Casey Richardson - May 23, 2024 / 4:00 am
A young Pentictonite has once again qualified to compete at the Nautique Masters in Georgia this week, competing in the Junior Women’s Jump event.
17-year-old Kate Pinsonneault started out water skiing on Skaha Lake at a very young age and developed quite the talent for the sport.
"My dad did it just recreationally and then I started doing a few camps when I was younger and then it just all started," she added.
Pinsonneault has been on the Junior Canadian Waterski team for the past few years and is ranked number one in Canada.
"It's definitely a lot of training because obviously I can't train at home so a lot of travel, a lot of training away from home. But it's amazing because the team, we're really close. We're all best friends," she said.
She also keeps in shape while being a part of the Penticton Regional U18 female hockey team and weightlifting.
On the International Waterski Wakeboard Federation U17 weekly ranking list, she is currently ranked 4th in the world for Jump.
She said there's nothing quite like the thrill of the jump event, getting to reach speeds of around 70km/hour while taking on a five-foot ramp and soaring 127 feet.
"It's just such an amazing feeling, feeling like flying through the air or running the new paths or learning a new trick," she said.
Pinsonneault will be headed to the Masters on Robin Lake site, Callaway Gardens in Georgia, on May 24, for the second time, having qualified last year.
This past weekend in Florida, she skied in a double tiebreaker and came up just short of qualifying for the slalom event.
She trains in Florida at Matt Rini Waterski School with Cole Grant, and said trianing ahead of the maters weekend is going "really well."
"I've been doing like two sets a day of jump," she said. "Just had a really good set so I'm excited now and feeling prepared."
Pinsonneault will also head to the 2024 U17 IWWF World Waterski Championships in Calgary, Alta. from July 29 to Aug. 4.
"I'm spending the summer in Florida to train for that just to be extra prepared and have consistently training."
In addition to jumping, Pinsonneault competes as an overall skier, combining the scores from slalom, trick, and jump to make one score.
At the Worlds, she will compete in all three events and look for a podium spot, as she is ranked fifth in the world in the overall division at this time.
Pinsonneault said she hopes to first go to university for waterskiing on a scholarship, before becoming a pro and eventually winning a world title.
She added that she's grateful for the community support, especially from her parents, who send her down to Florida to train whenever she needs.
Pinsonneault jumps at Kamloops Waterski Club, which is the closest jump ramp to her home in Penticton and trains with the Waterski Wake Sports BC Association.