Northland reclaim team water skiing shield after Canterbury's four year reign

Northland's Toni Atkinson speeds across the wake on her way to five gold medals across multiple divisions. Photo / Art of Passion

Northland's top water skiers have got their revenge on rivals Canterbury by reclaiming the team shield at the Sunlight National Water Ski Championships in Auckland.

The competition, from April 16-21 at Orakei Basin, featured eight regions all vying for bragging rights. Northland had a good run with the shield until 2015 when Canterbury claimed the win four years in a row.

Northland dominated the podium with 36 top-three finishes with some incredible individual performances. Northlander Toni Atkinson won five gold medals across multiple divisions including open women's slalom, open women's jump and open women's overall.

Courtney Williams, 16, won gold in open women's trick and silver in overall competition against skiers much older and more experienced. She also pulled out a personal best to win gold in girls' jump, along with gold in girls' trick and overall.

"It was an exceptional performance across the board from the Northland team," Whangārei water ski club head Glen Williams said.

"We had less numbers and less depth than some of the other regions so we needed everyone to fire and that's what happened."

Williams said the conditions were excellent with the water staying calm and warm over the week leading up to the finals. He credited all of Northland's competitors for putting in the effort to bring the shield home again.

"We just had a little bit of luck and Northland mongrel, and we got the result which is good."

Northland individual results

Open Women:

Toni Atkinson
1st slalom
1st jump
1st overall
5th trick

Courtney Williams
1st trick
2nd overall
5th jump

Maddie Wainwright
4th trick

Open Men:

Mitchell Williams
7th trick

Chris Lincoln
7th jump

Sub Juniors:

Bruno Parr
3rd trick
3rd overall
4th slalom

George Williams
4th overall
5th trick
6th slalom

Junior Girls:

Maddie Wainwright
1st trick
3rd slalom

Georgia Luxford
2nd trick
2nd slalom
2nd jump
2nd overall

Junior Boys:

Mitchell Williams
1st jump
1st overall
2nd trick
2nd slalom

Sage Going
3rd jump
3rd overall
5th trick
6th slalom

Josh Wainwright
6th trick
6th overall
7th jump
10th slalom

Girls:

Courtney Williams
1st trick
1st jump
1st overall
2nd slalom

18-35 Women's:

Toni Atkinson
1st jump
1st overall
2nd trick
2nd slalom

18-35 Men's:

Chris Lincoln
2nd jump
2nd overall
4th trick
4th slalom

Senior Women's 1:

Sarah Wainwright
1st trick
1st slalom

Bernadine Paterson
2nd trick
2nd slalom

Senior Men's 2:

Glen Williams
1st trick
1st jump
1st overall
7th slalom

Team scores:

Northland Taniwha: 14,534
Canterbury Red: 14,233
Auckland Blues: 12,975

Gold Star Women: Toni Atkinson
Silver Star Men: Mitchell Williams