals.

Shortly afterwards, it was DC’s turn to leave the dock.  Again, the competition was formidable with Clayton Krause (RSA), Dominick Hernler (AUT) and World Cup star Lucas Langlois (FRA) in his heat. Again, DC gave it his all and landed a superb run of tricks including a Roll to Blind, a ‘steezy’ poked out Tantrum to Blind, and heel and cab 5s. Alas, DC missed getting through to Finals by a mere two points!

As the Irish supporters waved huge flags and screamed from the water’s edge, the commentator remarked that ‘there is no one like the Irish’ regarding the high level of support that the Irish gave their athletes.

Congratulations again to Lindsay and David and well done to all the team riders who gave their best and represented their country so well.

Tomorrow is a big day with Sian and David competing in the Finals and we will all be rooting for them.

.

PROVISIONAL RANKINGS 2011 SEASON RELEASED

Have you had a chance to check our RANKING TABLES here on site – see Tab above ? They are fun to read and also give all keen Skiers and Riders a target to beat in the coming 2012 season. However, if you do not play your part in the process, then your scores may mess up the entire system. So, here is some helpful advice to make sure that your own Rankings are correct…..

WATERSKIERS :

Your RANKING is based on your BEST homologated performance of the season – both here at Home and Overseas. As our home event scores are usually sent to our Federation by the local Chief Judge / Competition host, they get in to our recording system without the Skier having to do very much. However, you should check your scores anyway in the unlikely event that an error / typo may have crept in. For all homologated OVERSEAS events, IT IS UP TO YOU TO GET A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL RESULTS AND SEND THEM TO OUR FEDERATION / TECHNICAL OFFICER as soon as possible. This is your responsibility. Each year, we receive messages from Skiers who sometimes have attended obscure events in obscure places where somehow our Technical Officer is supposed to have known – and they complain about the omission !  We issue PROVISIONAL Rankings every year and wait for Skiers to do their checking, verify their own scores and then report any errors. Only then can we finalise the Rankings.  HAVE YOU CHECKED YOUR SCORES ON OUR 2011 RANKING LIST ? Have you reported the correct scores for all your homologated Overseas competitions ?

WAKEBOARD :

At this stage, the Wakeboard process is still very straightforward. Your Ranking is simply based on your performance in our National Wakeboard Championships. We hope to broaden that shortly to include other approved events. Full details will be posted here if and when changes are made. However, you still need to check your results to ensure your Rankings are correct – and report any errors as needed.

SO, IT’S UP TO YOU - PLEASE SPARE A THOUGHT FOR OUR FEDERATION’S TECHNICAL OFFICER WHO CAN’T KNOW YOUR OVERSEAS SCORES IF YOU DON’T SEND IN A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL RESULTS.

Irish Team Rider Sian Hurst makes it through / Photo Chris West

After celebrating the Irish Team’s performance with a ‘brai’ / South African BBQ last night, it was back to the river today for the LCQs (Last Chance Qualifiers) where the young Irish Team Riders Aisling Deegan and Lindsay Whelan had a second opportunity to make it through to the U14s Girls’ Finals.

Lindsay beats tough Italian competition today

Aisling and Lindsay, who were up against two Italian riders, both rode really well. Unfortunately, Aisling, despite landing HS and TS 180s and grabbed jumps, just missed the landing on a huge tantrum. Lindsay managed to land a clean run of high intensity, including nailing her 360 and TS 180. We weren’t sure if it was enough to take out the Italians so there was a tense hour or so until the results were posted. It was very close with only 8 points between all the riders but it was Lindsay who made it through to the Finals on Saturday. Congratulations Lindsay!

Once again, you can keep up with the heats and scores on the link below – just click on the ‘start list’ and you will get the results for that heat

http://iwwfed-ea.org/competition.php?cc=W-11EAC001&page=TimeTable

Team parents Helen Dolan and Tommy Whelan taming Lions !

Given that the rest of the team had qualified yesterday and thus did not have to compete again until tomorrow, the team and supporters availed of some downtime and headed off after lunch to the ‘Lion Park’, a couple of hours away from the Europe Africa Wakeboard Championships site. It was an amazing experience where everyone had the opportunity to cuddle and play with 6 month old lion cubs. Even at that age though, they do have sharp teeth!

Tomorrow is a big day with four Irish Team members competing in the semi-finals. David O’Caoimh in the Junior Men, Paul Johnston and David Coates riding in the Open Men, and Jonny Crawford in Masters. We wish you all the very best of luck.

Team Captain & Rider David Coates ready for the challenge on Friday

Rick's head is in the right place !

AT EUROPE AFRICA WAKEBOARD CHAMPIONSHIPS TODAY

World Cup compatriots Massi Piffaretti ITA and David O'Caoimh IRL

Following months of tough Winter practice plus considerable expense in traveling to overseas Wakeboard Training sites, the moment of truth arrived for Irish Team Riders in the Republic of South Africa earlier today. With Brian Deegan’s forced withdrawal yesterday due to injury, and six good scores needed to maximise Team scores,  the Heats kicked off early this morning as temperatures crept up to 30C at this first class site. To find out who survived the first tests today – here is our report from Helen Dolan on site …..

A great day for the Irish as 5 Team Riders move forward!

Today saw all the Irish Team competing and we are thrilled to report that Sian Hurst, David O’Caoimh, Paul Johnston, David Coates and Jonny Crawford are all through to the next round.

First off the dock this morning were the U14 Girls. Aisling Deegan and Lindsay Whelan were both up against the Italians who always field a very strong female side. First to hit the water was Aisling who rode very well and finished third in her heat. Similarly, Lindsay Whelan threw down a great pass and placed second but only the top rider in each heat qualified through. However, both girls have another chance tomorrow in the LCQs (Last Chance Qualifier).

Next up were the Junior Men, and the toughest heat saw Italy’s Massimilano Pifaretti  and Ireland’s David O’Caoimh up against riders from Spain, Sweden, South Africa and Mauritius. It was quite a showdown between Massi and David. Both delivered superb stand up passes nailing high end mobe after high end mobe. Both qualified through with just one point between them and had the highest scores in their category – with the closest competitor more than 20 points behind.

Paul Johnston IRL makes it through in style

As the heat intensified – both physically and metaphorically – the Open Men Division kicked off at 11.15 and it was Paul Johnston who was first out on the water representing Ireland just after lunch. With riders from the Netherlands, Spain, France and South Africa in his heat he too threw a clean run with lots of high end tricks and qualified first in his heat. David Coates (DC) hit the water about an hour later and was up against athletes from Belgium, Sweden, France and South Africa. DC also nailed a clean pass returning dry to the dock and he also took the top spot in his heat, much to the delight of the ecstatic Irish supporters.

Sian Hurst IRL also impressesd today

Mid afternoon it was the Ladies’ Division and Sian Hurst was in a heat with competitors from South Africa, France, Spain and Sweden. She landed her complete pass including her 540 to qualify first in her heat and a phenomenal 16 points ahead of her nearest competitor!

The last of the Irish Team to compete today was Jonny Crawford, in the Masters’ category. Jonny, who has been training in Australia, gave it his all and was determined to beat his fellow athletes from Spain, France, the Netherlands and South Africa. Jonny’s toeside 540 ensured that he too qualified through to the next round.

What a thrilling end to an amazing day here at the Vaal River in South Africa.

Preparations over - early to bed tonight !

Already our Irish Wakeboard Team has gone to bed in preparation for an early start tomorrow. Here is tonight’s report ……..

HELEN DOLAN REPORTS DIRECTLY FROM THE CHAMPIONSHIPS :

The Opening Ceremony of the Europe/Africa Championships was held this evening. It was followed by a wonderful buffet dinner held outdoors under the African sky after which the team headed off to bed for an early night prior to the qualifying rounds tomorrow.

Locals watching Irish Team today

There are 124 athletes representing 16 countries and Namibia and Israel are competing for the first time. The largest categories are the Pro and Junior Men followed by Boys and Masters. Qualifying rounds commence tomorrow with all of the Irish Team out on the water. First off the dock are the Under 14 Boys at 0.7hrs, followed by the under 14 Girls at 08.25hrs.

You should be able to check the heats and running order on the link below when the Championships start.

http://iwwfed-ea.org/competition.php?cc=W-11EAC001&page=TimeTable

Brian Deegan converts to a Supporter

Unfortunately, Irish Team Rider Brian Deegan is unable to compete but is managing to get around the site with a wheelchair and crutches and as you can see from the photo is making the most of his new role as a supporter! We wish Lindsay Whelan, Aisling Deegan, Sian Hurst, David O’Caoimh, Paul, David Coates and Jonny Crawford the very best of luck tomorrow!