“We picked two excellent teams,” said Frank Harrison, chairman of the IAC. “We are going to do extremely well at the Junior Worlds and Pan American Championships. I am excited about the quality of athletes that we have on these teams, as skiers and as people in general.”

Named to the U.S. Junior Water Ski Team were Justin Allen (Winter Garden, Fla.), Tarah Benzel (Groveland, Fla.), Matthew Curmi (Louisville, Tenn.) and Regina Jaquess (Duluth, Ga.). Danyelle Bennett (Zachary, La.), Tyler McDermeit (Winter Haven, Fla.), Joy Todd (Pierson, Fla.) and Cameron Wynne (Crosby, Texas) were selected as alternates. The team will compete at the 2000 Junior World Water Ski Championships, Sept. 7-10, in Agrinio, Greece, and at the Pan American Championships this October in Destin, Fla. The U.S. Junior Water Ski Team will be looking to build upon the United State’s silver-medal performance at the 1998 Junior World Championships in Dijon, France. 

Selected to the U.S. 17 to 21 Water Ski Team were Joey Blakley (Lakeland, Fla.), Eric Hall (Midlothian, Va.), Brandi Hunt (Clermont, Fla.) and Jimmy Siemers (Round Rock, Texas). Renee Jaquess (Duluth, Ga.) and Charles Mueller (Houston, Texas) were named alternates. The team will compete alongside the U.S. Elite, U.S. Junior and U.S. Veteran Water Ski Teams at the 2000 Pan American Championships, a bi-annual international competition that features teams from North, Central and South America. The four U.S. Teams will be looking to repeat their dominating performances of the 1998 Pan American Championships in Winnipeg, Canada, where each U.S. squad won team overall gold medals.