RACING SKIERS OF THE YEAR 2006

Female

Kim Lumley Great Britain

24 year old Kim Lumley became the IWSF World Water Ski Racing Champion in June 2005. This fine British athlete only began competing in 1996 and from 1997 she has represented Great Britain at every IWSF World Championship event.

Kim has won the prestigious Diamond Race five times, America's Catalina Race four times, and Australia's Sydney Bridge to Bridge in November 2006. Kim is the only European woman to have won the Catalina and the only European person to have won it four times. She has carried the British Women's title for the last seven years and this year entered the British Men's Championships and won. This formidable athlete has been European Women's Champion since 2002.

As a result of her achievements, the freelance fitness instructor from Cambridgeshire has been honoured by British Water Ski with the coveted General Lascelles award and nominated for the Sunday Times Sports Woman of the Year Champions Award. In 2005 she was named BBC Cambridgeshire Sports Personality of the Year. Along with the competition wins, Kim has enjoyed a great deal of Radio and prime-time TV coverage on a variety of well known shows.

The IWSF welcomed Kim onto the World Racing Council in 2005 when she was elected as the IWSF Athlete's Representative for Racing.

These are only the highlights of the tremendous achievements by one of the most likeable people in our sport.

Male

Todd Haig, USA

2005 Men’s World Water Ski Racing Champion Todd Haig has proven himself as the absolute best in the sport. The 27 year old from Redlands, California, USA is unquestionably the most dominant water ski racer in the world.

In June 2005 at Hunstaton, England, Haig’s awesome display of total race domination earned him his first ever World Title. Haig won all four rounds of competition outright and lapped the field in two of the four events. It was the first time since 1997 that all four rounds had been won by a male skier at the World Championships and the first time ever that the winner had lapped the entire field. Haig’s World Title is topped with wins at the Belgian Diamond Race and no less than six wins of the Catalina Water Ski Race.

In 2006, Todd opened the season with back to back wins at the Parker International Marathons in March. Following three other overall wins on the US Marathon circuit, he won his 6th overall Catalina win in June. After a brief layoff due to knee surgery, Todd returned to competition and won both the 26-32 Men's Class and the overall title for the Men's Open at the 2006 US Open in October.

His dominating performance at the US Open, earned him USAWS Athlete of the Month honours for October 2006. Todd then headed to Australia in November where he teamed up with Australia's Danny Cropper to finish 2nd overall in the classic Bridge to Bridge Water Ski Race.

Todd Haig has become one of the most recognizable names in our sport and has etched himself a place in history as one of the elite.

Most recently, America's National Water Ski Racing Association, recognised him as Male Athlete of the Year for the second time and he is now preparing to defend his World Title in New Zealand in May 2007.