Look at me, writing a sports blog! Who would have thought. Dean still makes fun of me because I love this sport, all he sees are those Juicy Fruit commercials from the 80’s/early 90’s that are cringe worthy AF.
Most people aren’t aware of what happens in the water ski world these days. It’s become a niche sport, but coverage in the digital age is actually better than it’s ever been. Thanks to the WaterSki Broadcasting Company for covering all the events live on their YouTube Channel.
For those in Ontario, there are some names you should know. There’s world class talent here, lots of it. Let’s start with Charlie Ross. He’s 15 years old and at the first tournament of the season (Swiss Pro Slalom) he did something that’s pretty incredible. He became the youngest person to run a successful pass through the course in a pro tournament on the 10.75m rope, or what’s more commonly referred to as 39’off. He was then able to get 1 buoy at the next rope length of 10.25m or what’s more commonly known as 41’off
At 15 years old, that is nothing short of incredible. Set a new Canadian under 17 record and he tied the under 17 world record. WORLD RECORD!!
Follow him on Instagram!
With every successful pass through the course, the rope gets shortened. Whoever gets the most buoys at the shortest length wins. What makes these short line passes so impressive is that the buoys are 11.5 meters out from the centerline of the course. Meaning, that the rope is too short to reach. This is why the skier is also next to the boat on each side when making those deep, gnarly turns. And at the top level it’s done at 36mph / 58kmph. Assume those speeds double as they swing past the back of the boat and out the other side like a pendulum. On the shot line, there is no room for error. Every bit of the course counts.
Wouldn’t you rather see this on TSN than yet another talk show or the friggen’ bloopers of the month?? Seriously
Charlie Ross also has an older sister who is the World Trick Champion and the Jr. World Slalom & Trick Champion. So, you should probably know her name too. Neilly Ross
Knowing that, you might think “WOW!!! World Champion brother and sister, right here in Ontario. Cool! Bet there aren’t many families like that in a place where you can’t ski from November-April”
WRONG!
Then there’s the McClintock family. This is a generational water ski family that runs a ski school and club in Cambridge on Puslinch Lake. Whitney McClintock Rini is a decorated World Champion in both slalom and trick, and her younger brother Jason has also won Under 21 World titles and is the head coach at the family Ski School.
The current world record holder and top dog is Nate Smith. He’s freakishly good and wins almost everything. He got 2.5 buoys on the 9.75m rope (43”off) back in 2013
It’s believed that no one will ever successfully complete this pass. But there are a lot of things happening in sports that we didn’t think were possible 25 years ago.
Darryl Spring
Darryl Spring is a 20-year rock radio veteran with a history at Toronto’s 102.1 The Edge, Hamilton’s Y108 and Kingston’s K-Rock 1057. Most recently he was Program Director, Music Director and Afternoon Drive Host at Ottawa’s Rebel 1017 where he essentially got to create all the programming and curated the stations playlist, primarily from his own music library. His passion for music was clear to anyone that listened to his show. Darryl always made great efforts to elevate independent and emerging artists and built up a reputation as an interviewer. Darryl Spring says, “Artist interviews rarely happen on radio anymore, when they do its brief and offer little depth, and that means music fans are really missing out. The goal of my podcast is to provide people who are passionate about rock with a new and innovative connection to the Canadian Music Industry and the bands and artists they love and support.”
