Wagin’s waterski stars shine bright at WA State Titles

Hitting speeds of more than 55km/h on water, a pair of Wagin young guns have won the State regional titles for waterskiing in Perth. Raised in the Great Southern, Kynan and Zali Spencer did the region proud in the slalom and tricks divisions of the competition by taking out the top spot in their respective pools at Bonney’s Water Ski Park last month. While Zali was in a division of her own, Kynan, 17, was up against rival Jacob Hailand in the M21 slalom — a run that requires competitors to weave through a sequence of six buoys without failure. With each successive run, their speed increased by an additional 3km/h and the length of their rope decreased by a metre. Kynan managed to pass five buoys in his second-last run and 41/2 buoys at 58km/h with a 16m rope in his final run. Zali passed 41/2 buoys at 55km/h on an 18.25m rope for them to both finish at the top of their respective divisions. After the slalom, Kynan and Zali took to the water for the tricks event, in which waterskiers perform their best skilful manoeuvres across two successive 20-30 second runs. Zali notched up a personal best of 970 points, while Kynan pulled off a 180-toe trick to help him score an impressive 1550 to take home the top spot for his division. Ms Spencer said the tournament was a challenge, but she was happy with the results. “As much as the weekend physically challenges you, it also is a mental challenge,” she said. “Because sometimes if you come off your skis or hit the buoys, you have to be able to get back up and do it again without doubting yourself.” Kynan encouraged the community to take a look at water skiing, as local competitions were desperately looking for competitors. “There are lots of people who already do water skiing but not that many are doing it competitively,” he said. “This tournament was open to people of all ages. There was a division for 80-year-olds and we also had kids under the age of 10 perform on the weekend.”