FRANZ KIRSCH   

Once again we have the opportunity of honoring a skier who, after a long and successful 
competitive career, had devoted himself to the administration of the sport with even greater 
success.  In the case of Franz Kirsch we have a person who has been a strong competitor in 
two different disciplines.

For seven years, Franz Kirsch was a member of the German National Tournament Water Ski Team.  
For another five years he was a member of the German National Barefoot Team, placing second 
in the European Championships in 1977.

Franz has devoted more than a quarter of a century to water skiing administration, serving 
on the board of the German Water Ski Federation, publishing the German Water Ski Magazine, 
judging, homologating and organizing many national and international barefoot championships.  
He has been the chief judge of two World Barefoot Championships and has organized or 
co-organized two others.  For ten years he was the Chairman of the IWSF Barefoot Countil and 
a member of the IWSF Executive Board.

It is my pleasure to announce the induction into the International Water Ski Hall of Fame 
of the principal organizational force behind the success of barefoot skiing as a competitive 
discipline, Franz Kirsch.