National titles awarded on Saturday were: Men 5 tricks: Bill Blythe (Canyon Lake, Calif.), 4,090 points; Men 5 slalom: William Putnam (Lancaster, Mass.), 4 buoys at 38 feet off; Men 5 overall: Dean Chappell (Decatur, Ill.), 1,869.3 points; Women 5 tricks: Kay Nichols (Austin, Texas), 5,060 points; Women 5 overall: Leza Harrison (Chuluota, Fla.), 3,131.6 points; Women 3 tricks: Jane Gay (Winter Garden, Fla.), 5,630 points; Women 3 overall: Brenda Baldwin (Windermere, Fla.), 3,690.0 points; Men 3 slalom: Todd Kuykendall (Enid, Okla.), 3 buoys at 39-1/2 feet off; and Men 3 overall: Barry Young (Boise, Idaho), 2,613.0 points.

Among the highlights, Nichols set a pending Women 5 national tricks record with her winning score of 5,060 points; and Kuykendall emerged victorious from a runoff against Kreg Korinek (Chandler Heights, Ariz.) to win the Men 3 slalom title. Both skiers tied with a score of 3 buoys at 39-1/2 feet off, and in the subsequent runoff Kuykendall scored 2 buoys at 39-1/2 feet off to Korinek's 4-1/2 buoys at 38 feet off.

Advancement to the Water Ski National Championships was earned through exceptional performances during the summer tournament season and by placement at regional championships held in the five USA Water Ski regions in late July and early August.

USA Water Ski was formed in 1939 as a non-profit organization promoting water skiing in the United States. USA Water Ski is affiliated with the International Water Ski Federation (world governing body) and is recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and Pan-American Sports Organization as the national governing body of competitive water skiing in the United States. With more than 40,000 members, USA Water Ski is the largest water ski federation in the world.