This video story reported and produced by Victoria Crosdale. Web editing by Zachary Wooten.
Motocross may have been first on the scene, but watercross is becoming a popular sport in St. Petersburg where athletes in the bay are coming to compete in tournaments.
Watercross racing began over 40 years ago right when Jet Skis started to sell. It started as an extreme sport for snowmobile enthusiasts who decided to invent a new sport that would allow them to skip across the water on their sleds.
Pro Jet Skier Mouad Salhi has been racing internationally since 2002, but he took a decade off to work on immigrating to the United States. In 2019, he made a big return and became the first Moroccan, African and Arab person to win a European title.
“I started in Morocco, but I was based there and we used to travel back and forth to Europe,” said Salhi. “I did world championship; I did French championship as well, also the U.S. championship and national championship.”
This extreme sport can be dangerous, so it is no surprise there can be injuries. Salhi was competing in the first ever Powerboat Grand Prix in St. Petersburg when he got injured in the middle of the race. He also says that things can get hectic when 40 people are going 80 mph. He loves the sport so much he has been put into a coma twice while competing and said it is best to always stay prepared.
“I was in second, me and first were battling for first place. I was literally behind him trying to pass and the ski took off and it spun in the air and it threw me off,” said Salhi. “I didnāt feel that I hurt my leg until I got back on the ski. I was trying to stand on it and I couldnāt.”
Having the right gear to compete is important. Short Block Technologies offers watercross gear in Clearwater. CJ Lammers, the president, said Clearwater is an amazing market to sell in because it sits on the coastline and he is not surprised Florida is their biggest state in terms of sales.
“It’s unique in the fact that not only do we have huge sales in Florida, we also have interface with all the users,” said Lammers. “Weāre only two blocks from the water, so we test year-round. We just hook up the skis when we have new parts go out on the water, test them and make sure they work.”
For more information of this sport, you can visit the Pro Watercross website or P1Aquax’s website.
