THIS weekend, the Loddon River will play home to some of the country\u2019s top water skiers for the 2022 EasyTow Malibu Australian Masters.<\/p>\n
Hosted by the Bridgewater Water Ski Club for a 12th year, the event features the three main water-skiing disciplines of slalom, trick, and jump, with age groups from under 10s to over 65 year olds.<\/p>\n
BWSC committee member Josie Christie said after long preparations, the club is keen to hit the water.<\/p>\n
\u201cBridgewater loves putting on the Aussie Masters, it\u2019s one of the most prestigious events in Australia,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe committee work really hard to put on a quality event for the skiers, particularly with COVID the last couple of years a lot of skiers have struggled to train as much as they normally would and also be able to participate in events.<\/p>\n
Ms Christie said the Bridgewater event is the second biggest water-skiing competition in Australia, behind Moomba.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of skiers that have been invited to ski at Moomba, and a lot of them use Bridgewater as a training ground, even some of the international skiers come to Bridgewater prior to Moomba to train,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Junior competitors will also be striving for a spot in the national junior team.<\/p>\n
No stranger to water ski competitions is Jason Sleep, who competes in the disabled division.<\/p>\n
The paraplegic, double amputee has skied all over the world setting records and was earlier this year named International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation Male Disabled Athlete of the Year for the second time.<\/p>\n
He said he\u2019s keen to see what the next generation of skiers with disabilities has to offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI coach guys who\u2019ve got disabilities from amputees to paraplegic, quadriplegic, blind and so forth,\u201d he said. \u201cA couple of them have been training and have finally got good enough to go into their first tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been very successful, and it\u2019s brought a lot to myself, I hope the guys that follow in my footsteps get the same out of it as I have.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gives them something to strive for and drive to, rather than sitting at home wallowing on the couch, you can get out there and work at something and the world\u2019s your oyster.<\/p>\n
The event is free for spectators and will take place over three days, finishing on Sunday, with entrance via the Bridgewater on Loddon Caravan Park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THIS weekend, the Loddon River will play home to some of the country\u2019s top water skiers for the 2022 EasyTow Malibu Australian Masters. Hosted by the Bridgewater Water Ski Club for a 12th year, the event features the three main water-skiing disciplines of slalom, trick, and jump, with age groups from under 10s to over […]<\/p>\n