Skiing: Wilkins ends 25-year drought for Bay

Aidan Wilkins on his way to title honours at the North Island Primary School Skiing Championships. Photo / Supplied

Aidan Wilkins set tongues wagging at the recent Whakapapa-hosted North Island Primary School Skiing Championships.

Despite skiing against competitors two years older, the Havelock North Primary School 10-year-old captured the boys' title at the 450 competitor event which is one of the country's most prestigious junior ski racing competitions.

Wilkins is the first Hawke's Bay skier to win the title in 25 years and he finished 1.3 seconds faster than second-placed Mattias Coutts.

The son of America's Cup sailor Russell Coutts, Aidan trains in the South Island and the United States. Aucklander Sophia Ullrich, who is in the same Whakapapa training squad as Wilkins, won the girls' title.

"Before the event my goal was to get a top-five finish and gain as many scoring points for my school. I can't believe I won but I do feel as though I held my ski edge the entire way down the course and it felt fast. I loved the dual slalom race the next day against Mattias and I was happy to win this and gain another four points for the school," Wilkins said.

Wilkins' school finished ninth out of 30 teams. His teammate Sam Elliott finished 35th and with Wilkins reached the semifinals of the Ski X (jumping and speed event).

Wilkins' 8-year-old brother Luke finished fourth in the Year 3 division. Other contributors to the Havelock North tally were Rugby Roberts with a 53rd placing, Tessa Nettingham with a 93rd and Charlie Hooper with a 142nd.

Wilkins said the entire ski week was "bluebird days" and plenty of hard-packed, fast snow contributed to even conditions with more than 1000 timed runs through different courses.

This year Wilkins recorded the unofficial fastest time in the Under-10 age group at the Swiss junior championships.

His feats weren't officially recognised because he wasn't a Swiss national.

Central Hawke's Bay's Grant Stockman was just as delighted as Wilkins. Stockman is the head coach of Wilkins and Ullrich.