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WATERSKI MagazineBy now you've heard about water skiing's power players standing on their heads over the fact they've finally brought an international package of events together under one circuit – the World Cup. Water skiing's Cup will work much like the alpine version, with the results from as many as 17 tournaments around the world determining annual champions in men's and women's slalom and jump. But what exactly does this mean for the sport? We asked International Water Ski Federation president Andres Botero for some insight:
Q: This seems like something that should have been done years ago, creating an international circuit. Why is it just happening now?
A: Actually, the federation brought up the idea 20 years ago, but nobody tried to make it happen. Then Roby Zucchi (president of the Italian Waterski Federation) came to us with a presentation on paper three years ago. He opened our eyes again, and it finally came to a head last September in Geneva (Switzerland).
Q: What if this hadn't happened?
A: To be honest, the sport hadn't been very healthy. We would have been stuck in the past, and that just wasn't working.
Q: So what were the biggest roadblocks?
A: Everyone wanted to put on their own shows. But the event organizers finally realized that if we could join forces, we'd be that much stronger. Plus, Cafi de Colombia stepped up and agreed to take care of the sponsorship end.
Q: Can you put this into some sort of historical perspective?
A: Our sport has taken three important steps since 1946. Our acceptance into the Olympics as a demonstration sport in 1972, the Pan American Games in 1995, and third is this World Cup. We're a credible sport now.
