Nevadans vie for Jet-ski titles

Friday, Oct. 6, 2000 | 11:58 a.m.

Six of seven defending world champions lead the field, which includes 22 Nevada racers, for the 19th International Jet Sports Boating Association (IJSBA) Skat-Trak World Championships, which start Sunday and run for eight days in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

More than 1,700 entries from nearly 40 nations around the globe will compete for individual gold in the internationally televised championships.

The World Championships is the premier personal watercraft racing event in the world and boasts more than $120,000 in cash and contingencies. IJSBA World Championship titles will be presented in 33 different classes for novice, amateur, expert and professional riders from around the world.

Highlighting the event will be championship battles for seven professional titles for men and women riders. Novice and Amateur events will open the event Sunday through Tuesday, followed by Expert competition Wednesday through Friday. The world's best Pro PWC riders meet in a battle of champions on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 14-15.

The six returning IJSBA World Champions are: Chris MacClugage, Canyon Lake, Calif. (Pro Runabout 1200), France's Nicolas Rius (Pro Ski), Dustin Farthing, Stuart, Fla. (Pro Runabout 785), Tera Crismon, Lake Havasu City, Ariz. (Pro Women Ski), Eric Malone, Duncansville, Pa., (Pro Freestyle) and Canada's Mike Klippenstein (Pro-Am Sport).

France's four-time IJSBA World Champion Karine Paturel-Schacht and this year's IJSBA National Champion Kelly Kurpil, Vero Beach, Fla., are the top racers in the Pro Women Runabout division.

Henderson's Rob Flores, a veteran in the Pro Ski division, will lead 16 Southern Nevada entries into the championships. The two other Pro racers from the area are Las Vegas' Danny Brown and Henderson's Jeff Donovan Jr., both of whom will race in the Pro-Am Sport division.

The other Pro racers from Nevada entered are Reno's James Griffith Jr. (Pro Runabout 1200) and Chad Canepa (Pro Runabout 785).

Minden's 16-year old Blaine Spires is taking a week off from Douglas High School to race as one of the favorites in both Expert Runabout 785 Superstock and Expert Runabout 785 Limited.