During recent Masters Water Ski & Wakeboard tournaments I have thought that it cannot get any better; but, somehow this year it did! What an incredible weekend. The Masters is the most prestigious event in our industry and this past weekend proved it once again.

The Masters is an invitation only event (for the athletes) and only the absolute top skiers, wakeboarders and wakeskaters in the world are invited. The competitors tell me it is the most coveted invitation in our sport and even those athletes who have competed many times get excited about an invitation to the Masters!

Since only the best athletes compete at the Masters it is no surprise that the competition was incredible. It started with the Juniors on Friday and went all weekend long. The men’s slalom elimination round on Saturday may have been the most exciting slalom event ever. The finals on Sunday were also very exciting, for all disciplines. Our Ski Nautique pulled four new course records (which is no small feat when the course has been used for 52 years!)

A special shout out to Nautique athletes Whitney McClintock, Natallia Berdnikava, and Jon Travers on their Masters wins!

In addition to the official competition we also had an exhibition slalom tournament using the 100% electric Ski Nautique E. This 100% electric Nautique pulled skiing legends Andy Mapple and Kris LaPoint on successive days in an exciting and fun exhibition tournament that thrilled the crowd and reminded everyone of previous Masters. The Ski Nautique E wowed the crowd with its performance. It was exciting when the crowd and announcers all kept quiet as the 100% electric Nautique passed by to be able to experience the quietness of the boat.

Callaway Gardens was spectacular this year and the weather was awesome making this beautiful venue even nicer. There is truly no better place for a watersports tournament. The team of Callaway Gardens worked extra hard to make sure there were plenty of evening activities for the crowd and numerous people mentioned to me that was their most fun visit to Callaway Gardens ever.

Over the weekend innumerable people shared with me how special this Masters weekend is to them; it truly is a special time. We will be back at Callaway Gardens next year on Memorial Day weekend for the 53rd Masters so make your plans now to join us for what is sure to be another incredible weekend!

Enjoy the Nautique life!

Nautique athlete Jon Travers’s winning pass at the 2011 Masters

Bill with 2011 Masters' champs Jon Travers, Natallia Berdnikava and Whitney McClintock