Submitted
The Kootenay Towed Water Sports team put in a stellar performance at the BC Games this weekend, bringing home several medals and putting the Kootenays on the map for water sports.
The Kootenay Zone team, which was made up of six competitors from Cranbrook, Nelson, Windermere and Invermere brought home a total of 14 individual medals and earned a silver medal in the team event by scoring the second-highest team points for the weekend.
“It was incredible to watch our team – both on and off the water – and I’m so proud of every single one of them,” says coach Christine DuBois. “It speaks volumes for their skill and spirit when you consider they were the smallest team of the entire province, and managed to win silver in the team event. Prior to these games it was unknown whether Zone 1 has ever been represented at the BC Games in Towed Water Sports, but this team and their success will no doubt ensure our region continues to make its mark in future games.”
The BC Games is the only competition that brings athletes from both the waterski and wake sports together to compete at the same venue. Waterski consists of slalom, trick and jump, while wake events included wake surf, wake board, and wake skate. The Zone 1 team was coached by DuBois of Windermere and Lisa Schmidtke of Nelson was the team’s athlete support.
Results:
Girls 14-17
• Erica Godsave (Cranbrook) — Gold Slalom, Silver Jump, Silver Wakeskate, Silver team event
• Reece Lawrick (Invermere/Windermere) — BronzeWakeskate,Silver Team event
Girls 10-13
• Kaylee DuBois (Windermere) — Silver Trick Ski, Silver Wakesurf, Bronze Wakeboard, Silver team event
Boys 14-17
• Ryder Duczek (Cranbrook) — Gold Wakesurf, Gold Wakeskate, Silver team event
• Dagen Duczek (Cranbrook) — Silver Wakesurf, Bronze Wakeskate, Silver team event
Boys 10-13
• Bronson Schimdtke (Nelson) — Goldwakesurf, GoldWakeskate, BronzeWakeboard, Silver team event
“The athletes are permitted to choose any three events in wake and waterski to compete in at the Games. As we have many athletes that love all water-sports it was a great opportunity to show the diversity of their skills,” said DuBois.
Waterski Wake Sports BC officiated the event that was held at Ness Lake approximately 20 min from the host city of Prince George.
The next Games will be held in the summer of 2024. If you have a Water Sports athlete (age 10-17 in 2024) who is interested in attending, please contact Christine DuBois at christine@shadybrookresort.com.