Records falling at water ski competition at Whanganui's Lake Wiritoa

New Zealand's Courtney Williams at the top of her jump at the Oz Kiwi Water Ski Challenge in Lake Wiritoa yesterday.

Records continue to fall at the ongoing Oz Kiwi Water Ski Challenge at Lake Wiritoa, with one Timaru teenager literally taking off.

In cool and flat conditions yesterday morning, Alex Brown, 13, set a new national junior girls record for the jump with 28.8m, comfortably above the previous mark of 27.3m.

For the jumps division, skiers have three attempts going up the ramp, with three cameras recording their jump from the shoreline.

The moment of landing is then cross-referenced with a computer grid of the course to give an accurate distance reading.

This is then displayed on the lightboard at the clubrooms on the hill above the lake, so the skiers know how far they got before their next attempt.

"I was like, pretty nervous, but went out on my first jump and it said 21.1m, so I was disappointed with that," said Brown.

"So I told myself, 'I just have to go harder'."

Deciding she had "pulled out" - aka when you let go of the toe rope – a little too early, Brown trusted herself to hang on a little longer and still control herself as she headed up the ramp with the added speed.

It paid off as she heard the reaction from the embankment after she landed.

"I spun around and I saw our whole New Zealand team cheering and I thought, 'something must be good'.

"Then they were pointing over there [at the lightboard]."

The jumps continued with the older grades, where the Under 21 men will reach distances in excess of 48m.

Slalom and tricks competitions were held in the late morning and then the afternoon.

Competition continues today and tomorrow.

New Zealand's Kristie Brown completes her landing during the jumps section.