Clementine Lucine Calls for Improved Safety Measures at Junior Men’s jump Event. Event. event
The 2024 Masters Water Ski and Wakeboard Tournament was marred by a series of alarming crashes during the Junior Men’s jump event, prompting serious safety concerns from former world record holder and world champion Clementine Lucine.
“Every year, incidents occur that seem to disturb no one, leaving me perplexed and, frankly, terrified at the thought of getting my own children on jumpers and maybe sending them to jump there one day,” shared Lucine, an 18-time Masters competitor.
The event’s troubling start saw Japan’s Jo Nakamura, the first competitor, flirt with the right corner before crashing on the ramp. Shortly after, German Tim Wild also clipped the corner and ended up upside down through the air. Despite these dramatic crashes, both Nakamura and Wild managed to recover and post competitive scores.
The tumult continued with French favorite Tristan Duplan-Fribourg, who was in a tight battle with Jake Abelson for the overall crown. After a pass on his first jump, Duplan-Fribourg missed getting his right ski onto the ramp on his second attempt, resulting in a backward fall. On his third attempt, he had to back off significantly but still ended up collapsing into another backward somersault off the ramp.
Lucine argues that such incidents have become all too common at the US Masters. “Particularly at the junior level, it’s rare to find young athletes who haven’t experienced a crash.”
She speculates on the causes, wondering if the speed, load, and pressure at the bottom of the ramp at the Masters are overwhelming compared to other events. “Is it the ramp? The driver? Are the boats used at the Masters more powerful than those at other events? Is it the prestige of the event that weighs heavily on the minds of young jumpers? Or is there no specific reason?”
Lucine questions whether adequate measures are being taken to ensure the safety of young athletes, suggesting more thorough examinations after a first crash to prevent a potentially fatal second one.
Like many sports, water skiing faces the challenge of safeguarding athletes eager to return to action after a collision or suspected concussion. The IWWF introduced concussion protocols several years ago, but these are not always consistently followed or adhered to.
“Yes, the Masters is THE most prestigious event we have,” Lucine acknowledges. But she insists, “prestige and safety must go hand in hand for success.”
“This year, we narrowly avoided a tragedy, and it seems to be a recurring issue for the past 25 years,” she concluded.
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