Have you ever pictured yourself doing PWC Freestyle on the big screen or in front of live audiences? Well now is your chance. Universal Studios Japan is holding auditions later this month and next month. Australian PWC magazine OZPWC has made the announcement for those interested in auditioning in Gold Coast September 18. The audition for those here in the States will be held in Los Angeles on August 17.

“Live The Life In Osaka Japan” the audition flyer says. The jet ski stunt roles for this audition series will give candidates the chance to star in the famous Water World show. According to the auditions page, contracts will be awarded for up to thirteen months. Entrants must be at least eighteen years old, in addition to a few other requirements. For full details visit the usjauditions webpage link.

According to Universal Studios, compensation is attractive. You will also be given daily per diem to cover food in addition to benefits such as travel insurance, covered airfare, accommodation, mobile phone, gym membership, and bicycle and train passes for getting around Osaka. In addition to your normal compensation, you will be awarded quarterly and completion bonuses.

Not a bad gig for riding jet ski’s daily for a living. What could be better than getting paid to ride. You can check out audition roles at the auditions link above and even view videos of the maneuvers which you will be required to perform at the audition.

Above: The 2018 Kawasaki Ultra 310R continues all but entirely unchanged with merely a change of hood and cowl color. Even a large portion of the graphics are carried over from last year.

Two weeks ago, we revealed some very strong arguments for what we expect to see coming from Sea-Doo for 2018. As the brand celebrates its golden anniversary, we predict some very radical changes coming to a large portion of the world’s highest-selling brand of personal watercraft. But what of the world’s lowest-selling brand, Kawasaki? So much of last year’s buzz encompassed the agonizingly slow reveal of the long-awaited SX-R 1500 JetSki, ushering in the return of the standup ski from Kawasaki.

Thus far, the new SX-R has proven a hit, filling both beaches and starting lines across the country and beyond. Nonetheless, the new JetSki has yet to revitalize the brand’s withered 4-percent domestic total market share. In fact, it is reported that Sea-Doo sells nearly three times more Spark units than all of Kawasaki’s lineup (and according to some sources, that estimate is low). Undaunted, Kawasaki is pushing forward with strengthening its grip on the standup market and aspires to reignite the sport of standup riding.

Top row: The longest carry-over of the brand’s lineup, the STX-15F remains wholly unchanged, making the craft a staggering 13 years old, since first receiving the 1.5-liter engine. Prior to the engine change, the STX hull predates that by another 3 years. The naturally-aspirated Ultra LX is given new stealth gray-and-orange livery. Bottom row: The standard 310X sports a brilliant blue hue while the top-of-the-line 310LX goes unchanged.

And while the SX-R continues to march on in this endeavor, the rest of the lineup, as these incredibly prematurely-leaked images reveal, remains all but completely the same for yet another year. In a Facebook post by 88 Motorsport Sweden last night, they write, “Kawasaki has released the 2018 models and there is nothing new coming from them. Same models than 2017 just different colors.” This, fatefully, is as we predicted in the story mentioned above, and also an indicator of Kawasaki’s total commitment to the SX-R over everything else.

During our exclusive test ride of the SX-R back in April, Kawasaki’s Off-Road & Watercraft Product Manager Dave Oventhal told The Watercraft Journal that Kawasaki was looking at developing it’s own braking system. “Trust me, we’re not ignoring them.” Oventhal admitted while discussing the industry impact of Sea-Doo’s iBR and Yamaha’s RiDE systems. As no such brake lever can be found in these images, we’re lead to believe that we are still at least another year away. And as a final observation, the absence of the Ultra 310X SE (Special Edition) and SX-R from the original post also denotes that the JetSkis have yet to reach European dealer floors, which may prove a source of frustration for some.

1 of 5

The West Coast Watercraft Club (WCWCC) just shared a YouTube video about the famous LB2CAT offshore endurance race. The video is produced very well and gives a neat overview and historical perspective of the IJSBA event. It also gives another overview of the 2017 race results as commentary from some of the past and present racers, including the top contenders at this year’s race.

The history of the offshore endurance race dates back to the year 1990 and was then shifted to Long Beach, California in 2002. This LB2CAT race has become the main focus of offshore racing. For most of us who are not able to attend these type of events, it is always nice to see recap videos such as this which give an in-depth review and interviews of the event. As opposed to just seeing result numbers on paper, it’s good to hear feedback from the riders themselves.

Second place rider Mike Klippenstein indicates that boat preparation is key to winning this race, and for good reason. This year’s race definitely saw its fair share of breakdowns. First place rider Cyrille Lemoine also shared some insight on his strategy for taking the top spot in this year’s endurance run.

With WCWCC being the fastest growing PWC club on the west coast, we can imagine that they have some eyes on the scene at this race including some contenders in the event. We can’t wait to see what other video productions they bring to the table for future events. As always, you can check out The Watercraft Journal review of this race including the overall results.