53 of the highest ranked Waterski and Wakeboarding athletes in the world will be arriving in Liuzhou in Central-Southwest China from 17 countries around the world to celebrate the Nation's 60th Anniversary Celebrations, media interest has been intensive from the moment the sports athletes arrived.

To date, the International Waterski & Wakeboarding Federation (IWWF) has completed 27 World Cup Wakeboarding Stops with two more yet to go in 2009.

Large numbers of spectators are expected to attend this 28th Stop of the Waterski & Wakeboarding World Cup Sports Series. It will be held on the City's very attractive downtown winding Liu River with its impressive skyline providing the perfect backdrop. Water Sports Administration of China, Chinese Wakeboarding Association, Liuzhou Sports Council and the IWWF have all successfully worked in collaboration with Liuzhou Municipal Government to bring the World Cup sports series to this region. The chief sponsor will be leading vehicle manufacturers SGMW. This is a joint venture between SAIC Motor Corporation Ltd., Liuzhou Wuling Motors Co. Ltd and GM China. MasterCraft will be the official Boat sponsor, having filled this position over past 27 World Cup wakeboarding Stops.

On this occasion, the Liuzhou Waterski & Wakeboarding World Cup Stop will feature Wakeboarding and Waterski Jump. The interest response from the world's highest ranked sports athletes has been at an all-time high. The result is that virtually all of the top performing wakeboarding athletes and Jumpers are present. This will guarantee a very high standard throughout the sports event. There is also a long waiting list of those who are in the qualification venue. In Wakeboarding the hot favorites are most likely to be Phillip Soven USA, Andrew Adkison USA, Nick Davies GBR, Dallas Friday USA, Raimi Merritt USA, and Chen LiLi CHN.

Twenty-year old Phillip Soven, two-time world wakeboarding sports champion, has been a Pro Rider since 11 years old. He often appears that he is surely unbeatable. He took the gold medal at the Singapore World Wakeboarding Cup Stop last season and was awarded the 2008 World Cup Overall Wakeboarding title. Andrew Adkison, 2009 World Games gold medalist, two-time World Wakeboarding sports Champion, past Rookie-of-the-Year, was last years winner of the silver medal at the Palm Hills World Wakeboarding Cup Stop in Egypt and also the bronze medal winner at both the 2008 Singapore and Doha, Qatar, World Wakeboarding Cup Stops. Nick Davies secured the silver medal at the Singapore World Cup Wakeboarding Stop in 2008 and the gold medal at the 2008 Palm Hills World Cup Wakeboarding Stop in Egypt.

Dallas Friday, a past gymnast, like Phillip Soven, often seems unbeatable as well. Friday has claimed five national USA Wakeboarding titles, four X Games gold medals and three World Wakeboarding Championships titles. She took the World Cup gold Wakeboarding medal in Singapore and silver in Doha, Qatar in 2008. She was awarded the 2008 World Cup Wakeboarding Overall title and recently secured the World Games Wakeboarding title. Raimi Merritt, at only 16 years old, has caught many spectaters by surprise. A past Rookie-of-the-Year, she took the World Cup title at the Palm Hills World Cup Wakeboarding Stop in Egypt and also in Doha, Qatar last season as well as the bronze in Singapore. She recently added the World Games silver wakeboarding medal to her collection. Chen LiLi, China's most successful international Rider, is the 2008 Asia AustralAsia Wakeboardcing Sports Champion and won the bronze medal at the recent IWWF Wakeboarding World sports Championships. She is also a past Singapore World Cup Wakeboarding Stop Champion

In Waterski Jump the hot favorites are most likely to be Freddy Krueger USA, Jaret Llewellyn CAN, Ryan Dodd CAN, Natalia Berdnikova BLR, June Fladborg DEN and Clementine Lucine FRA. Freddy Krueger is an extraordinary athlete by all standards. As World Jump sports Champion and three time World Record division holder, he has held the top rank position in the past five IWWF Ranking tables. His achievements include US Masters Champion and World Cup Series Champion and is regarded by many as the greatest Waterski jumper of all time. Jaret Llewellyn is another Waterski phenomenon. With 11 World Records to his credit and 104 professional sports wins, he is a 9 time US Masters Champion, 20 time Moomba Masters Champion and 21 time PanAmerican sports Champion. Ryan Dodd is a past Junior Masters Rolex Jump Champion, Junior US Open Jump Champion, Canadian National Jump Champion - and burst in to the headlines this season when he took the Dubna Russia World Cup Jump sports title plus the IWWF World Championships silver medal. Natalia Berdnikova, the Belarus Jump record holder, is a past US Masters Jump sports Champion and took the 2008 Dubna Russia World Cup Jump sports title.

The Scandinavian Jump record holder, June Fladborg, has been at the top of Jumping in Europe since her EAME sports title in 2003. She has also taken Moomba Masters, US Masters and World Cup Jump titles and recently took the silver medal at the IWWF World Sports Championships. Clementine Lucine, the 2006, 2007 and 2008 IWWF Athlete of the Year, is one of the Worlds greatest Overall skiers. She has dominated in Tricks and Overall as far back as 2002 at Junior level. She is World Shortboard Record sports holder and almost always takes a podium place.

For the Liuzhou, China, audience, it would have been possible to attract a higher caliber of sports athletes. As this is the beginning of a crucial five-year relationship between the IWWF and the Liuzhou Municipal Government, the President of the International Waterski & Wakeboarding Federation, Kuno Ritschard, stated that this great World Sports Cup location will help to encourage and support the ambitious watersports development plans of the City and will also create a greater global awareness of the beautiful attractions in this Central-Southwest region of China.

World Cup Timetable

* October 1 - Thursday
o 20.00hrs - International Aquatic Carnival Opening Ceremony
October 2 - Friday
o 09.00hrs - Wakeboarding Women Semi-Finals
o 10.30hrs - Wakeboarding Men Quarter-Finals
o 14.30hrs - Jump Women Semi-Finals
o 16.10hrs - Jump Men Semi-Finals
o 18.00hrs - World Cup Press Conference
* October 3 - Saturday
o 10.30hrs - Wakeboarding Men Semi-Finals
o 13.30hrs - Official World Cup Opening Ceremony
o 14.05hrs - World Cup Wakeboarding Women Finals
o 15.00hrs - World Cup Wakeboarding Men Finals
o 15.53hrs - World Cup Jump Women Finals
o 16.05hrs - World Cup Jump Men Finals
o 17.10hrs - World Cup Award Ceremony
o 17.50hrs - World Cup Press Conference