If there was a frequent flyer program for podium finishes, Team Syndicate probably just earned enough miles to circle the globe.
Five tournaments. Five countries. Enough 41-off scores to make your average skier question their life choices. And somehow, Will Asher still made it all look like another week at the office.
The European leg of the Water Ski Pro Tour kicked off in Morocco at the Royal Nautique Pro, where the river decided it wanted equal billing with the athletes. The conditions were spicy, the margins were microscopic, and the women’s final turned into yet another all-Canadian heavyweight bout between Jaimee Bull and Neilly Ross.
Both women finished with 3 at 39 off, because apparently winning the easy way is no longer fashionable. One runoff later, Jaimee walked away with the title, proving once again that pressure seems to bring out her best skiing. Meanwhile, our own Will Asher quietly went about doing what Will Asher has been doing for, well, about forever. 2.25 at 41 off earned the living legend another podium finish. Tough water. Tough field. Same old Will.
Next stop was Monaco.
Now, Monaco has casinos, yachts, Formula 1, and apparently runoff victories. Jaimee fired an eye-popping 2 at 41 off in the opening round before finding herself in another sudden-death showdown. She survived that one too, collecting another title and probably taking a few years off her family’s life expectancy in the process. Allie Nicholson wasn’t far behind, earning her own place in the runoff before finishing third. Will missed the podium by one spot in fourth, while Jon Travers and Thibaut Dailland reminded everyone just how ridiculously deep Team Syndicate has become, finishing sixth and seventh after running 4 and 3 at 41 off.
Then came Fungliss.
At this point, Jaimee apparently decided drama was overrated. She simply ran 39 off. Then did it again. Then did it again. Just because. She finished things off with 1½ at 41 to take another victory that looked almost routine, until you remember that running 39 is supposed to be anything but routine.
Allie grabbed another podium with third, while Will raised the bar again, producing his best score of the European swing with 5 at 41 off in the finals, and….Another podium. Of course.
Next: Spain for the Botaski ProAm.
Jaimee wasted no time announcing her arrival with 1 at 41 in the preliminaries before finishing second overall behind the one and only Regina Jaquess. Losing to the GOAT isn’t exactly something to lose sleep over. Allie was right back in the thick of things with another fourth-place finish.
And then there was Will.
Three at 41. Every. Single. Round.
If consistency paid prize money, Will would owe the IRS.
That remarkable string of scores earned him another third-place finish, while Rob Hazelwood found himself on the wrong side of the tiniest margin imaginable. Rob also scored 3 at 41 but lost the tiebreaker on backup scores, finishing fourth after another world-class performance.
Lastly, Recetto:
The circus rolled into Recetto, Italy, home of last year’s World Championships. And wouldn’t you know it, Jaimee looked right at home. Back-to-back scores of 2 at 41 set the tone before she closed the deal in the finals with ½ at 41 for yet another victory.
As for Will, he was charging. Really charging. Five at 41 in the finals, and if he hadn’t lost count at 5, we might have been talking about another win instead of another runner-up finish behind fellow Brit Freddie Winter. Still, five at 41, second place, and another podium. Just another chapter in what is becoming one of the greatest careers our sport has ever seen.
Rob Hazelwood was knocking on the podium door yet again with 3 at 41 for fourth, while Italy’s own Matteo Luzzeri matched that score to finish fifth in front of the home crowd. And let’s tip our hat to one of the youngsters in the Syndicate family. Tim Wild continued his climb through the professional ranks with a solid 13th-place finish against one of the deepest fields of the season. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know this won’t be the last time you hear his name.
So what’s the takeaway after Europe?
Jaimee Bull keeps proving she’s one of the fiercest competitors on the planet. Whether it’s a runaway victory or another nerve-wracking runoff, she just keeps finding a way. Will Asher continues doing things that simply shouldn’t be possible after competing at the highest level for as long as he has. Podium after podium. Weekend after weekend. The man just refuses to become ordinary.
Allie Nicholson keeps putting herself in the conversation. Rob Hazelwood keeps knocking on the podium door. Jon Travers, Thibaut Dailland, Matteo Luzzeri and Tim Wild continue proving that Team Syndicate isn’t built around one star. It’s built around an entire roster of them.
Europe, thanks for the memories. We’ll take the podiums, the passports, and just enough jet lag to remind us it all actually happened. Next stop, the second half of the Pro Tour. We have a feeling the best chapters are still waiting to be written.
