Narrandera’s Lake Talbot was again the venue for round 5 of the 2024 Malibu Tournament Series over the weekend of February 3 and 4.

This tournament caters for three event skiers in tricks, slalom and jump and is a favourite venue for many of the water skiers.

Skiers came from Wagga, Albury, Canberra, Forbes, Queanbeyan, Yarrawonga, Goulburn, Bellbridge, Sydney and Howlong.

With a record number of entries the competition got under way on the Friday afternoon with some tricks.

Many skiers achieved personal best scores in the different events.

It was great to see so many junior skiers which augurs well for the future of tournament water skiing. Some of the parents also skied in the tournament.

As the site at Narrandera has to be set up before the event there were a number of volunteers that put in the hard yards to put everything in place and to dismantle after the event was finished. A big thank you to all the work crew as well as Phil Carmichael and Pavo Soldo for the use of their Malibu boats for the weekend.

Thanks were also extended to all the people who helped with the judging and driving over the weekend for without these people the event would not be possible.

A big shout out to the sponsors as these events could not happen without sponsorship support- Malibu Boats, Hayllar Transport, Central West Diesel and Nutrien, D3Skies, Mulwala Hotel, WB Hunter Group, Stoney Park, Wagga Trucks, Wodonga MG, Wing Australia, Stokes Skies, Tribe of Ski, KD Skies, JDT Homes, Waterskiers World, Lake Hume Resort and Mc Rea Boats.

Results

Tricks

• 0-500: 1st Macy Wilton from Forbes, 2nd Campbell Sutton from Albury, 3rd Poppy Bressington from Sydney.
• 500-1000: 1st Billie Bressington from Sydney, 2nd Oscar Cronin from Goulburn, 3rd Max Pigdon from Bellbridge.
• 1000-2000: 1st Nate Pigdon from Bellbridge, 2nd Georgia Pigdon from Bellbridge, 3rd ark Louder from Sydney.
• 2000-3000: 1st Jaycee Ashcroft from Wagga, 2nd Georgia Richards from Lockhart, 3rd Isabel SHAW from Wagga.
• 3000 plus: 1st Callan Ashcroft from Wagga, 2nd Cathryn Gordon from Bellbridge, 3rd Art Soldo from Queanbeyan.

Jump

• 0-10 mtrs: 1st Jude King from Forbes, 2nd Campbell Sutton from Albury, 3rd Alana Hehir from Yarrawonga.
• 10-20 mtrs: 1st Demitri Trapani from Canberra, 2nd Jagger King from Forbes, 3rd Caitlyn King from Forbes.
• 20-30mtrs: 1st Nat Pigdon from Bellbridge, 2nd Jaycee Ashcroft from Wagga, 3rd Georgia Pigdon from Bellbridge.
• 35-40mtrs: 1st Mark Louder from Sydney 40+mtrs, 1st Callan Ashcroft from Wagga.
• Winner of Most Improved Zone 5 Junior: Evie Hay from Albury.
• Winner of Best Performance: Oscar Cronin from Goulburn.

Slalom results

• Mini Course D6: 1st Abigail Sutton from Sydney, 2nd Ava Britt from Sydney, 3rd Gus Sutton from Sydney.
• 28km-46km D5: 1st Archie Ouirk from Goulburn, 2nd Taj Harrison from Yarrawonga, 3rd Michelle Mc Niven from Goulburn.
• 46km-52km D4: 1st Oscar Cronin from Goulburn, 2nd Nate Harrison from Yarrawonga, 3rd Murray Pigdon from Bellbridge.
• 52km-16mtrs D3: 1st Bridget Moloney from Wagga, 2nd Josh Hooper from Sydney, 3rd Max Pigdon from Bellbridge.
• 16mtrs-13mtrs D2: 1st Robert Wing from Sydney, 2nd Mark Louder from Sydney, 3rd Mitchell Lawes from Albury.
• 13mtrs + D1: 1st Art Soldo from Canberra, 2nd Callan Ashcroft from Wagga, 3rd Pavo Soldo from Canberra 

This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 15 February 2024.