Some of the best slalom water skiers in the world are descending on Cirencester Water Ski Club in the Cotswolds this week to take part in a unique and exhilarating competition. Skiers will battle it out, rounding buoys on a slalom course while skiing side-by-side at high speed behind two boats. It’s the first time the professional water ski circuit has included a dual slalom.

It’s being called The Ultimate DUEL Waterski Battle and the organisers came up with the completely new format to make competition more exciting for both the skiers taking part and spectators.

It’s a knockout competition where the skiers go head-to-head and side by side. The last skier standing is the winner.

“Our aim is to make water skiing understandable to non-water-skiers and produce an amazing spectacle that introduces our fantastic sport to a much wider audience,” said Mike Logut, the lead organiser of the DUEL.

The inaugural event takes place at Cirencester Water Ski Club, in Gloucestershire on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th July.

The event will be presented by 4 x Olympian snow ski racer and BBC Ski Sunday presenter Chemmy Alcott, making her debut presenting skiing of a different kind. She will be assisted by the 2005 World Championships silver medallist in water ski slalom, Glenn Campbell. They will be joined by roving reporter, Aimee Fuller, a 2 x Team GB Winter Olympic snowboarder.

The DUEL is the fifth and final stop of the European stage of the Waterski Pro Tour (WPT)- a series of professional competitions held throughout the season in the US and Europe with points awarded and a tour champion crowned at the end.

Three of the top four men in the 2022 WPT standings are taking part in The DUEL. Two of them are Britons and they are among the very best slalom water skiers on the planet. Will Asher (39, Boston, Lincolnshire) is a 2 x World Champion and the current leader in the WPT standings. He goes into The Duel after back to back wins on the WPT, in Greece on 10th July and in Norway on 17th. Freddie Winter (32, Wandsworth, London) is the 2017 World Champion and has won many professional titles. Asher and Winter will be taking on the likes of Italian Thomas Degasperi, who is another double World Champion, and Sacha Descuns of France who has returned to strong form after a long injury lay-off.

Three of the top four women in the 2022 Waterski Pro Tour standings will also be in Cirencester: Allie Nicholson (USA), who had her first professional win in Norway at the weekend and who currently leads the women’s standings, Beatrice Ianni (Italy) and Ali Garcia (USA).

As well as events for Pro Men and Women, there will competitions for amateur skiers.

The concept of water-skiers competing head-to-head was inspired by snow ski parallel slalom races and the idea developed over the past couple of years, culminating in an amateur test event at Cirencester in September 2021. It was a huge success with all the skiers taking part, and some professional skiers who didn’t. It resulted in demand for a professional head-to-head competition and the The DUEL is the result.

You can watch the highlights of the test event and the concept development video at https://theduelwaterski.com

The DUEL will be livestreamed at https://theduelwaterski.com/live at 14:15 BST on Saturday 23rd and at 13:00 BST on Sunday 24th July. The event will also be livestreamed to the social channels of boat sponsor Malibu Boats, which have more than half a million followers.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

In addition to Will Asher and Freddie Winter, the following British Water Ski Open Squad skiers will be taking part in The DUEL:

Calum Heath (Chesham, Buckinghamshire), Tom Poole (Abingdon, Oxfordshire), Rob Hazelwood (Lincoln, Lincolnshire), Arron Davies (Bolton, Lancashire), Ben Turp (Gosfield, Essex), Katie Nutt (Oxford, Oxfordshire) and Charlie Emmett (Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire).

Also competing are Under 21 Squad members: Georgia Fearn, Amber Butterfield, Saba Yorke-Davies and Molly Lee; Under 17s: Dani Halford, Harrison Crossland, Myles Rose and Alfie Fletcher; Under 14s Seb Turp and Harley Coster.

PHOTOS of the 2021 test event are available in the dropbox link below. Please credit the photographers as indicated:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ek16s0tepk73sw5/AAC_p4wY-dqg4WxZlDFKb6rIa?dl=0

Water ski slalom explained - The boat travels at a constant speed in a straight line down the middle of the slalom course. At elite level the speed is 58kph (36mph) for men and 55kph (34mph) for women. The skier, on a single ski, has to go through the entrance gates - a pair of buoys in the middle of the course - then virage from side to side across the boat wakes, successfully rounding the turn buoys before going through the exit gates. Each successful pass results in the rope being shortened, making it increasingly difficult to reach the turn buoys. Eventually, the rope length becomes less than the distance from the boat to the turn buoys, so the skier has to use body length and reach to round them. The winner is the skier who completes the most turn buoys at the shortest rope length. The DUEL will be using two 4-buoy slalom courses side-by-side rather than the single 6-buoy course used in traditional slalom competitions.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND THE EVENT, PLEASE CONTACT: Laith Amiry on laith@theduelwaterski.com or on 07521 750111

The Duel Waterski Limited is a company that has been set up with the objective of creating an exciting development in slalom water-skiing and increase the reach of the sport to a wider audience. For more information visit https://theduelwaterski.com

British Water Ski & Wakeboard is the sport’s national governing body and a non-profit making membership organisation. All its income is invested in developing and protecting water skiing and wakeboarding across the UK from the grassroots to our top athletes.

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