Regina Jaquess
2025 IWWF Water Ski Worlds: US Team Selection, Skier Notification, Qualifications & Procedures
Share:
2025 U.S. TEAM SELECTION
and
INDEPENDENT SKIER NOTIFICATION
QUALIFICATIONS AND PROCEDURES
World Championships
A. Team Description
A six‐member team will be selected to compete at the 2025 World Championships. The tournament will be held August 26-31, 2025 at Parco Nautico del Sesia, Recetto, Italy. The team will be announced on or about June 3, 2025.
B. Team and Independent Athlete Eligibility Requirements
Eligibility for selection to the U.S. Team shall be:
- U.S. citizen or passport holder (see IWWF Rules of Eligibility for World and Confederation Titled Events; see also IWWF Rule 14.13); and
- Member of USA Water Ski & Wake Sports in good standing.
C. Notice of Interest Requirements and Procedures
To be considered for a position on this team, or to compete as an independent athlete (see IWWF eligibility rules for independent athletes at IWWF Rule 15), ALL ATHLETES MUST FULLY COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING STEPS by May 12, 2025:
- Notice of Interest to be selected as a member of the U.S. Team (athletes must indicate the event(s) in which they are interested in competing) must be submitted.
- Notice of intent to participate as an independent athlete must be submitted (independent athletes can only participate in the tournament through this process; independent athletes not completing this process will not be entered). Independent athletes first qualifying through the IWWF Weekly Ranking List (after the Notice of Intent deadline) may still be allowed to enter, but may have to pay an increased entry fee.
- These notice forms are online at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdCbFo_ltcHa_FDUpI-TCQ4s5FEgSOOuy_1qZMad45atMr5nA/viewform?usp=sharing. All completed athlete Notices of Interest will be acknowledged.
- In completing these forms, all athletes (or their parent/guardian in the case of minor athletes) must acknowledge and agree to the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports Code of Conduct and Athlete Agreement. Those documents are available for review online at USA-WSWS’s website. All athletes must also complete all applicable SafeSport requirements, and (for athletes 18 years and older) complete a background check.
- Full payment of all entry fees for independent athletes must be received by the official U.S. team manager, not later than the Notice of Interest deadline. All independent athletes filing a Notice of intent to participate will be advised of the entry fees in advance of the payment deadline. All fees are non-refundable (for any reason) except full or partial refunds will be made to athletes selected as team members. Forfeited fees will be used to fund team expenses, as determined by the IAC and Team Manager.
- All minor athletes must be accompanied at the tournament by a parent or legal guardian.
- A list of all submitted athlete Notices of Interest (who have filed a Notice of Interest and paid all fees) will be available online beginning approximately four (4) weeks before the Notice of Interest deadline. Notices of Interest will not be considered as received unless the Notice of Interest form has been completed and payment of all fees has been received.
- Primary consideration will be given to those individuals who have completed this process on a timely basis, but the IAC reserves the right to consider other individuals for the team.
- Questions regarding this process should be addressed to IAC members Lauren Morgan (L.morgan@mail.umsl.edu) and Sam Greenwood (samjg55@gmail.com).
- Wild Card Entries. “Wild card” entries may also be submitted by the IAC per IWWF Rule 14.14, allowing the entry of skiers who may not otherwise be qualified to ski in this tournament (or who may be qualified to ski some, but not all, events). These entries will be selected by the IAC in its sole discretion. Athletes who wish to be considered for a “wild card” entry should contact IAC members IAC members Lauren Morgan (L.morgan@mail.umsl.edu) and Sam Greenwood (samjg55@gmail.com) to advise them (not later than the above deadline) of their interest, and should also submit information supporting their request for consideration.
D. Selection Considerations
The AWSA International Activities Committee (IAC) is tasked with the responsibility of selecting athletes to participate on the Water Ski Teams that will represent the United States in International Competitions. The committee’s primary goal in this process is to select teams that will have the greatest opportunity to win each of the international competitions. In this selection process, there are numerous considerations that the committee will utilize in the effort to select the best combination of athletes for each tournament, with the ultimate goal to win the event’s team title. These elements include, but are not limited to:
1. Numerical Division of Male / Female athletes to make up the team.
2. Numerical scores from selected tournaments that precede the target event and are close enough in time to the target competition to produce the most viable team (see Team Selection Score procedures below). These scores are compared to expected scores from other international teams to predict the anticipated scores that may be produced using the existing scores for comparison.
3. Each individual skier’s past performance in recent premier tournaments, to include any issues that may or could possibly affect anticipated scores in the target international competition.
4. The ability of any skier to function in a team atmosphere, contribute to a team effort, and other positive or negative factors that may exist.
The IAC reserves the right to rely on all of these factors in selecting this team. In the event of unforeseen circumstances which, in the judgment of the IAC, render these considerations and procedures clearly ineffective, the IAC may (by a two-thirds vote of the full IAC committee) amend these considerations and procedures as necessary to accomplish the goals of the AWSA International Competition Program.
E. Procedures and Team Selection Score Calculation
1. The team will be selected based on the above requirements and criteria. No team trials will be held.
2. Sex distribution for the team shall be 3/3 or 4/2.
3. Each Athlete’s Team Selection Score shall be determined as follows:
a) Each athlete’s Team Selection Score shall be determined from the athlete’s three best tournament scores in each event (the events being slalom, tricks and jump) which shall be extracted from USA Water Ski & Wake Sports, and International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation, scores (Class L and R tournaments) for tournament performances during the period of Jun 1, 2024 to June 1, 2025 (inclusive). Each score must be from a different site. Scores from 2025 will be given primary consideration, although the IAC may consider 2024 scores for skiers with fewer than three 2025 scores, or for skiers with one or more 2024 scores which are higher than one or more 2025 performances. To be considered, all U.S. tournament performances must be reported to USA Water Ski & Wake Sports (through the tournament organizer or scorer) not later than June 2, 2025 at 11:59 PM; proof of all international tournament performances (IWWF Class L or R) not otherwise reported to USA Water Ski & Wake Sports must be submitted by each athlete to the IAC (to the above IAC representatives) not later than June 2, 2025, at 11:59 PM. All tournament performances are subject to verification by the IAC. It is each athlete’s responsibility to ensure that all eligible scores are submitted in a timely manner. No late-reported scores, or scores which cannot be verified, will be considered.
b) Each athlete’s Team Selection Score will be determined by weighting the three tournament scores as follows:
i) 50% of the athlete’s best score, plus
ii) 50% of the athlete’s average score (average of the three scores).
c) Each athlete’s Team Selection Score, as determined through this process, shall then be considered in selecting the team.
4. A foreign team pool will then be determined. Three Foreign Teams (those opposing teams expected to be most competitive at the World Championships) shall be the basis of the Foreign Team pool**. If the Base Score (see section 7 below) in any event is likely to be established by a Foreign Team member who is not on one of the first three Foreign Teams, then these scores shall be treated as Wild Card Scores for the purpose of establishing the Base Scores in three events.
5. Combinations of six U.S. skiers will be identified (Team 1, Team 2, etc.) and shall be hereafter referred to as Team X. Each Team X shall meet the gender requirements above, and shall have at least three skiers in each event (tricks, slalom, and jump).
6. Each Team X (and Foreign Team Xs) Team Score shall be calculated in a simulated World Championships tournament, using the Team Selection Score for each member.
7. Scoring shall be based on the 1,000 point system outlined in IWWF Competition Rule 15. The 1000 points in each event shall be awarded to the higher of:
a) The best Team Selection Score from the members of Team X; or,
b) The best Team Selection Score from the members of the Foreign Team pool; or,
c) The best Wild Card Score
The highest score (from 7a‐c) shall form the Base Score for men and women in each event. Each competitor (U.S. & Foreign) will be awarded Individual Overall Points according to the relationship of his/her Team Selection Score to the Base Score for that event, as follows:
Men's Tricks: Calculated from IWWF Rule 15.04 of the Competition Rules
Women's Tricks: Calculated from IWWF Rule 15.04 of the Competition Rules
Men's Slalom: Calculated from IWWF Rule 15.04 of the Competition Rules
Women's Slalom: Calculated from IWWF Rule 15.04 of the Competition Rules
Men's Jump: Calculated from IWWF Rule 15.04 of the Competition Rules
Women's Jump: Calculated from IWWF Rule 15.04 of the Competition Rules
8. The Team Score for Team X and each Foreign Team will be calculated (as per IWWF Technical Rule 5.05) by summing the best three Individual Overall Points scores, from either gender, in each event (3 slalom, 3 tricks, & 3 Jump).
9. Team X having the highest Team Score with at least four team members in each event will be named the U.S Team unless:
a) Its Team Score does not produce a winning team; or,
b) The Team Score is not considered to produce a large enough win margin; in which case, the IAC may consider other Team X's with fewer than 4 scores per event, according to the following prioritized event combinations: (Slalom, Trick, Jump) (4,4,3 ‐ 3,4,4 ‐ 4,3,4 ‐ 3,4,3 ‐ 4,3,3 ‐ 3,3,4 ‐ 3,3,3)***.
c) Other Selection Criteria (see above) are determined by the IAC to substantially outweigh this numerical analysis.
F. Other Information
1. All registered independent skiers for the U.S.A. will be designated by the IAC as alternates to the U.S. Team. The method of selecting these alternates will be at the discretion of the IAC and will not necessarily be based on any fixed formula.
2. Excellence in competition is the sole determining factor in making any U.S. Team. The policy of the IAC is always to send the best possible team.
** Foreign Team Selection Score: The current formula for calculating the Raw Score Value for foreign team members is based on the original methodology developed with the introduction of this team selection program.
The formula is: Foreign Skier Team selection Score = Top‐2 Avg/2 + Median/2.
*** Risk Factor: “Risk Factor” is a formula used to quantify the Team Selection Score that would result in a case where the fourth (4th) highest Individual Overall Points value (in each event) was substituted in place of one of the top 3 Individual Overall Points values used to calculate the original Team Selection Score.
