This is a knock-out competition, a one-off event bringing all the country's freestylers together for the "FA Cup of Freestyle".  The first 2 riders take to the water, one wearing a red vest, the other a blue, and ride out past the crowd. One then performs a 2 minute freestyle routine while the other watches on the bank. They then swap over and after both routines, the watching crowd vote for the winning rider.
 

The winner goes through to the next round, while the loser goes through into the consolation last-chance round. The next riders take to the water quickly after, so the action is constant.
 

The competition then moves rapidly on in a standard knock-out format through to the quarter finals, semis and then finals when someone is crowned champion.

We all know who the top riders are and we all know that they "cut their teeth" on basic tricks, so in the early rounds we will “mix it up a bit” to level the playing field and neutralise the horsepower advantage.

For example, in the first round, the ski must not leave the water, so no big air. Then, in the next round, a Sub and maybe a Hood Spin must be included, although the exact criteria has not yet been determined.

Of course, as we get to the sharp end, we get more traditional and have no restrictions, we want to see the best riders perform the best tricks.

The venue is Tattershall, Lincolnshire, on the big lake. It is the FNT weekend of 1st and 2nd August. The normal FNT competitions will be done on the Saturday, leaving Sunday free for the Challenge.

There is a prize purse of £1000:
                                                             £500   for 1st place
                                                             £250   for 2nd place
                                                             £150   for 3rd place
                                                             £100   for 4th place
                                                             

There are no restrictions on ski type, engine cc or rider licence requirements, lets have the best of the best at the best event of the year. Each rider must have valid insurance.
Entrance fee is £20, or £10 if you had entered the FNT comps on Saturday.

All riders get to ski at least twice, so its still “worth entering” for the younger riders. In order to work out the double-elimination knock-out grid, we will need riders to have pre-registered.

We want everyone to come along and make the day a celebration of freestyle, a day dedicated to our sport bringing all riders together in a different format of competition to be a showcase for Freestyle....................

The Freestyle Gladiator Challenge

Ok, so maybe we are not going to ask our freestyle riders to fight to the death, but we do want them to battle against each other.

 

The FNT and La Manga Holidays have a new format for a freestyle competition

Picture the scene... ancient Rome, the Colosseum... Every seat in the house is taken, the crowd is roaring, waiting for their favourite sport... Suddenly two gladiators enter the arena, everyone jumps to their feet, straining to see and cheering for their favourite... the roar is deafening...

The 2 gladiators go into battle, pitting wits against brawn, finesse against muscle... Eventually, after a close fought battle, Caesar turns to the crowd and shouts  “who is the victor?” They cheer and then start chanting the name of their hero….