Moama Water Sports Club announced on December 19 it would not move ahead with the 2026 Southern 80 which was scheduled to be held in March.
In that statement the club said it would not have enough time to implement the “many changes” it expected to result from the special purpose investigation into the sport, which is being held by NSW Maritime.
The announcement means the Southern 80 will not run its marquee race for a third consecutive year.
A death on the course during the 2024 event put an end to racing on the Sunday after the preliminary events were held on Saturday.
That fatality was one of several within the sport within a period of months, which ultimately prompted governing body Ski Racing Australia to put a halt to all racing in June 2024.
Competition has remained suspended for more than 18 months since that time, causing the cancellation of the 2024 and 2025 Beehag 100, the 2025 Southern 80 and now the 2026 edition.
MWSC held a Southern 80 boat show in place of the 2025 event as part of 60th anniversary celebrations and the club has similar plans for a boat show in March this year, with final details expected soon.
Less than two weeks after MWSC made its announcement, SRA provided its latest update, confirming it has received the final report from the Special Purpose Investigation conducted by NSW Maritime.
The report is limited to the Heads of States and Clubs group, but SRA expects it will be released publicly in early January.
It will then become clear what needs to happen for ski racing to return as SRA, NSW Maritime and clubs work to get skiers back on the water.
“(We've) just got to work through with Maritime what they want us to do, the changes they want to put in for our sport and also the changes we want to do in our sport,” MWSC president Steve Shipp said.
“With Ski Racing Australia, there’s a fair bit of stuff that we want to change as far as driver progression and skier progression, so people do their time at the lower speeds before they get to the higher speeds.”
After the boat show this March, MWSC is now looking ahead first to November 2026 when the Beehag 100 is scheduled to return and then to the 2027 Southern 80.
Shipp urged supporters of the ski racing to keep the faith as the sport begins to emerge from its long-term hiatus.
“Just hang in there and we look forward to catching up at our boat show in March,” he said.
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