We woke up the next day from our stay at the London University, or as Evert called it, "The Dungeon." Looked outside and it was perfect. Arrived at the site to see a little chop on the water but it would turn to glass just before we skied. There’s a cable ski park directly next to the site and the people started poring in to watch the Splash of the Titans. The game was on and everyone got two runs for the first round. This was to make the brackets. The 8^th place skier would ski against the 1^st place and so on, 7^th against the 2^nd.

In one round, I was up against the South African/Aussie/maybe English soon, Evan Berger. I was up first and you never know what your competitor is going to do. I know Evan, and he can do it all from toe turns, flips, line turns and jumping huge isn’t a problem. So, for my first run I jumped off the 16 ½ ft. tower, did a tumble turn as the boat was picking up speed, thru a couple 180’s, did a toe hold, landed my jump and snuck in a line to the back and front followed with a 360 as the boat was slowing down. That gave me 32.64 points which was better than my first round but not exactly what I wanted. On my pass back I did a couple multiple turns and a toe-turn but hardly made it to the jump so was very un-square and didn’t land the jump. Evan came in doing everything as well but had a small jump that he didn’t land. His second pass was crazy! All kinds of tricks down course which started to make me nervous followed by a back one foot cross, flip and a sweet jump! The announcer asked me how I felt and I basically said that I was going to get bumped out and Even would move on. At least that’s what I thought until his score came back and he got cut on a trick or two. That left him with 28.56 for his score. I moved on! Yee-ha! This is how every match up felt. This tournament had an incredible sense of competition for the crowd and competitors alike.

Everyone enjoyed the tournament to the fullest and everyone walked away with cash in their pockets. This is how you get the top barefooters in the world to come to your tournament. Offer cash for every placement, which allows the skier to have his whole trip paid for and you have a deal. The water was glass all day and of course a little rolie but there is no turn around time because once again, this is a show! All the skiers performed to their best capability and nobody had any complaints whatsoever.

It was a very interesting format but I have my own idea that I think will work a little better. It’ll be a little more interesting for the spectators and video from the boat having two ramps with two jumpers at the same time! Evert Aartsen and I have experimented with this concept before and it proves to be much more impressive from the shore and from the boat. You have two inverted jumpers flying through the air on opposite sides of the wake, and the audience tries to figure out who went further. Also, like Clive was thinking about doing was putting the jump ramps back to back. That would lead to having a head to head format with each jumper taking two jumps on either side of the boat. Top score from either jump will count. Putting on a format like this combining live feed to big screen on shore is sure to make a very impressive and successful event.

The tournament was a success with everyone coming from all over the world. The weather held up with perfect conditions and just a little rain after the event was over. The after party (above) was great and we all had a super time. The skiers and I would like to thank all of the sponsors, officials, JBSKI and Clive Wilsdon for all their hard work and efforts!

Thanks!  KSO

Click on the links below to find out more about the Splash of the Titans