Southern 80 cancelled for 2026 amid water ski racing safety review

The Southern 80 water ski race on the Murray River has been cancelled for a second year as the sport awaits the findings of a NSW Maritime safety investigation.

The March 2026 race at Echuca-Moama would have been the first since 2024, when skier Luke Wentworth died participating in the event.

The 40-year-old from Melbourne was one of four people killed in the sport last year, triggering a pause on racing by Ski Racing Australia in June 2024.

NSW Maritime launched a safety investigation, which is now complete but its findings are yet to be publicly released.

Steve Shipp says another cancellation is a blow to Echuca-Moama and other Murray River towns. (ABC Riverina: Romy Stephens)

The lack of findings and recommendations has prompted Moama Water Sports Club, which organises the Southern 80, to cancel next year’s event. 

Club president Steve Shipp said it had been expecting the report any day for a couple of weeks. 

“We just haven’t got enough time now to run the event,” he said. 

“The time taken to get this done is, frankly, far too long.”

A Transport for NSW Maritime spokesperson confirmed the report would be released in weeks but did not respond directly to a question about the delay.

Southern 80 organisers not consulted

The Southern 80 involves boats pulling two skiers through more than 120 Murray River bends at speeds in excess of 160 kilometres per hour.

Mr Shipp said the club had not been contacted by NSW Maritime investigators, despite the race’s history of fatalities.

“If there’s recommendations for our club I’ll certainly be asking where [they came] from when there’s been no discussion with us about it,” he said.

Ian Tricker, Nathan Miller, Ray Ball and Reece Simmonds of team TR after winning the Southern 80 in 2019. (Supplied: Ian Tricker)

Ian Tricker has been racing in the Southern 80 since the late 1980s and is the owner and driver of TR, the team that holds the overall record for fastest race time.

Mr Tricker was sceptical about the race’s future.

“It’s debatable when, unfortunately if ever, the [Southern] 80 will return,” he said. 

He said the Southern 80 and potentially all Australian racing should move to one skier per boat, rather than two. 

“It may be time to make the change … the rest of the world [events are] all one skier,” he said.

“It’s a no-brainer to me. If it saves just one fall, how can you argue with that?”

Team TR racing in the 2019 Southern 80. (Supplied: Ian Tricker)

While Mr Tricker is keen for the sport to return, he said uncertainty remained around what it would look like after the review.

“I fear terribly for the sport,” he said.

“There’s been lots of competitors who have sold their boats and moved on to other forms of sport. 

Cancellation a blow to small towns

Mr Shipp said the Southern 80 cancellation was “devastating” for Moama Water Sports Club, but also for the regional communities missing out on an economic boost. 

“The last Southern 80 was worth over $10 million for the weekend to Echuca-Moama,” he said.

He said other towns in the region, including Robinvale, Mildura, Kerang and Swan Hill, would also feel the effect of the cancellation.

Mr Shipp said the club would forge ahead with planning its other racing event, the Beehag 100, for late next year and for a return of the Southern 80 in 2027.