I started waterskiing at four years of age on Trout Lake in North Bay, Ontario. My parents were avid waterskiers and I quickly became passionate about the sport. When I was five years old, my brother went away for a week for coaching. I decided that I wanted to learn how to drop a ski and get out of the water on one ski before he came home. I was successful and I began competing in slalom at age six. I did quite well despite having no formal coaching.
At my first Ontario Provincial Championship, I placed first. That sparked my drive to want to excel in this sport and compete at a higher level. Since then I have been Canadian Champion on four different occasions and a national record holder in two age divisions. I am currently ranked 2nd in the world in U17 women’s slalom, 8th in U21, and 27th in the Open division despite only being 15 years old.
Here are some of my skiing highlights:
2013:
1st place – Ontario Provincial Championship
1st place – Eastern Canadian Championship
1st place – Canadian National Championship
Broke the Canadian record in Girl’s III division on seven separate occasions
1st Place – Can Am Championships, setting U13 girls Canadian records in both rounds
2014: I decided to skip the last year in my age division and compete in the Junior Women’s age division in order that I could ski against the best U17 female skiers in the world.
1st place – Champions Lake Spring International Slalom
1st place – Swiss Spring Classic Tournament
1st place – Junior Masters (U17) Last Chance Qualifier Tournament, world’s highest score for 14 year old
4th place – Junior Masters Tournament
1st place – Canada’s Capital Slalom Challenge, tied world’s best score for 14 year old (2 of 4 rounds)
1st place – Ontario Championships
Selected for the 2014/15 Canadian National Development Team
2014 Jack Burrows Memorial Sport Achievement Award Recipient
2015:
1st place – Masters Last Chance Qualifier
1st place – Canada’s Capital Slalom Challenge
1st place – Ontario Provincial Championships (Junior Women’s Division)
2nd place – Canadian Nationals (Junior Women’s Division)
3rd place – Canadian Nationals (Open Women’s Division)
1st place – Malibu Open (U17 Women’s Slalom)
I train at home in North Bay, Ontario on a public lake. My father drives the boat while my mother video tapes my skiing. My father and I then analyze my performance. Despite the amazing effort from my parents, I am at a serious disadvantage to my competitors as the majority live and train in Florida. With access to world class coaches and man-made lakes specifically designed for waterskiing, my competitors are able to train daily, and year round. Since I live in Northern Ontario on a public lake, my training time is greatly reduced because of windy weather conditions, cold climate and boat traffic. I am limited to training for 6 months of the year from the day the ice comes off of the lake until the time change in October when I can no longer ski before and after school.
My current ranking has qualified me for many tournaments this year including the Junior Masters, Junior US Open, Junior Malibu Open and the Junior World Championships. To stay competitive I am requiring more frequent trips to Florida in order to receive world class coaching, accurate boat driving and proper training conditions. Training with high level coaches is very costly. Each two-week training session costs over $2,000, not including airfare. My training plan this year is to spend April and May in Florida to prepare for the Junior Masters and other early tournaments. I will also need to train this fall in Florida before the Junior World Championships in Santiago, Chile.
When I’m not training for my own competitions, I also like to coach waterskiing. Over the years I have coached many people including former Olympian and Alpine World Champion, Kate Pace, who is also from North Bay. I also volunteer at all the tournaments that are held where I train in Florida.
How you can help:
I am asking for your donation to allow me to compete in Santiago, Chile for the Junior World Championships this December. I will need to train in Florida this fall to adequately prepare for Worlds. Without your support and the funds raised from this campaign I will not be able to afford the training and travel expenses for this competition. Please check out my givebacks! In return for your generous donation I will send you something to show my appreciation of your support, from a shout out on social media to time on the water with me. Thank you in advance for helping me pursue my dream to swerve to Santiago!