Meade pair get jump on high-flying rivals

Linda Shailer competing in the jumps on Saturday morning at the Wanganui Water Ski Club's Gold Star event. Photo/Stuart Munro

Both of the waterskiing Meade siblings came away with personal best performances at Lake Wiritoa which has them in good stead for representing New Zealand this coming weekend.

The Wanganui Water Ski Club's annual Gold Star event got through a full programme in almost perfect conditions at the weekend, with 42 skiers taking part from as far afield as Otago's Cromwell and Northland's Hikurangi.

Both 13-year-old Lily Meade and brother Brent, 17, were among the 10 members of the New Zealand team taking part who will also face Australia in the upcoming test in Ashburton.

Lily Meade set PB's in all three of her events - a 15m leap on the jump, a 2560-point score from the judges in the trick section, and she covered two buoys off a 14.25m line in the slalom.

For slalom events, competitors start on an 18.25m line, which gets shorter to increase the difficulty.

Club president Ron Bakker said Lily Meade, who is being groomed for the junior world championships in the Ukraine next year, came close to a Central Region record with her effort.

"It was pretty good skiing, so she's been the star really. There's been lots of PBs across the board, the conditions have been really good. Most of the kids, after coaching, are peaking this week."

In a competitive boys' division, Brent Meade finished the overall winner from Waikato cousins Conrad McKenzie and Sean Hickey. A strong contingent of 15 skiers came from Waikato, with Conrad's brother Ethan coming close to setting a national record in the sub-juniors section of the slalom.

Brent Meade made a PB 33.7m jump on Saturday, beating his old mark by 0.4m. He said he hoped to reach 37m in Ashburton.

"I'm pretty confident, been practising quite a lot. Good to have a PB before you go," he said.

Bakker said conditions in the morning were a little windy for the jumps, but had "glazed off beautifully" by afternoon when most competitors got their best results.