The Midwest Split

The Midwest Region of the NCWSA has officially retired as of June 1, 2026. What was formerly the Midwest Region will now be split into two new regions, the Great Plains and Great Lakes. Determining which teams were divided into which new region was done based on geographic boundaries and having an even amount of teams distributed between the regions.

This decision was made under careful consideration and to give our skiers the most possible opportunities to compete and proper representation. The NCWSA was originally set up in four equal regions for a fair and balanced national representation. As progression of the sport occurred over the years, the Midwest significantly outgrew the other three original regions both in total number of teams and in total number of skiers. In average the Midwest contained 50% of the total teams and 54% of the total skiers under NCWSA. The high amount of skiers and teams lead to limited participation of them in Regionals and in qualifying for Nationals.

While the split means Midwest pink and their Hall of Fame is retired, it also means there’s some great opportunities for skiers!

Improvement in the competitive balance to qualify and compete for and at the NCWSA Nationals.
Allows for all NCWSA regions to plan accordingly for Nationals based fully on their Regional Tournament Results.
Allows for a more balanced competitive All-Stars tournament for each NCWSA regional team.
Allows for more of a balanced resource allocation within the Midwest regional board.
Supports additional skier representation with the NCWSA BOD.
Allows 50% of the total current region an additional water ski tournament within the fall season.
Gives each team the availability to compete at their respective Regional Tournament. Previously the Midwest had two qualifying tournaments to compete at Nationals versus the other regions having only one.