Syndicate Shines at Swiss Pro Slalom
Photography & Words: John Mommer
The first pro waterski event of the year kicked off over the weekend at Swiss Waterski Resort in Clermont, Florida. With the dock pro-skier packed, the Syndicate team came out firing on all cylinders, scoring big which resulted in 50% of the mens finals filed riding Syndicate Waterskis.
In his pro debut, Rob Hazelwood put on a show by running 3 buoys at 41’off(10.25m) in back to back preliminary rounds. As one of the lowest initial seeds, Rob remained on the top of the leaderboard for most of the first round as the majority of the field were swallowed in the 39’off(10.75m) bottleneck. On the day, Hazelwood ran 39’off every single round including in the finals. Rob’s 1@41’off finals score put him in 8th place after all was said and done. Had he run 3@41’off like he did in both prelim rounds, he would have been added to the 4-way runoff for first place, with his cousin and Syndicate team-mate Will Asher. “Everything just came together at the right time and I had by far the most fun I’ve ever had on a slalom ski”, said Rob following his epic pro debut. Rob looked absolutely dialed on his 2021 66” Syndicate Pro/Syndicate Hardshell setup. We anticipate seeing much more from young Hazelwood as he aims at continuing his efforts on the Pro Waterski Tour.
On the Women’s side, Jaimee Bull established herself early with strong scored into 39.5” off(10.75m) in each of the preliminary rounds, running 38’off with relative ease. In the final, Jaimee’s 39’off pass was off to a fantastic start with her strength and timing dialed. Her finals score of 4@39’off put a lot of pressure on 7-time champion Regina Jaquess, who managed to fight for the extra ¼ buoy to just edge Jaimee out of the title. Congratulations to Jaimee on her tremendous 2nd place finish!
Rob’s aforementioned cousin, Will Asher also had a big weekend, running 2.5@41’off and 3@41’off in the preliminary rounds before tying the 3@41’off lead in the finals. Will looked as smooth and calculated as ever, just tripping up at 3ball after an epic start to 41’off on his Syndicate Omega. Will’s consistency at 39’off, even running it in the cold-39 tie-breaker round proved enough for a 3rd place finish in the men’s division.
Swiss native Benjamin Stadlbaur put up a strong 3@41’off score in the prelims to clinch a finals berth at his homesite. Looking relaxed and confident in his Sam-Elliot style mustache, Beny ran 39’off and came up just inside of 3 ball in the finals, giving him a 2@41’off score and a 6th place finish. Jon Travers hasn’t let fatherhood slow him down, absolutely stroking 39’off every round, putting up 2@41’off in all 3 rounds of the tournament, resulting in a 7th place finish on his 2021 Syndicate PRO.
Allie Nicholson took home a Waterski Pro Tour point after finishing 8th place in pro womens slalom. Allie was off to a great start, running 38’off which would qualify for the finals. However, due to a mandatory re-ride from the new sure-path system and rules, Allie’s 38 was unprotected. Unfortunately Allie wasn’t able to run 38 twice back-to-back, pushing her out of the finals field. Allie’s resilience will be on display at the upcoming Masters qualifiers beginning this coming weekend at the first stop.
Check out the full Waterski Broadcasting Company’s webcast HERE:
