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MasterCraft London Night Jump

It was that time again when we give the ExPix crew their biggest mission of the year; get great images and film footage of an extreme sports event, and oh yea, it’s all in the dark! So if you haven’t already guessed it we’re talking London Night Jump.

Now it its 10th year London Night Jump, held at Liquid Leisure Waterski and Wakeboard Park in Datchet, Berkshire still attracts the world’s best ski jumpers all wanting to prove that they’ve got what it takes to hit the ramps in pitch black conditions.

For the ExPix team it was our third year of covering the event and we had a bit of a reputation to live up to as Liquid Leisure explained, “ExPix have been the best solution to our PR and night shot needs with some of the best images demonstrating the action on and off the water”.

MasterCraft Ski boat London Night Jump ski jumper practicingLondon Night Jump Ski jumper bails

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setting off at Liquid Leisure With the event set for Sunday, we arrived on Saturday night to catch the all important practise sessions.  Hitting the jumps in the darkest of night where visibility on the water is just about as poor as it gets is pretty hard core, so it’s crucial that the setup for the jumps is right and the practise sessions are all about positioning the lighting around the lake for the skiers and wakeboarders. But as the first of the skiers took to the water the wind began to pick up and the enormity of the task ahead proved too much of a challenge. With not much margin for error and not wanting to risk any injuries the skiers decided to save themselves for the competition with only one skier hitting the jump.

EG2D3169aLiquid Leisure Night Jump set upLiquid Leisure MasterCraft London Night Jump event siteSunday came and as the event took shape the ExPix team set up camp in the thick of the action. First up to get the action going was the UK FMX team; it was hard to know though if the gasps from the crowds were due to the stunts that the FMX team were pulling off or the possible impending doom, should things go wrong, for the MasterCraft X2 boat positioned in between the ramps!

 

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EG2D3253aEG2D3404aEG2D3408aEG2D3410aEG2D3268aMasterCraft London Night Jump making the cutEG2D3293aEG2D3271aEG2D3280aEG2D3336aEG2D3371aFreddy KruggerOn the water the Night Jump qualifiers got under way as the crowds gathered to watch and for some diehard fans bagging a prime spot meant camping out in the morning rain. Next up were the wakeboarders who set off from the island to ride as the evening light began to fade. Six riders took part in the competition with Sam Carne’s riding proving just too much for Ben Hitch who had won the competition the previous two years and was looking for a hat trick but instead had to settle for 2nd place.

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EG2D3439aEG2D3454aEG2D3446aEG2D3449aEG2D3456aEG2D3458aEG2D3464aEG2D3462aEG2D3466aEG2D3470aEG2D3471aEG2D3479aAs dusk fell the flood lights went on and the Night Jump Finals began bringing with it the difficult challenge for the ExPix photographers and cameramen. Producing a clear shot or piece of footage is no easy task when the angles of the lights are set for the skiers and not for the photographers, add to that the distance of the skiers from the beach and you’ve got some idea of what we have to cope with!

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EG2D3508aNo such issues for legendary ski jumper Freddy Krueger who notched up an impressive jump to take his 4th consecutive Night Jump title.

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