Australia’s top water ski racers go head-to-head against the world’s best this weekend as the team opens its campaign on Sunday in the 16th World Water Ski Racing championships.
The official opening ceremony is set for Saturday with racing over four venues across northern Belgium.
Australia’s 50-strong team has established its base at Antwerp for the duration of the championships.
Two members of the Australian team currently hold world championships from the 2007 titles held in New Zealand; Chris Stout, 2007 Men Formula II champion and sister Trudi, Junior Girls ’07 titleholder, have both stepped up.
Chris has been listed as Australia’s #2 Formula I skier behind crack competitor Wayne Mawer and Trudi is #1 Australia ski racer in Women Formula II.
The team also includes Lauryn Eagle, the 2005 Women Formula II champion now rated Australia’s #2 in Women Formula I… DetailsÂ
2009 Latvian NeilPryde Baltic Cup event took place in Liepaja from June 27 to 28. Liepaja is located 220 km from Riga, Latvia’s capital. Local musican have a popular song called; ”Liepaja – city where the wind is born!” For organizers, it was also was one of the reasons why regatta was choosen to be there, because Latvian west coast has the most possibility to have good wind conditions.Â
Other reason was good cooperation with local windsurfing club Rietumkrasts and its president Janis Jekabsons, who helped and succesfuly managed and judged not only this event, but 2009 European Raceboard and Techno 293 Championship earlier this month in Liepaja. Third, the racing area was in bay, called Karaosta(war port), historically built and used by Soviet army as navy base, before Latvia gained independence in 1991…Â DetailsÂ