The Sri Lanka national and open water ski championships were held at Kumudu Valley Resort in Negombo Sri Lanka on April 6 and 7th 2019. It was a great event sponsored by BMW, Nescafe and Water ski/Wakeboard Camps Sri Lanka.
Hong Kong national team skiers achieved 4 podium places. John Knight, age 14, the top seeded skier in the event and last year’s champion in the men’s open retained his title and took 1st place in the slalom event. John was skiing in his 1st tournament with a top boat speed of 58 kph and scored 3 ½ buoys on a 16 m line (a personal best for the year, including training runs). Caleb Knight took 2nd in the men’s open with a score of 4 ½ buoys at 55 kph on a 16 m line. This was personal best tournament score for Caleb. Nigel Talamo took 3rd in the mixed short board event with a score of 1050 points.
The Sri Lanka Open was part of the 2018 – 19 Asia Slalom Series that consisted of 3 events held in Dubai, Sri Lanka, as well as the Hong Kong Open. Scores for the events were totaled and a handicapping system based on consistency of performance and improvement was implemented. Git Narthykonkani from Sri Lanka was 1st, Angie Christian from Singapore 2nd and Caleb Knight from Hong Kong 3rd.
Congratulations to all the Hong Kong water skiers!