Welcome to the 2008 IWSF Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup

Dear Skiers,
Welcome to the 2008 IWSF Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup.

This will be the first information bulletin.
Unfortunately, all of the final details are not completely set, but I 
want to send out as much information as I can as early as possible to help 
your planning.

I intend this bulletin to be as comprehensive as possible so it can be
used as reference.

Here we go:

SCHEDULE
The schedule is shown on the IWSF calendar:
(http://www.iwsftournament.com/calendar/calendardisplay.php?year=2008&display=type)


Jul 25-26	World Cup Dubna (Note: Prelims - Friday, Finals- Saturday)	Dubna	Russia

Nov 7-9	World Cup Malaysia (Putrajaya)
Nov 13-15 Doha
Nov	Hyderabad  TBD



Here is the prize money information (in US dollars):

$100,000 in Dubna
$180,000 all others
Minimum $80,000 Overall Bonus

As in past World Cups lodging, meals, and transportation to and from the airport is
supplied.


PRIZE MONEY
The prize money for Dubna is the same as has been standard for the $100,000 tournaments, $20,000
for the men's events and $13,500 for the women's.

Here is the prize money pay-out.

    Men's Events (Dubna)

    2008

   1. 5000
   2. 3500
   3. 2750
   4. 2250
   5. 2000
   6. 1500
   7. 1000
   8. 600
   9. 500
  10. 400
  11. 300
  12. 200 
Total    20000

    Women's Events (Dubna)

    2008
   1. 5000
   2. 3000
   3. 2000
   4. 1500
   5. 1000
   6. 500
   7. 300
   8. 200 


Total    13500

The prize money for Malaysia, Doha, and Hyderabad is on the new higher schedule of 36,000/24,000.
Each invited skier is guaranteed a minimum cash prize of $1,000.
Wild Card skiers are eligible for cash prizes but on a reduced schedule

    Men's Events 

    2008

1.  $7000
2.  $5200
3.  $4300
4.  $3700
5.  $3400
6.  $2800
7.  $2200
8.  $1720
9.  $1600
10.  $1480
11.  $1360
12.  $1240

Total    36,000

    Women's Events 

    2008

1.  $7000
2.  $4600
3.  $3400
4.  $2600
5.  $2100
6.  $1700
7.  $1400
8.  $1200

Total    24,000

Tournament Events:
Putrajaya  Men/Women  S/T/J
Doha  Men/Women  T, possibly slalom, not yet confirmed
Hyderabad - Tentative Men/Women  S/T/J

As noted there will be a final bonus as well as shown here:
    Men's Bonus

    2008
1    7000
2    4500
3    3000
4    1500

Total    16000

    Women's bonus

    2008
1    4600
2    3000
3    2000
4    1000

Total    10600


QUALIFICATION

The following are the qualifying criteria:
2008 IWSF Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup Waterski Selection
1. Current World Champion (2007)
2. World Record holder
3. Top 4 2007 World Cup
4. Top 4 October 2007 IWSF Ranking for Men Slalom, Top 3 all other Events
5. Top 4 2007 Elite Ranking for Men Slalom, Top 3 all other Events
6. World Championships 2nd and 3rd place (2007)
7. Fill in with qualification list 06+07 Rank+ Elite using the following algorithm
(lowest number of 07 Rank, 1.25*06 Rank, 07 Elite, 1.25*06 Elite, ties
broken by 2nd lowest of the set of numbers, and then 3rd)


All of these criteria have been completed.  Based on the criteria,  the list
of qualified skiers has been published at:
http://www.iwsfranking.com/2008/RankingSelection08a.htm



ENTRY & WAITING LIST
In an attempt to make the process more streamlined, we are instituting
some new procedures:

The basic process will be this:  We are asking all invited, waiting list, and potential waiting 
list skiers who want to be considered for entry in the IWSF Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup 
to register at the following web page:
http://www.iwsfranking.com/WSWC/2008GenericEntry.php


We are inviting the top 12 men/8 women skiers in each event.

We are accepting the next 8 men/6 women skiers in each event to be on the waiting list.*

Skiers with lower rankings may register as potential waiting list skiers.

For Dubna, the visa issue is always of great concern. This year we are trying to get the earliest 
start possible so that this issue can be addressed and we can get invitations so that we can proceed
 with the visa process. After the Registration deadline, we will request the invitations from the orgainzer.

However as an alternate procedure, you can investigate getting a tourist visa now before 
the start of the season. This was done by several skiers last year. 



The entry will be done as in past years.  There will be automated forms
on the IWSF Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup web site that must be filled in by a certain deadline.
For Dubna, the registration form also is the entry.
Once the entries are complete, the final list of entrants and a waiting list
will be prepared as in past years.  

The initial selection of skiers will be limited to the following:
MS 12
WS 8
MT 12
WT 8
MJ 12
WJ 8

If skiers withdraw,  then replacement skiers will
be taken in qualification order from the waiting listup to two weeks
before the tournament.  At that point the entry will be closed.

A potential major issue is the problem of late skier cancellations without an acceptable excuse.
This is a serious concern and is not acceptable.
If a skier cancels after the tournament is filled (12MS/8WS/12MT/8WT/12MJ/8WJ) and is deemed by the World
Cup Committee not to have an acceptable excuse, the skier will be penalized by having their highest season
elite tournament score reduced by 20% in each event that the skier entered in the 
IWSF Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup tournament.

What is an acceptable excuse and how do you prove it?
Certainly examples of acceptable excuses are injury and personal family emergency.
Showing a purchased airline ticket and visa would be considered good indications
that the skier intended to compete in the tournament.
Injuries must be certified by a doctor as well.



TOURNAMENT
The finals are 6 and 4

The seeding for all tournaments will be based on the Elite Ranking List as of the date of the tournament.

In the preliminary round, ties will be broken by a one round run-off.

The detailed specific IWSF Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup Rules are at:

http://www.iwsfranking.com/WSWC/2008/WCRules08.htm



TRAVEL PLANNING
There will be travel forms that will need to be filled in.
There will be a deadline on
when you can fill in the travel form.  The form must be completed
14 days prior to the tournament If the travel form is not submitted, 
you may be responsible
for your own airport transport and lodging.

IWSF Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup Points for Waterskiing
IWSF Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup tournaments are Elite tournaments and will use the Elite points for
IWSF Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup placement.  
The 2008 Elite Points system description is available at:
http://www.iwsfranking.com/2008/EliteDescription08.htm


Since all of the IWSF Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup Stops have the predetermined 
prize amounts, there are only two charts and it should be quite simple to calculate 
your points and placement.  The points for the 36,000/24,000 tournaments have beeen 
adjusted to exclude the included travel adjustment.

Prize Money	13,500, 24,000  (Women's Events)

Prize Money	20,000, 36,000  (Men's Events)

COMMUNICATION
Many of the aspects of skier participation in the IWSF Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup rely on electronic
means of communication, mainly, e-mail.  However, as we have seen in the past,
some skiers do not have reliable access to email.  Sometimes the email sent is
marked as SPAM by some mail programs because it is sent out in bulk.  The IWSF has
no control over these mechanisms.
All of the information
emailed out will also be posted in the elite skier mail archive.  All emails will
be archived and available through a web interface.  As a potential participant,
it is your responsibility to be sure you get this information.  The best 
practice is to check the web site at least once per week to be sure that 
you have received all of the information.  Also, if you are not getting these
communications by email, please be sure to send me a correct email address
so I can add you to the list.  I am sending out all of the information
to the Elite Mail List which will be the only list used this year.

The IWSF Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup web site this year is the same as last year and will be updated 
with 2008 information.  Also, skiers will be given accounts and passwords to
be able to update their own media pages so that the most accurate and up to
date information is available to the World Press.


Good Luck in 2008,

Bob Corson

* The IWSF Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup Committee reserves the right to accept more skiers on 
the waiting list according to their qualification order.