12^th February 2026

Ski Racing Australia Return to Racing Update – Issue 1

Dear Members,

Ski Racing Australia representatives Geoff Thomson, Kelly Lindsell and Tim Pickford have recently met with NSW Maritime on the Special Purpose Investigation (SPI) report.

The meeting was positive and there is a clear desire and intent, to allow water ski racing to return. While NSW Maritime have advised full acceptance of all recommendations and findings from the SPI report, they have also advised that AQL applications for Water Ski Racing events on NSW Waterways are now available following the SPI release.

The key elements of AQL applications will be:

• Timing for applications will usually be 6 weeks; as long as possible noting that prior engagement with event holders needs to occur prior to this. It is intended that this will be a collaborative effort.
• Maritime AQL Risk Category will now default to a category 2 (with risk categories ranging from 1 to 4, with 1 being the highest risk).
• Within the parameters of the SPI Recommendations, noting work from the Recommendations around event parameters (speed, courses, waterways etc), safety provisions (skier, drivers, observers) and incident reporting.
• Maritime AQL assessment will involve a broader range of staff from across the state to ensure consistency.
• Regular meetings will now be formally conducted with NSW Maritime and will include various SRA Board Members, Committee Representatives, other members and 3^rd party consultants, as required.

The first of a number of draft policies and procedures was sent on the 6^th February to NSW Maritime for review by their internal NSW Maritime Steering Committee and we will communicate those accepted policies when confirmed.

The journey from here to a return to racing, needs more work to be done and we ask that, as a ski racing community, we work together to move us forward with a renewed SAFETY CULTURE vision.

Yours in Racing

SRA Board