I personally believe that the issue of sanctioning contests for our waveski association is likely the most important issue.  It seems to me that Brianâ��s argument is that kayak and waveski comps have inherently incompatible rule systems.  He also states that in kayak comps we would be unable to have multiple divisions.

I agree with Brian that contests should be held based on waveski rules, with the World Waveski Association rule handbook used as a guideline.  It would be best to hold contests with a double elimination format.

That said, I see no reason why contests that meet this criteria should not be counted simply because they have a kayak division as well.  I personally would really like to have a contest in New England, and am willing to work to make it happen.  It would however be much easier to put on if the local surf kayakers also supported it, this would not happen without a kayak division.  I do not see that there is an issue with having a contest sanctioned by both the ESKA and USWA.  It seems to me that waveskiing is a small enough sport in the US that we should take any allies we can get.  Although it may be possible to run a waveski only contest in the waveski rich waters of Florida and California I simply do not believe that we have the numbers in New England to make it a reality.  Brian suggests that we should â��walk before we runâ��, and I agree with him.  We should seek out any and all allies in making this a reality.  If ESKA or any other organization is willing to use the waveski rule book and help us put on an event how could that possibly hurt us?

One issue that Brian raised on the phone today is if all the events are in one geographic area this limits those who are not able to attend as many.  Currently the center of gravity for ESKA seems to be in the SE, allowing those who live close enough to accumulate huge numbers of points by attending most events.  Although this is not the fault of those in charge of ESKA (they live there, not in NE) many people up North are quite annoyed about it.  Brian worries, in my opinion correctly, that this would allow those who go to every ESKA event to accumulate an unfair number of points.  I think we should similarly watch that not all comps are in the Cocoa Beach/SE area, and to do this we must be willing to collaborate with others.  Other areas of the country do not have a waveski manufacturer that is willing to sponsor multiple events per year.  This issue could easily be resolved by placing a limit on the number of events that could happen per year in any one region.

I would suggest that we make a list of criteria that the USWA would require to be met before sanctioning an event, and not worry about the other divisions.  I do not see it would be a problem if waveski events were held at the same venue as other comps.  After all, the world championships in Brazil were held using the same infrastructure as an ASP surfing event and the jetski worlds.

Also Brian, thanks so much for the effort you have put into this.  It is great to have someone so willing to promote the sport.
Alexander Stubbs