Two U.S. Teams Selected For 2025 IWWF World University Championships
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by Scott N. Atkinson
USA Water Ski & Wake Sports and the National Collegiate Water Ski Association are pleased to announce the selection of two water ski teams that will compete in the 2025 IWWF World University Waterski Championships, Feb. 26-March 2, at Orakei Basin in Auckland, New Zealand.
Athletes that have been selected to the A Team are: James Bryans (Jasper, Ga.), Ali Garcia (Winter Garden, Fla.), Blaze Grubbs (Rio Linda, Calif.), Kennedy Hansen (Milton, Fla.), Gage Kacprowicz (San Antonio, Texas) and Sage Pottbecker (Morris, Conn.). Alternates are Carter Eaton (Anchorage, Alaska) and Annemarie Wroblewski (Toledo, Ohio).
Athletes that have been selected to the B Team are (alphabetical order): Brooke Boskus (Elkins, Ark.), Jacob Duffy (Center City, Minn.), Eva Henderson (Gardner, Ill.), Sam Hill (Morris, Conn.), Cade Stockstill (Katy, Texas) and Samantha Streitfeld (Tempe, Ariz.). Alternates are Eric Macias (Windermere, Fla.) and one remaining open position.
Sam Greenwood (Vail, Colo.) will be the coach and Matt Page (Atlanta, Ga.) will serve as the manager.
The IWWF World University Waterski Championships is a team event comprised of skiers between the ages of 17 and 25 who are full time students in good standing at an accredited university. Students who graduated in the year of the tournament (2025) or prior year (2024) are eligible to compete in the event.
This will be the first IWWF world titled traditional water ski event hosted by New Zealand and the first since IWWF's separation from the FISU World University Championships program. The event will be towed exclusively by the world record-setting Ski Nautique.
The event itself has a very rich tradition with many of the world’s top skiers competing over the years. Beginning in 1996 with the first IWSF World University Trophy Tournament, in Milledgeville, Ga., and a second IWSF World University Trophy Tournament in 1998 in Cleveland, Tenn., the IWSF went on to sanction the 1st World University Waterski Championships in Tianjin, China, in 2002.
In 2002, The IWSF (now IWWF) partnered with the International University Sports Federation (FISU) and FISU sanctioned events in Balakovo, Russia (2004), Tianjin, China (2008), Santiago, Chile (2012) and Akita, Japan (2016). Events were also scheduled for Dnipro, Ukraine in 2020 and Minsk, Belarus in 2022. Both were canceled, the first by the COVID-19 pandemic, the second due to the war. Ukraine was rescheduled to 2024 but had to be canceled once again due to the war.
