Moomba Masters Rules

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MOOMBA MASTERS RULES

MOOMBA MASTERS RULES 2026

as of 8th Febuary 2026

AE-mail waterskivic@bigpond.com

The Moomba Masters Water Ski Tournament is run under the guidelines of the Current IWWF tournament rules, including any changes made by the World Technical Council, the IWWF By-laws, the World Anti-Doping Code, and these Moomba Tournament Rules.

Moomba Masters rules (eg, MM1.01) replace the corresponding IWWF Rules (e.g., 1.01)

In IWWF rules, wherever particular words appear, they are to be replaced as follows:

IWWF RULE WORDS

  

MOOMBA MASTERS RULE WORDS

Tournament Council 

–

VWSA

Confederation of AAO Tournament Council

–

Oceania Technical Chairman

Affiliated Association 

–

Nil 

Country/State

–

Skier 

Team Representative 

–

Skier’s Representative

Team Captain

–

Skier 

Team 

–

Skier 



Code of conduct

All participants, including competitors, officials, supporters, and volunteers, must follow a minimum standard of conduct. This requirement applies to events held under the auspices of V.W.S.A. or any sanctioned constituent body (W.W.A., AWWF, IWWF).

To address any disciplinary proceedings, VWSA will make every effort to conduct the necessary investigations.

RULE 1 GENERAL

MM 1.01. Applicability of the Rules

As per 1.01, except that these rules apply to the Moomba Masters Tournament.

MM 1.02. Tournament Dates

The Moomba Masters shall be held every year.

MM 1.04. Interpretation of the Rules

As per rule 1.04, except in relation to MM rules, for which questions of interpretation should be directed to the Moomba Masters Committee Technical Chairman.

MM 1.08 Identifying Bibs

Delete and replace with:

Each athlete will receive a bib in their competitor bag prior to the event. It is mandatory for athletes to wear this bib with the sponsor’s logo facing outward at all times during the competition, on the pickup boat, and during interviews immediately before and after competing. In jump events, the bib must be worn over the slings. Athletes who remove their bibs during any of these specified occasions will face disciplinary action according to rule MM 1.10. The Moomba Masters event relies entirely on sponsorship to fund the competition; therefore, non-compliance with the bib-wearing rules jeopardizes these sponsorships and puts the entire event at risk.

MM 1.08 (2) Athlete Attire 

The Moomba Masters Organising Committee reserves the right to control or prohibit any advertising material that athletes use, wear, or display at the tournament site and in any publicity related to the tournament.

During all off-water television appearances, including interviews and presentations, athletes may only wear clothing items (such as hats, helmets, t-shirts, polo shirts, and sweaters) that are branded by official sponsors of the tournament. Athletes are allowed to hold a ski during these appearances, provided it features logos from personal sponsors. However, this is only acceptable if those personal sponsors do not directly conflict with Moomba Masters Event Sponsors, or if there is a specific agreement between the personal sponsor and the Moomba Masters that permits displaying their logo. Athletes will receive a list of Moomba Masters Event Sponsors during the Skier Briefing Session

MM 1.08 (3) Images 

The Moomba Masters Organising Committee, along with the City of Melbourne, holds exclusive rights to capture photographs, motion pictures, and television images of the Moomba Masters athletes. They have the unrestricted right to use these images across all types of media for the purpose of promoting the Moomba Masters, both before, during, and after the event.

MM 1.10 Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Replace Rule 1.10 with the following paragraphs:

All athletes, their representatives, and officials are expected to conduct themselves in an exemplary manner at all times before, during, and after The Moomba Masters. Any athlete (or their representative) or official whose conduct is considered unsportsmanlike or detrimental to the reputation of the Moomba Masters, VWSA, VWSF, AWWF, IWWF, their home country federation, or the City of Melbourne—whether on or off the tournament site, and at any point before, during, or after the tournament—may face penalties including fines or disqualification from all or part of the tournament. This includes consequences for completed events, as determined by the Chief Judge and a two-thirds majority vote of the appointed judges. Additionally, the individual may be subject to fines imposed by the IWWF Executive Board or the Moomba Masters appointed committee. The affected individual will be given an opportunity to present their case before any disqualification decision is made.

Unsportsmanlike conduct includes, but is not limited to, the following behaviors:

– Wearing non-tournament sponsor attire during interviews and presentations

– Not wearing a competition bib while competing, on the pick-up boat, or during dock   interviews

– Refusing to participate in interviews 

– Refusing to wear tournament sponsor attire during interviews and presentations

– Using offensive language in public

– Exhibiting public tantrums

– Not skiing to one’s fullest potential

– Failing to attend required presentations

– Consuming alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs prior to competing

– Refusing to take a drug test if required by ASDA or WADA officials

– Competing under false pretenses

– Concealing significant injuries or health problems

These actions demonstrate a lack of sportsmanship and may result in disciplinary measures. A skier disqualified for such reasons will forfeit any prize money earned during the tournament. This paragraph does not limit or deny any individual’s legal rights. All fines must be paid to VWSA or will be deducted directly from the athlete’s prize money before the final payment is issued. Failure to pay the fine will lead to exclusion from future Moomba Masters Events until the fine is settled.

Disciplinary Procedure / Fine Schedule

  1. Unsportsmanlike conduct – not less than $500 per incident and / or disqualification

RULE 2 TOURNAMENT EVENTS

MM 2.01.1 : Events in Moomba Masters

As per 2.01, except there will be no team event.

MM 2.02.1: Rounds in the Moomba Masters

Slalom event shall consist of one Elimination (preliminary) Round, an LCQ (last Change Qualifier), and a Final

Trick and Jump Events shall consist of two rounds: One elimination (preliminary) round and a Final Round.

Additional Semi-Final rounds may be added or deleted at the Chief Judge / Moomba Masters Committee’s Discretion.

The first (8) Men and the first (6) Women Slalom, (8) Men and (6) Women Tricks, and (8) Men and (6) Women Jump, based on their scores in the Elimination round for Slalom, Tricks, and Jump, shall be qualified to ski in the final Slalom, Jump, and Tricks events.  

LCQ Slalom

The top 6 women and the top 8 men from the preliminary round of slalom who do not advance to the slalom finals will compete in a Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) event on Moomba Sunday. The skiing order for this event will be in reverse order of the scores from the preliminary round if there is a tie in the preliminary, the order they skied will determine the skiing order. The top 2 finishers in the LCQ will proceed to the finals, where they will ski in the order of their LCQ finish.

In the event of a tie for a place in the finals, the tie will be broken according to the established tie-break rules.

MM2.05: All Moomba Events Entry and Administration 

As per rule 2.05, except replace the first five sentences with:-

Entry to the Moomba Masters is by invitation only. The athlete’s acceptance is required by the date noted on the invitation. An athlete’s failure to pay his/her IWWF License or lodge his/her written acceptance on the appropriate form by this date will indicate rejection of the invitation, and their invitation will be allocated to another athlete.

Seeds will be selected for the Moomba Masters and the night competition to maximize media coverage.

RULE 3 – DIVISION OF COMPETITION

MM 3.01.1: Moomba Masters Divisions

As per 3.01

MM3.01.03 Junior Moomba Rules

Junior Moomba will be split into Junior Moomba and Under-21 Moomba

Junior Moomba will run using the latest Australian Rules, with exceptions.

The Maximum Age for Junior Moomba will be 17 years of age as of 31st December in the preceding year to the competition.

Overall, will use the latest World Overall Table

Minimum start speed for the slalom will be

52k 16m or 55k 18.25m for Girls

55k 16m or 58k 18.25m for Boys

Scoring will be two rounds added together

Ties will be broken with the best score from round 2. If a tie still exists, there will be a run-off for 1st place only.

Under 21, Moomba will run under the latest Australian Rules, with exceptions.

The Maximum Age for Under 21 Moomba will be 20 years of age as of 31st December in the preceding year to the competition.

Overall, will use the latest World Overall Table

Minimum start speed for the slalom will be

52k 16m or 55k 16m for Girls

55k 16m or 58k 16m for Boys

Scoring will be two rounds added together

Ties will be broken with the best score from round 2. If a tie still exists, there will be a run-off for 1st place only.

RULE 4 – TOURNAMENT ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

MM 4.01: Entry Requirements for the Moomba Masters (including the Night Competition)

  1. The Moomba selection committee is to be approved by the Victorian Water Ski Association Council and chaired by the V.W.S.A. Technical Chairman.
  2. Where a selected skier has been appointed and receives an injury a

Replacement may be added to the starting list at the discretion of the Moomba committee.

The Moomba Masters is an invitation-only event. Athletes must register their interest in competing by completing the appropriate form available on the official website and submitting it for consideration. Athletes will be issued invitations by the Moomba Masters Selection Committee following the close of registrations.

In each event, the Moomba Masters Selection Committee reserves the right to invite 4 Australian Men and 2 Australian Women to compete.

The Moomba Masters Selection Committee will use the IWWF Ranking list and results from major world-level events as a guide for athlete selection. 

Moomba Entry and Seeding Rules

Moomba Entry

To decide who gets invited to Moomba the Rolling Ranking List from IWWF dated the first Tuesday after the last weekend in January will be used if a skier is not on this ranking list then we can use their score from the Weekly Ranking List f January one year prior(so for the 2026 Moomba the January 31st 2025 Rank List can be used) this score will be reduced by 5%. The resulting score will be placed on the Weekly Ranking list on the 1st Tuesday after the last weekend in January, giving the skier a ranking. 

This ranking will be used to decide who is accepted into Moomba Masters.

Seeding 

The seeding for the Preliminary round will be off, where a skier is placed on the January Weekly Ranking List for the year of the Tournament. If athletes are tied on the January World Ranking list, then their placement on the 12-month prior World Ranking list will be used to break the tie. If they are still tied, then a random draw will be used to break the Tie. If a skier is not on the Ranking list, then they will be placed at the beginning of their event for the Preliminary round.

At the discretion of the Moomba Masters Selection Committee, qualifying tournaments may be held for skiers who have not received an invitation to ski and seek entry into the main draw. 

The Moomba Masters Committee reserves the right to offer a wild card entry to the event. 

The decision of the Moomba Master Selection Committee is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

RULE 6 – JUDGES AND ASSISTANTS 

MM 6.01: Chief Judge and Appointed Officials for the Moomba Masters

The Victorian Water Ski Association Council will be responsible for appointing the officials.

MM 6.02 

All control over World and Moomba rules must be made by the appointed judges under the authority of the Chief Judge. 

MM 6.08 Official Uniforms

Appointed Judges and Officials must wear the supplied tournament attire during competition. 

RULE 8 – RERIDES

MM 8.01: Team Representatives

MM 8.02 Reride Criteria

As per Rule 8.02 plus

Tournament commitments will dictate that all re-rides will be at the final discretion of the Chief Judge. 

MM 10.08 Radio Communications

Radio communication with a competitor while skiing is allowed; the only restriction is that the skier must confirm there is no interference with Official Radio communication. Skiers are required to clear their radio channels before the start of the event they will be used

RULE 12 – DEFINITIONS 12.01

Competition Area

As per Rule 12.01 plus

VWSA, Moomba Masters, and the City of Melbourne shall have the exclusive right to permit, control, or prohibit advertising material of any kind within the competition area, including but not limited to signage, equipment, clothing, and other property. 

MOOMBA TIE RULE (if the issue is not addressed below, then World Rules Prevail)

Preliminary Round: Ties to advance to the Finals will be determined by the order in which Athletes competed in the preliminary Round.

Final Placement: 

  • Ties for 1st place will be a run-off as per IWWF Rules.
  • Ties for 2nd and 3rd place will be determined based on:
  • Preliminary round score; in Slalom, the scores from the LCQ will not be used to break Ties
  • If still a tie, on the Rolling Ranking List IWWF dated 31st January 2026. If a skier is not on this ranking list, their score is taken as zero

Ties For Seeding in the Finals shall follow above; however, non-medal (4th through last) skiers will be listed as tied in the scorebook.

Moomba Masters Rule and Schedule changes  

The Moomba Masters Committee in consultation with the Chief Judge, reserves the right to modify or change the schedule and rules when and where required due to safety, time, unforeseen circumstances, or weather conditions. Note: The Moomba Masters competition may not be able to comply with the conflict-of-interest rule in all events. 

RULE 13 – JUMPING

MM 13.01.1: General Jump Event Conditions for the Moomba Masters. 

MM 13.01.2 General Jump Event Conditions for the Moomba Masters Night Jump Competition. 

As per 13.01, except the skiers will be entitled to the number of jumps (or passes or falls) noted in rule MM2.02, and the jump height will be 1.65m only, and the maximum speed of 57. 

MM 13.02.2: Scoring jump at the Moomba Masters Night Competition

In the first round, each competitor will have three jumps. The top three jumpers will advance to the second round, where each will receive two jumps. From there, the top two competitors will move on to the final round, where each will have one jump.

The six finalists for the Monday Night Final will be determined based on the longest jumps from the elimination rounds. Only skiers who advance through the elimination rounds will be eligible to compete in the final. A skier must participate in all rounds for which they qualify, unless they have a valid medical reason for not doing so.

RULE 14-SLALOM

MM 14.07 General

As per rule 14.07, except add

mm14.08

A skier shall be judged as missing the entry or exit gate when the ski passes entirely and clearly outside the gate buoy.

Starting Speeds

Elimination Round

Women 55 kph 14.25 metre line, or at the Chief Judge’s discretion. 

Men 58 kph 13.00 metre line, or at the Chief Judge’s discretion.

LCQ at the Chief Judge’s discretion

Finals 

Women 55kph 14.25m line, or at the Chief Judge’s discretion. 

Men 58kph 13m line, or at the Chief Judge’s discretion.

mm14:11

There will be no Skier-Requested Video reviews for Entry Gates or Buoy count at Moomba Masters, as per IWWF rule 14.11

The decision of the event, Video gates, and buoy count, will be final.

RULE 15 – TRICKS

Mm15:12

As per IWWF Rules, except

There will be no Skier-requested timing reviews allowed at Moomba Masters 

RULE 16- RECORDS 

MM 16.01: Moomba Masters Records

The Moomba Masters Committee shall recognize Moomba Masters Records for trick points, slalom performances, and jump distances for the following divisions: –

Men’s Moomba Masters

Women’s Moomba Masters 

Boys Junior Moomba and Masters

Girls Junior Moomba and Masters. 

MM18 – Alcohol/drugs

Authorized individuals from the Victorian Water Ski Association have the authority to require any participant in the Moomba Masters International Invitational Championships to undergo a breath test. This test aims to determine the concentration of alcohol in the person’s blood using an approved breath analysis device.

Any participant/ asked to undertake a breath test must record a blood alcohol level 0.00

No minor can undergo a breath test without the consent of a parent or guardian, or without the approval and presence of the Chief Judge or their nominee.

Any participant/s who refuses to undertake an authorized breath test or breath analysis shall be liable to immediate suspension.

MM 19 – Protests            

Please note that a request for a Re-Ride is not the same as a protest. 

 

Competitors, or their parents, guardians, or caregivers for juniors under 18 years old, must submit any protests in writing to the Chief Judge in person within 30 minutes of the results being posted.

 

Please note, as stated in Rules Mm15:12 and Mm14:11, video protests are not permitted.

 MM20                  

Only official cameras in the boat or official shore cameras during the Moomba Masters Championships will be used in the review process if necessary.(  No phone camera allowed in the boat/with the release person)

MM21                 

Any intimidation of judges, officials, or volunteers by any individual will result in a fine or additional penalties as determined by the committee overseeing the Moomba Masters Championships. The outcomes related to this rule will be communicated to the Governing Bodies.

These rules supersede all previous editions. 


Official Moomba Masters website:   www.moombamasters.com.au