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FREESTYLE

Freestyle riding of personal watercraft is done mostly on a stand up PWC, with the exception of a few other PWCs including the Yamaha Waveblaster, Sea-Doo's and X-2's in the early days. Modern freestyle utilizes primarily the Yamaha Superjet, as it is lighter and smaller than the Kawasaki SX-R. Jetski freestyle consists of many different tricks, including big air, hood tricks and technical tricks which, {almost like BMX and Motocross} are judged on the quality and skill shown in routines by a panel of judges.

Professional Freestyle competition started in the late 1970s with the formation of the USJSBA, (later changed to the IJSBA). In the early 1980s, 2-time dock-jumping World Freestyle Champion, Larry "The Ripper" Rippenkroeger {the sports initial "King"} and 1983 World Freestyle Champion, "Flyin" Brian Bendix, became industry recognized names. There were other innovators near the beginning like fire-works shooting Cosmic Miller and teenage phenom Pat Helfrick. At this phase, freestyle competition was dominated by 5-time consecutive World Freestyle Champion, David "The Flash" Gordon, who had a style characterized not by spectacular tricks, but by finesse, poise, and control. There were ramp Jump competitions at Cypress Gardens about this time as well, though not considered part of "freestyle". After Gordon came the stylish Scott "Hollywood" Watkins who made quite an impact when he released the first "Freestyle Lifestyle" video upon the world, JET DREAMS. The 1990s ushered in a new era of freestyle innovation. New factory hull designs from manufacturers other than Kawasaki using wider & longer hull configurations, customized hull/tray modifications, and more powerful engines, were contributing factors that influenced a shift from "finesse" or "gymnastics" style maneuvers to aerial based stunts. Names like Scott "Hollywood" Watkins and X-2 rider Jeff Kantz helped pave the way to this new "style" of freestyle competition. Stunts like the aerial "back flip" ( first performed in competition by "Flyin" Brian Bendix) and the "barrel roll", which Jeff Kantz invented, and "Trick" Rick Roy perfected, became staples in freestyle competition events. The mid 1990s also saw a fundamental shift from multi-discipline competitors such as Brian Bendix, David Gordon, Cosmic Miller, Scott Watkins and Larry Rippenkroeger, who all competed in Freestyle as well as Slalom and Closed Course events, to single-discipline competitors like Marc Sickerling, Rick Roy, Alessander Lenzi and Eric Malone, who specialized in Freestyle exclusively. Eric Malone went on to become an 8-time freestyle champion, while perfecting the back flip and multiple barrel rolls on flat water, forever moving the sport to a new level of athleticism few could imagine in the early multi-discipline era. Freestyle has become more international, and a host of un-believably talented Japanese seem to always step-up the aerial fanatacism that has become the norm in the modern era. It is truly a story of progression and creativity both in the watercraft as well as the riders themselves.