"This was the first weekend of the new engines from Malibu, so we were super stoked, the scores were super high, and the boats were performing super well. The future looks great."
Will Asher // Malibu Boats Athlete
Malibu Boats had a big weekend just outside Charleston, SC featuring a new boat unveiling, festival excitement, and top podium athletes. The Malibu Open Festival was held at Trophy Lakes to mark its 10th year of bringing the top waterski athletes from around the world to compete. Malibu unveiled the 2020 Malibu Response TXi on Friday, September 14th as the crowd got to witness a full day of Open Women Slalom, Open Men Slalom, Open Women Jump, and Open Men Jump. The top contenders then moved on for Semifinals and finals on Saturday, where the crowd got to enjoy the competition while also experiencing the festival full of local food and a number of local bands.
For those new to the sport, slalom competitions are narrowed down to the Top 4 from Semifinals, and then the top two compete in a Head-to-Head where the winner takes victory. In the Head-to-Head competition, the skier who goes first has a slight advantage. The first skier will run his or her course and then the second skier has to round more buoys than the first skier in order to win. If there is a tie, the first skier takes the crown. Both skiers in the Head-to-Head also get to choose which boat from the competition that they would like to ski behind. For the Open Women Slalom, the competition came down to Jaimee Bull (CAN) and Malibu Athlete, Regina Jaquess (USA). Regina, pulled behind the 2020 Malibu Response TXi, not only surpasses Jaimee to win the title, but ran another round and was able to accomplish a remarkable 1.5 buoys at 41’ off.
“Each win gets more and more meaningful and you realize how much not just you put into the sport to keep going and training, but the support crew you have- my parents, my sister at home, and my ski support group with Malibu. It truly gets more and more meaningful,” stated Regina Jaquess, right after winning the Open Women Slalom, her 8th Malibu Open Slalom title.
Followed by the Open Women Slalom was the Open Men Slalom where the Head-to-Head competition came down to Nate Smith (USA) against Malibu Athlete, Will Asher (GBR). Will, who was also pulled by the 2020 Malibu Response TXi, was able to ski his way into victory surpassing Nate and running an additional round to achieve an astonishing 1 buoy at 43’ off.
Saturday was capped off with the Women’s Jump where Jacinta Carroll (AUS) snagged first followed by Regina Jaquess (USA). As the sun set, the crowd got ready for the men’s exciting night Jump competition where Igor Morozov (RUS) flew his way into first place. We could not have asked for a better weekend for everyone to enjoy this year’s Malibu Open, see the new 2020 Malibu Response TXi, and cheer on Malibu Athletes as they took top place in Men and Women’s Slalom.