the final results

Hey everybody,
So I was crowned the 2nd best Junior Boy in the world!!! Trevor Wendt was 3rd, I was 2nd, and Jack Houston was the number one Junior Boy. The world championships were and AMAZING experiece here in Belgium and I dont think there is anything like it. The people I got to meet, the things I got to take part in, and the competiting i got to ski against were all amazing thtings and made it worth while to make this LONG trip. There are still not many trophy pics up so Ill will put them up as soon as I get them. Well goodbye until the nadn thank you for all of the help and support.

hey everyone

Today was I FINALLY had me first descent day here in Belgium. My race was at 10:30 and it was still pretty cold by then but we had a good clean and fairly smooth race!! We started, and Jack Houston from Australia got a great start so we were second to him and about half way up his ski line. For the first few laps we took the inside line where it is rougher and shorter, while Jack took the outside line where it is longer but smoother and he ended up pulling away a little bit. After that I took a comftorable 2nd but about 3/4 of the way through the race was passed by an Austrian kid. So I ended up in and overall 3rd for the day but I am still very much in the hunt for an overall medal. Well the last race is on Sunday and I will post again after that.

Genk

hey everyone,

So yesterday was the 2nd race of the world championships here in Belgium and it was SOOOOOOOOOO rough I couldn't believe it. It was the roughest race that I have skied in my life! Even the 1st straight away, where its normally smooth as glass, was a bit bumpy. Any way I was in 2nd place on the last lap about 20 sec behind the leader and I was passing a boat the I was already ahead of becasue i started 30 sec behind him and we went into the last turn and the other boats spray washed me off my ski and i fell. I got back up and finished the race in 4th position. So now I have an 8th place finish and a 4th when i should have a 1st and 2nd. Oh well, there is still 2 races left and I am NOT going to fall anymore.

After the first race

Hey everyone

Sorry that I didn't post yesterday I just really didn't get a chance too. Any way yesterday the race was extremley rough, demanding and didn't give skiers any chance to rest. The Juniors race skied for 11 laps and a total of 37 min. There were 6 flights with 6 boats in each flight. I was in the 1st flight and 4th out and my biggest competition was right next to me, 5th out. At the start me and my competition, Jack Houston, made our starts and ran away from everyone else. For 6 laps we raced side by side trading off first place every few hundred feet. I was running the inside lane were it is a little rougher but you gain alot in the turns and Jack was running the outside lane were it is a little smoother but you have to work harder to gain what you lose in the turns. Anyway, after lap ski I was in first by about half a ski line and we went into the turn and I leaned a little too far forward and stuffed my ski into a wave and went over the front of my ski right in front of the crowd. I wasn't hurt so I got my ski back on, got up, and started racing again. I finished in 8th place which isn't bad if you ask around but it is horrible to me. But in the worlds you ski 4 races and get to drop your worst race so they only count 3 and hopefully that will be the race I get to drop. So tomorrow I will have to start in the 2nd flight 15 sec back from teh 1st and Jack will be startgin in the first. But at the end of the race they take away the 15 sec so, so if I finish 14 sec behind the first place skier and he is in the first flight, I will win the race. Well I will post again after my race and here are a couple pics from yesterday and I will try to get more tomorrow.

Opening Ceremonies!!!

me at the catalina race excepting the Kirk Book memorial trophy

me and my catalina team...me, chuck, dad, mike and his daughter

me and the other Junior Boy at Catalina Trevor Wendt

me and my boat....the number 1 F2 man in, brady, in backround

me boat being lifted in the canal. They have to use cranes and straps because there are no launch ramps to us for the canals

my team, dad and howard, holding the boat on the dock

me putting my ski on to go for a practice run at Gent the first race site. And today me and my dad decided to lengthen my line by 10ft because it seemed a little bit smoother than the other courses and that wat we can gain some speed in the straigh aways

Two boats, one from USA and the other Great Britain, gettting pulled out of the water

the Juniors for the USA team.......Trevor on the left holding the flag, me in the middle with the sign and Chelbe on the right with the other flag.

Howard the driver, me the skier and my dad the observer

the whole sudden force team!! Glen Anderson, Lori Dunsmore, Andy Anderson, Howard Hoggins, ME, Alex Herrera (my dad)

me and the other Junior Boy kickin it on a boat before the parade.

me before the start of the parade

hey everyone

today was the opening ceremonies for the 2009 world waterski racing championships. The ceremonies were fun and exciting and made me very anxious for tomorrows race . So I will post again after my race and hopefully with a 1st place victory but I wont get TOO cocky. In the mean time, here are a few pictures from the opening ceremonies.

Belgium

hey everyone

I finally made it to Belgium!!!! the wheather is different hot one second and then cold the next and the food isnt all to amazing but other than that it is pretty cool. Today Im going skiing for the first time in the canals!! so ill post again tommorw telling you all how that goes

Catalina Race

This weekened was the 61st Catalina waterski race and it was a great weekened. I skied in the Junior Boys class and got first place with a finishing time of 1 hour 6 min and 44 sec. Todd Haig won the overall race with a record setting time of 50 min and 19 sec and Kim Lumely was the first woman to finish with a new record time of 54min. The weekened was a great success and everyone had a great time. Then on Tuesday the US world team will fly to Belgium for the world championships. Well goodbye for now and I will continue to keep you posted on my racing journies