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APPLICATION

TO BECOME AN OFFICIAL SPORT

AT THE

EUROPEAN

GAMES

Information dossier about Water Skiing and Wakeboarding

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MANAGEMENT

THE INTERNATIONAL WATERSKI & WAKEBOARD FEDERATION

HEADQUARTERS Postbox 564

6314 Unteraegeri / Switzerland Tel: +41 41 752 00 95 Fax: +41 41 752 00 99

Email: iwwf@iwwfed.com Website: http://www.iwwfed.com

ADMINSTRATION OFFICE Stadio dall’Ara

Via dello Sport 35, 40134 Bologna / Italy

Tel: +39 051.615.2956 Fax: +39 051.615.5015

PRESIDENT Mr. Kuno Ritschard Postfach 564

6314 Unteraegeri, Switzerland Phone: -+41 41 7520095 Fax: +41 41 7520099 Email: president@iwwfed.com

SECRETARY GENERAL TREASURER

Mrs. Gill ian Hill Miller Mr. Chris Howarth 4 Quartier Gafary Ground Floor Flat 2 83440 Fayence, France 1 Wang Fung Terrace Tai Hang Road Phone: +33 494 765012 Hong Kong, China

Fax: +33 494 688464 Phone: +85 228 810 321 Email: secretarygeneral@iwwfed.com Fax: +85 228 810 443 Email: chrishowarth@yahoo.com

IWWF EUROPEAN CONFEDERATION PRESIDENT SECRETARY GENERAL Mr. Alain AMADE Mr Sid ADRIAENSEN 10 rue du Mont Vallier Bekersveld 9,

31320 PECHBUSQUE – France 2630 AARTSELAAR - Belgium Phone : +33612714475 Phone : +3232710641 Email : amade@wanadoo.fr Email : sid.adriaensen@h2oski.be

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FEDERATIONS IN THE WORLD

AFRICA EGYPT

GHANA MAURITIUS MOROCCO

NAMIBIA NIGERIA

SOUTH AFRICA SUDAN

TUNISIA ZAMBIA

ZIMBABWE

AMERICAS ARGENTINA BARBADOS

BERMUDA BRAZIL

CANADA

CHILE COLOMBIA

COSTA RICA DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

ECUADOR

EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA

JAMAICA MEXICO

PARAGUAY

PERU PUERTO RICO

UNITED STATED OF AMERICA VENEZUELA

ASIA BRUNEI DARASSALAM

CAMBODIA CHINESE TAIPEI

HONG KONG CHINA

INDIA INDONESIA

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN JAPAN

JORDAN KOREA

KUWAIT

LEBANON MALAYSIA MALDIVES

MONGOLIA NEPAL OMAN

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA PHILIPPINES

QATAR SINGAPORE

SRI LANKA THAILAND

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

VIETNAM

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EUROPE

AUSTRIA BELARUS BELGIUM

BULGARIA CROATIA

CYPRUS CZECH REPUBLIC

DENMARK FINLAND

FRANCE GEORGIA

GERMANY GREAT BRITAIN

GREECE

HUNGARY IRELAND

ISRAEL ITALY

LATVIA

LITHUANIA LUXEMBOURG

MONACO

MONTENEGRO NETHERLANDS

NORWAY POLAND

PORTUGAL ROMANIA

RUSSIA SERBIA

SLOVAKIA SLOVENIA

SPAIN

SWEDEN SWITZERLAND

TURKEY UKRAINE

OCEANIA AUSTRALIA

NEW ZEALAND

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IMPORTANT DATA

1. The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation currently has 84 affi l iated countries among them 37

from the European Confederation.

2. 32 Tournament World Championships have been contested since the first championships were held in 1949 at Juan Les Pins, France. They are held biennially, typi cally in September which corresponds with the end of the season in the Northern Hemisphere. In 2013 they will take place in Santiago, Chile.

3. 65 European Tournament Championships have been held until today. The first one in being 1947 in

Evian/France.

4. The first IWWF Wakeboard World Championships were held in France in 2000. The Championships are now held biennially and the next Worlds will be in 2013.

5. The first European Wakeboard Championships were held 1998 and have been held annually ever since.

6. Water Skiing since the beginning and Wakeboarding since 2001 are medal sports in the World Games.

7. Water Skiing and Wakeboarding competitions are open on an equal basis to men and women. There are differences in some events, physical parameters based on the physiological difference between men and women for example starting speeds. However, there is no difference in the event format for men and women. For national teams both men and women are included in the team.

8. The IWWF has signed the WADA Anti-Doping Policy and has applied anti -doping controls since 1987. IWWF

became Code Compliant in 2011.

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HISTORY AND STATISTICS

Water skiing was invented during the 1920’s at about the same time in both the United States of America and France. The International Water Ski Union - L'Union Mondiale de Ski Nautique (UMSN) was founded in Geneva during a series

of Powerboat races on the 27th July 1946 by Albert Schmidt, André Couteau and skiers from France, Belgium and Switzerland who were invited to provide entertainment to the crowd between races by giving a display of water skiing.

Water skiing was recognized by the IOC at Teheran in 1967 and was a demonstration sport at the Olympic Games in 1972, in Munich/Kiel.

The International Water Ski Union changed its name to International Water Ski Federation (IWSF) in 1988. This change of the name was done in order to satisfy the rules of the International Sports Movement (GAIFS, IOC). In agreement with the IOC the IWSF Congress in 1999 made the decision to add Wakeboard as a separate discipline

under its authority and control. The International Water Ski Federation (IWSF) changed its name to International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation

(IWWF) in 2009. For administrative convenience the IWWF is divided into five Confederations:

Africa Asia

Europe Oceania

Pan America

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WATER SKI

The three Water Ski disciplines are: Slalom, Figures (Tricks) and Jump.

In Slalom, the competitor skis around six buoys placed alternatively on opposite sides at 11.5 metres from the centre l ine, along the course measuring 259 metres in length, entering and exiting through a pair of gate buoys. At the end of each pass at a speed of 58 km/hr for men and 55 km/hr for women, the rope is shortened. The winner is the skier

that rounds the greatest number of buoys with the shortest rope. In Figures (Tricks) each skier must execute in two passes of 20 seconds, the greatest number of figures (tricks). Each of the figures (tricks) counts differently with regards to their difficulty. The skier with the highest aggregate score is

the winner. Figures (tricks), for example, may include body fl ips or body rotations, including using one foot in the rope harness, these figures (tricks) score the highest points. In Jump, only the distance counts. The water skier is pulled at a consta nt speed (57 km/h for men and 54 km/h for

women). The best water skiers jump more than 70 metres for men and more than 56 metres for women. To accomplish this, they increase their speed by cutting towards the jump allowing them to increase their speed to around 100 km/h.

The Top level world water skiers train twelve months a year to develop strength, flexibility and toughness.

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WAKEBOARD

Wakeboarding is a combination of surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding and water skiing. A wakeboard looks l ike a fat snowboard with a pair of bindings attached to it. The wakeboard rider carves turns with body leans and by rocking the board. During competition, riders do fl ips and spins and other acrobatic stunts in the air and on the water. These

tricks are spectacular to witness - some athletes may go as high as 8 meters in the air while doing a manoeuvre.

COMPETITION FORMAT

Each rider is allowed two passes through the wakeboard course during which time the rider may perform any routine

they choose. They will be judged on three subj ective style categories, to arrive at a single combined score.

Riders are encouraged to perform a smooth flowing routine with a wide variety of tricks. Each manoeuvre should be executed as cleanly as possible and taken to its l imit.

Judges will award a maximum of 100 points to each rider based on their overall impressions of the routine performed.

The judges will score each rider in each of the following categories:

Execution - 33.3 Points This reflects the level of perfection to which each manoeuvre was performed, as well as the successful completion of the routine with a minimum number of falls.

Intensity - 33.4 Points This reflects how big the moves were performed, as well as the technical difficulty of the tricks executed.

Composition - 33.3 Points This reflects the overall composition of the routine in terms of the rider's ability to perform a variety of manoeuvres in a flowing, creative sequence.

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TELEVISION & SOCIAL NETWORKING

Water skiing and Wakeboarding are broadcast world-wide.

As an example of the coverage achieved by a Wakeboard event, the following is from the Izmit World Cup 2010

Special YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/iwsfworldcup plus hundreds of other Cable sites including CableWakeboard.com,

CableWakeboard.net, etc.

Google YouTube Cable Wakeboard shows 1,010,000 results

Google YouTube Wakeboard Olympics shows 3,760,000 results

The IF has a well-established global Media distribution system perfected over the past seven years for the World Cup Series. This includes TV Production and Distribution of News Edits via Reuters, EBU and SNTV with distribution to over 2,000 TV Stations world-wide with an estimated reach of 70/100 million viewers. It also includes edited TV Show Broadcasts via Transworld Sport (141 territories), In-Flight Airlines (19), Watersports World (11 territories),

Sports Unlimited (17 territories), Sailing Channel (52 TV Stations), Wakelife Australia (1,000 Gymnasiums), and Eurovision (16 Stations). The IF also has it own Webcast Team and virtual studio.

To produce good pictures 3 cameras are needed. Two on towers on the shore and one in the boat.

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WHY WATER SKIING AND WAKEBOARDING SHOULD BE IN THE EUROPEAN GAMES

Water Skiing and Wakeboarding are modern sports practiced world-wide with approximately 30 mill ion participants on a recreational and competitive basis. Over 80 countries have formal Water Ski & Wakeboard Federations organized

to have competitions. Our sport offers high energy, high power, and high speed, all of which televises well into an exciting presentation. Our athletes are attractive and well -conditioned as well as clearly performing athletic movements that require speed, strength, and agility.

Each event in a water ski competition requires different skil ls. Figure (Trick) skiing requi res speed, grace, and agility. Slalom requires strength, timing, and rhythm. Jump requires power, timing and courage. Each event is unique it its presentation of the athlete’s skil ls. The judging of each event is based on objective, easily understood criteria. In

slalom, the score is strictly a count of the buoys that the competitor successfully skis around. In figures (tricks), the judges only have to decide if each figure (trick) is successfully performed or not. There is no element of subjectivity in figures (trick) judging. In jump, only the distance is measured. The introduction and use of new technologies such as speed control systems and video jump distance measurement further exclude any possibil ity for human interference

influencing the results. Wakeboard requires great agil ity and gymnastic suppleness from the athletes to perform tricks is high as 8 meters in

the air. Wakeboard riders perform tricks such as double front fl ips, double back fl ips and 900 degree turns to impress the judges. The Review of the Olympic Programme by the Olympic Programme Commission, dated August 2002, in Clause 2.4

"Sports Relying on Mechanical Propulsion" clears water skiing and wakeboarding for possible inclusion as an Olympic sport as follows: "In certain sports, such as water skiing, mechanical propulsion is used as a component of competition, and the mechanical propulsion is necessary to allow the athlete to perform in competition. However, the propulsion is not controlled by the athlete, nor does it constitute the performance itself through the result being

determined by speed. In such cases, where the propulsion allows the athletes to perform the competition but is not an element of the competition itself, and it is provided in an equal way to all athletes, it could be considered as technical support for the competition."

Water skiing and Wakeboarding are exciting sports, spectacular to watch and televisual. There is nothing

equivalent within the present sports structure of the European Games. Water skiing and Wakeboarding would be therefore wonderful additions to the programme of the

European Games.

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PROPOSED COMPETION FORMAT AND PARTICIPATION

COMPETITION FORMAT

Water Ski: Slalom, Figures (Tricks) and Jump. Eliminations and Finals Wakeboard: Freestyle

Eliminations and Finals Competition will be staged during three days presuming adequate climatic conditions.

QUALIFICATIONS

Qualifications will be based on results achieved at the European Championships of the preceding year and on the

latest European ranking list established at least six months before the date of the European games. By taking the top

male and female athletes from each country we would guarantee both universality and excellence stipulated in the Olympic Charter.

NUMBER OF ATHLETES Water Ski: 32 Men and 16 Women per discipline

Wakeboard: 24 Men and 12 Women NUMBER OF OFFICIALS FOR TEAMS

Maximum 2 per participating country NUMBER OF IWWF OFFICIALS Maximum 5

NUMBER OF OFFICIALS FOR COMPETITION Waterski: 14 Wakeboard: 8

NUMBER OF STAFF Technical installations: 2

Starters: 2 Computer Operator jump and figures: 2 Commentators: 2

Total number should not exceed 150 persons.

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PROPOSED EVENT SCHEDULE

THREE DAYS:

First Day

Event Series Start End Skiers Men Slalom 3 0800 1100 32

Women Slalom 1 1150 1210 16

Men Figures 3 1230 1510 32

Women Figures 1 1520 1640 16

Second Day

Event Series Start End Skiers Men Wakeboard 0800 1030 24

Women Wakeboard 1045 1200 12

Women Jump 1 1230 1500 16

Men Jump 3 1510 1700 32

Third Day

Event Series Start End Skiers Women Slalom Final 0900 0930 6

Men Slalom Final 0940 1020 8

Women Figures Final 1040 1110 6

Men Figures Final 1110 1150 8

Women and Men Slalom Awards 1200 1210

Women Figures Awards 1210 1215

Women Wakeboard Final 1220 1250 4

Men Wakeboard Final 1300 1400 8

Men Figures Awards 1410 1415

Women Jump Final 1425 1505 6

Men Jump Final 1515 1615 8

Women and Men Wakeboard Awards 1625 1635

Women and Men Jump Awards 1635 1645

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SITE REQUIREMENTS

Length : minimum 600m, suitable 750 to 800 m Width : minimum 90 m for slalom tricks and jump, 100m for wakeboard. Depth : 1.50 m.in the practical area.

These dimensions are theoretical and a competition can be organised on big lakes, rivers…

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REQUIRED EQUIPMENT

Tournament towboats (two identical towboats approved by the IWWF) Wakeboard towboat (two identical towboats approved by the IWWF)

Slalom Course (buoys, ropes, anchors) Slalom Gate and End Course Video

Jump ramp

Jump Course (buoys, ropes, anchors) Jump Measurement System

Figures Course (buoys, ropes anchors) Figures Video system

Wakeboard Course (buoys, ropes, anchors) Judges tower (a two floor modular structure approx. 8x8 m)

Slalom Towers (portable scaffold construction 2x2 m, 4 m high) Starting dock (2x3 m)

Towlines Timing system

Scoring and Results Computer Software System

Communications (radios) Safety boat

Fuel Ambulance

Public Address System Electronic Score Board for public Changing rooms (two required)

Portable restrooms (site dependent)

Grandstands for 3000 Spectators, Athletes and Officials TV towers (2x2 m x 3 m high)

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EUROPEAN ATHLETES AT THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

LADIES MEN

Natallia BERDNIKAVA – BELARUS 2011 GOLD MEDAL JUMP –TRICKS in – Dubna –Russia

WORLD RECORD HOLDER JUMP – OVERALL

Aliaksei ZHARNASEK – BELARUS 2011 GOLD MEDAL TRICKS in Dubna -Russia

WORLD RECORD HOLDER TRICKS

Ageliki ANDRIOPOULOU – GREECE 2009 GOLD MEDAL JUMP in Calgary – Canada

Will ASHER – GREAT BRITAIN 2009 GOLD MEDAL SLALOM Calgary - Canada

Clémentine LUCINE – FRANCE 2007 GOLD MEDAL TRICKS – OVERALL Linz – Austria WORLD RECORD HOLDER TRICKS

Thomas DEGASPERI – ITALY 2011 GOLD MEDAL SLALOM – Dubna - Russia

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June FLADBORG – DENMARK 2009 SILVER MEDAL IN JUMP Calgary – Canada

Adam SEDLMAJER - CZECH REPUBLIC 2011 GOLD MEDAL OVERALL Dubna - Russia

Sian HURST - IRELAND 2012 GOLD MEDAL Wakeboard European Championships Kiev - Ukraine

Massimiliano PIFFARETTI – ITALY 2012 GOLD MEDAL Wakeboard European championships Kiev - Ukraine

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WATERSKI AND WAKEBOARD IN THE MULTISPORT GAMES

Waterski and wakeboard are in the official program of the following multisport games :

World Games

Mediterranean Games

Pan-American Games

South American Games

Central America and Caribbean Games

South American Beach Games

Central America and Caribbean Beach Games

Asian Beach Games

South East Asia Games

East Asia Games (pending)

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MEDALS AT THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

WATERSKI AND WAKEBOARD

Total 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

FRANCE Gold 13 5 2 3 2 1

Silver 14 3 4 3 2 2 Bronze 15 3 4 2 2 4

Great BRITAIN Gold 13 1 2 4 1 5 Silver 10 3 1 1 2 3

Bronze 7 1 1 2 1 2

BELARUS Gold 9 3 1 2 3

Silver 7 1 1 2 2 1 Bronze 9 3 2 2 2

CZECH REP Gold 4 1 2 1

Silver 2 1 1

Bronze 2 1 1

SWEDEN Gold 3 1 1 1 Silver 0

Bronze 0

ITALY Gold 2 1 1

Silver 4 1 1 2 Bronze 5 2 1 2

DENMARK Gold 2 1 1 Silver 1 1

Bronze 3 1 1 1

IRELAND Gold 1 1

Silver 1 1 Bronze 1 1

NETHERLANDS Gold 1 1

Silver 0 Bronze 0

GREECE Gold 0 Silver 3 1 1 1

Bronze 1 1

RUSSIA Gold 0

Silver 3 1 1 1 Bronze 3 1 2

BELGIUM Gold 0

Silver 2 1 1

Bronze

AUSTRIA Gold 0 Silver 1 1

Bronze 1 1

GERMANY Gold 0

Silver 0 Bronze 1 1

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CABLEWAKEBOARD

Cable wakeboard is one of the seven disicplines of IWWF. The IWWF with the discipline of cablewakeboard is actually in the short list of the sports which could be included in the 2020 Olympic games programme Cable parks are already existing in almost of the european countries and every year we have more constructions. This provide sustainable equipment for owners (public or private) and give to a large number of people the possibilty to practice a young and fun sport.

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SITUATION OF BAKU - AZERBAIDJAN

Baku was elected at the last general Assembly of the European Olympic committees. Actually there is no national federation of waterski and wakeboard in this country. But there are already clubs which need to be structured. We plan to go to Baku in order to meet representatives of our sport, ministery of sports and national Olympic committee. These meetings will be organised in 2013 in order to have time enough to set the site. It seems that there will be no problem to find a site capable to organise a high level tournament. We know that they are several projets to create cable parks in Azerbaidjan. If these projects succeed then it could be also possible to organise a cablewakeboard event.