Hi Members!
New Zealand is hosting the Asia Oceania Region Water Ski Champs (AO Champs) from 27th January to 5 February 2017. The event is seen as a festival of Water Ski Related Disciplines. As such the event will see Tournament Water Skiing, Barefoot Water Skiing, Wakeboarding, Ski Racing and Show Skiing come together to compete for the title of AO Champ.
To that end Karapiro Domain will host the Wakeboard, Ski Racing and Show Skiing. Whilst Tournament Skiing and the Barefooting will be held at Lake Kereta West of Auckland.
The Heritage Hotel in Central Auckland will be the headquarters for the event, and will host the opening and closing/prize giving ceremonies for all events.
The Tournament will attract top Athletes from Australia, Korea, China, Singapore etc and in the case of Wakeboarding we are likely to have Harley Clifford, Dean Smith, Toni Ioconi, Zara Kell and Bec Gange strut their stuff on our waters. What a great opportunity to see these athletes ride in our own back yard!
At this stage the Competition Programme will involve National Teams of up to 3 riders in Mens and Womens open divisions only (although consideration maybe made to include Juniors at a later date)
The WNZ NZ Selectors will be selecting a Team and a reserve Rider. Due to the proximity of the Competition and the fact that we are unilikely to hold any major Comps before the AO Champs, the NZ Selectors will be selecting a team to recommend to WNZ at our up and coming Crowe Horwath National Champs. The team will be announced at the conclusion of prize giving at the Crowe Horwath Nationals. WNZ will also be naming a Train on team with a view to forming a squad of committed and talented riders to compete at the 2017 World Champs likely to be held in Spain.
WNZ and the NZ Selectors would like expressions of interest and your availability for both the AO Champs and the train on squad. Please Note there will be a required criteria as to expected standards and training programmes going forward.
Both are exciting opportunities for our riders and we look forward to hearing from you soon if you are interested. Please let Michelle Malcolm or Grant Hazelwood know your interest. Michelle.malcolm@xtra.co.nz and grant.hazelwood197@gmail.com
Best Regards
Grant Hazelwood – President of Wakeboarding NZ