HBHS Water Skiers in Bridge To Bridge Race
Hamilton Boys' High students had a successful weekend in the annual Yamaha Rollos Bridge to Bridge Water Ski Classic, held on the Waikato River this past weekend. The river race is the premiere water ski race in New Zealand and attracts competitors from all over the country. This year int also included over 30 competitors from Australia. The feature event Long Race starts at Cambridge, with each boat towing two skiers at speed down the Waikato, through Hamilton to Taupiri. At this point, the competitors get a quick break before restarting to ski back into Hamilton, finishing in front of the crowd under the Bridge St Bridge at Grantham St – a distance of just over 82km.
Year 10 student, Hayden Gunn had great weekend. His team, (Pork Chop Racing – skiing with a St John's Yr 9 student) won the Formula 5 (up to 200hp, open age group) Class Time Trial on the Saturday. In the feature race, Hayden's team finished 1st Formula 5, and 3rd in Junior Class, enabling them to take out the F5 “King of the Rivers” trophy. Hayden backed this up with a 3rd place in Under 16yrs Social Class skiing at 67mph on a standard slalom ski, behind his father's boat, Thunder.
Year 9 student, Ethan Wilson, skiing with Team Nasty, was close on the heals of Hayden, placing 2nd in the Formula5 class in the feature Long Race.
Unfortunately the weekend didn't go quite so well for Yr 9 student, Tom Slack of Team KRUEGER, skiing in the Formula 4 (up to 225hp, open age group) and Juniors Classes. Having set competitive times in the Time Trial on Saturday, his team was forced to stop during the first leg to Taupiri of the feature event, due to his ski partner suffering severe cramp. However the team put this disappointment behind them, restarted and finished the leg extemely quickly – although recording a slow overall time, which put them out of contention. The run back into town was also dogged with Tom suffering problems with his rope, but they managed to catch and pass Hayden's PCR team (the eventual Jnr winners) ,who started 30sec before them, and finish with smiles on their faces.
The weekend was hugely successful, with a highlight being the side-by-side racing between the PCR and KRUEGER teams.
This is a fantastic family sport and any students wishing to learn more about the sport or who would like to give it a try are encouraged to talk to any of the above boys. You don't need to have a boat or any gear as there are always people willing to offer anything you need to give it a go. The New Zealand Water Ski Racing Association (NZWSRA) also run a Ski School during the first week of January each year where you can be taught everything you need to know. For more information take a look at www.skirace.co.nz .
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