PanAM

<BODY TEXT=#000000 LINK=#FF8040 VLINK=#FF8000 BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF > <BASE TARGET="_top"> <DIV class=s0> <TABLE WIDTH="92%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="2" > <TR> <TD WIDTH=100% VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#000095> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s9 style='text-align: center;'> <FONT style='color:#FFFFFF;'><B><I></I></B></FONT><FONT style='color:#FFFFFF;'><B>XVI Pan American Water Ski Championships </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s9 style='text-align: center;'> <FONT style='color:#FFFFFF;'><B>Santiago, Chile  </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#FFFFFF;font-size:12pt;'>November 29-December 1, 1996 </FONT></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#FFFFFF;font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> </TD></TR></TABLE></DIV> <DIV class=s0> <TABLE WIDTH="95%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="2" > <TR> <TD WIDTH=100% VALIGN=TOP > <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>Traveling to a water ski tournament can be tough-traffic tie-ups on I-95, construction delays at Dulles, bus rides from the economy parking lot, and Thanksgiving crowds in the airport. But the trip had not yet begun. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>Three hours after leaving Virginia a rendezvous begins in Miami, where the best US skiers convene to fly as a team to the XVI Pan-American Championships. Competitive divisions include Juniors (under age 17), 17-21 Year Olds, Open and Veterans (over age 30). The best of the best from the United States in each of these divisions were ready to journey to Santiago, Chile, via an 8-1/2 hour non-stop plane ride. Upon the conclusion of the plane ride the next morning, a bus ride takes everyone to the tournament site for site familiarization. The first day in Chile was a long and tiring one. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>Competition at the “made for skiing” lake took place over four days, often not finishing until after 8:00 PM. The lake is the private practice site of Waldo Miranda, a Chilean businessman with interests in construction, renderings, and chickens (Super Pollo). The lake was designed to detailed specifications for 3-event skiing, including a wider area for jumping, turn islands, and low sloped banks with special-size rocks to eliminate backwash.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>The general contour of the land was ignored and a berm was constructed around three sides of the site to form a perfectly shaped lake. Amenities at the site include Waldo’s elegant new home, the caretaker and coach’s home, tennis courts, pool, and a starting dock complete with bath, showers, kitchen, and ping pong. The old llama barn served as the lunch room and 3-event bag storage. Obviously, this was an oasis in a South American city of 6 million people. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>Five countries competed in each of the four divisions, with Canada winning Veterans for the first time ever, Canada also winning the Open division, and the USA capturing the Gold in the two younger divisions. Eastern Region skiers </FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'><B>Benny</B></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'> and </FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'><B>Susie</B></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'> </FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'><B>Lohr</B></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'> both qualified for the finals in each of the 3 events (top 6 for the men and top 4 for the women). </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'><B>Susie</B></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'> won the preliminary jump event, and placed second behind Mariana Ramirez of Mexico in slalom, with a personal best of 1 buoy at 35 off, despite not realizing she had started at 22 off (16 meters) rather than 15 off (Americans can’t translate Spanish or meters). She was unable to hold on to the jump title in the finals, jumping 129 feet, 3 feet shorter than Brandi Hunt of Orlando, Florida. In tricks Susie was third in both the preliminaries and finals, behind who else than Brandi and Mandy Nightingale of Oklahoma. Unfortunately the finals in slalom were “disaster city” for Susie, resulting in a 6th place finish, and a second overall, with Brandi the overall winner. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'><B>Benny</B><B>’s </B></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>best performances resulted in a fifth place overall result, and a third in slalom, with a best score of 3 at 35 off. Benny’s best jump was 164 feet (6th place) and his best trick run was 6710 (sixth place). </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>Former Eastern Region Champion Brenda Nichols Baldwin helped the Open team with a first place finish in Jumping (144 feet) and 3rd overall. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>Additionally, former Eastern Region Champion Barbara Cleveland aided the Veteran team with a 2nd in Slalom (1-1/2 at 28 off), 3rd in tricks (3,900), 2nd in Jump (111 feet), and 3rd Overall. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>The Santiago experience ended with the USA’s first ever loss in the Veteran division, and the third loss for the Open division. The 17-21 Year Old Team and the Junior Team remain undefeated. This trip represents the first time significant financial assistance has been received from the US Olympic Committee (USOC) to assist in funding the USA Team. Hopefully, this is another small step in seeing water skiing in the 2004 Olympics. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>Traveling to South America with sixteen US Team members, a team coach, manager, and team doctor, one husband, several parents, and one grandparent is a challenge. Fourteen oversize 3-event bags stress even the best airports, and take forever to securely tie on top of Chilean buses. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>And of course the adjustment of Americans to Chilean water, food, and the general environment resulted in numerous cases of general sickness. Fortunately, most of the sickness did not severely impact the skier performances, but did result in less site seeing and evening activities. This inconvenience was offset by the friendly and helpful Chileans who, despite the language barrier, went out of their way to make us feel welcomed and to show off their country.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>Numerous US officials sacrificed their time (and money, as they paid for their own flights) to make the XVI Pan-American Water Ski Championships a success. Chief Judge Ruth Johnston (formerly of the Eastern Region) was able to run a well-organized tournament despite having no extra officials.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>And speaking of just getting by, the tournament was run with just 2 boats, one with over 1200 hours used for slalom and jump, and one with over 520 hours, used for tricks. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>Benny and Susie’s participation on this year’s US Team is the second year for Susie and the forth for Benny. Susie is a 6-time National Champion, having won every event at least once. Benny is a 9- time National Champion, having won 6 National Overall titles. Susie is also the Rolex Junior Masters Jump Champion this year. Susie and Benny are both sponsored by MasterCraft Boats, O’Brien Skis, and Masterline Ropes and Handles. Additionally, Susie is sponsored by Peace Frogs. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>Eastern Region skiers should strive to be included on future USA teams. Selection is coordinated by the International Activities Committee of AWSA, where the East has two enthusiastic members, Jon Thacher and Jerry Stansberry. Juniors should learn about these opportunities and establish their skiing goals to include possible team trial participation. Future events include trips to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for the 1997 Can-Am Championships, and to France for the 1998 Junior Worlds.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>SUMMARY OF RESULTS ARE AS FOLLOWS: </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>Junior Team 1st - USA 2nd - Mexico 3rd - Colombia </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>17 - 21 Team 1st - USA 2nd - Argentina 3rd - Mexico </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>Open Team 1st - Canada 2nd - USA </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>Veteran Team 1st - Canada 2nd - USA </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'><B>Susie Lohr </B></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'>Slalom - 4th place - 1 @ 35 off Tricks - 3rd place - 5740 points Jump - 2nd place - 130 feet Overall - 2nd place  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7 style='margin-left: 3mm;'> <FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'><B>Benny Lohr</B></FONT><FONT style='color:#000080;font-size:12pt;'> Slalom - 3rd place - 3 @ 35 off Tricks - 6th place - 6710 Jump - 6th place - 165 feet Overall - 5th place </FONT></DIV> </TD></TR></TABLE></DIV> <DIV class=s0>  </DIV> <DIV class=s0>  </DIV> <DIV class=s0>  </DIV> <DIV class=s0>  </DIV>