Townsville
On Thursday 21 – 25 April the National Water Ski Championships were held on the Ross River in Townsville. The event was superbly run by WaterskiQLD and the Townsville Water Ski Club on behalf of TWSA (Tournament Water Ski Australia).
A small group of disabled skiers attended the event with several new faces which was good to see. Thursday was our first event and slalom was held at the Loam Island venue which provided great viewing for spectators. Belinda Sidman stole the show beating her own Australian record skiing into 52kmph on the inner course for MP3 women. New skiers Robin Cook and Ian Hickmott (MP2) ran their first slalom passes and ran into 43kmph (inner).
Early Friday saw the trick event followed by the Jump. These events were held on the river in front of the Thuringowa Riverway Complex where the Disabled Worlds were held back in 2007. Belinda again stole the show equalling the women’s MP3 trick record. Darryl and Scott both jumped consistently and Ian Hickmott tried his luck on a 1.5m ramp but unfortunately crashed.
In the finals on Saturday, Belinda (MP3 Women), Darryl (MP3 Men) and Scott (MP2 Men) win the slalom events in their respective divisions. Second in MP2 men was Robin Cook and Ian Hickmott third. Sunday saw the results repeated for trick and jump. Darryl equalled his Australian trick record.
In the jump event, the ramp was lowered to 1.25m due to a strong headwind. Ian Hickmott landed 3 good jumps all over 11 metres at his first Nationals.
At the presentation dinner on Monday night the team was announced for the 2011 Worlds this year in Ohio, USA. The team was Belinda Sidman (Captain), Darryl Hoyle and Jamie MacDonald and later joined by Ian Hickmott after some negotiations. Scott Wintle was unable to attend as his fiancée Eliza was due to give birth to their second child (Luke) in early June. Good luck to the team in the States.