2008 WUC Waterski: Day 4
October 5th, 2008
Rodrigo Miranda (CHI) won the Men's Jump
The 2nd World University Waterskiing Championship came to an end on the fourth day of competition. Skiers took part in 5 finals, including Men's Slalom, Men's Tricks, Women's Tricks, Men's Jump and Women's Jump. In Men's Slalom, Cale Burdick from the USA topped the ranking list. In Women's Tricks, his teammate Alexandra Lauretano got the gold medal with 7,360 points, while in Men's Tricks, Herman Beliakou from Belarus won with 9,810 points.
In Men's Jump held in the afternoon, Rodrigo Miranda from Chile jumped the furthest, at a distance of 60.0 meters. As for Women's Jump, Regina Jaguess from the United States of America won with 49.0 meters. This is the second gold medal Regina has won. She got her first one in Women's Slalom which was awarded on October 3rd. In Team Event, the strong team from the United States achieved a great victory with 8,572.13 points at hand, about 700 points ahead of the silver medallists, which comes from Czech Republic, with 7,871.26 points. France followed by 6,506.66 points.
At 6:30 pm, the closing ceremony was held on the beach beside the lake. The Award Ceremony for Team Event was firstly held. Afterwards, FISU first assessor Michael Ralethe Malumbete delivered a speech totally in Chinese, which aroused a big round of applause from the audience. In his speech, he thanked all the skiers who had showed the best of them in this competition, the OC for their great job being done, and called for the world to work together to hold the next tournament successfully. He then handed over a FISU plate to Mr. Kuno Ritschard, IWSF President, on behalf of FISU, and thanked IWSF for their cooperation with FISU. Mr. Yang Liguo, the general secretary of the Federation of University Sports of China responded in his speech that all the student skiers should make full use of the platform FISU had provided them with to promote their mentality and help the world achieve peace. He also thanked the volunteers for their hard work and great job.
The indispensable volunteers
Then came the most exciting part of the closing ceremony, the cultural show. Students had a banquet at the beach afterwards. They wore their best suits and dresses, danced with each other and shared friendship with each other. The LOC arranged special performances for the skiers who came all the way to China, which included both traditional Chinese dances and modern dances, both bands and songs. The participating teams also joined the show, which brought the party to a new high. Cheers and applause, hugs and handshakes, this is all the closing ceremony is about.
Alexandra Lauretano (USA) in the Women's Tricks Final
Regina Jaguess (USA) won her second gold medal in the women's jump
Individual Overall Best
Traditional dances at the Closing Ceremony
More Info
More info on the WUC can be found on the website of the Organising Committee at http://www.ncwsa.com/wuc/.
