Team Name and Number: Cool Runnings Racing # 149

Boat: Bernico 21ft with a 2.5 mercury engine on the back!

Equipment: Ski – Maharajah, Wetsuit – Wing.

Racing Division: F2 Ladies

Years racing: 3

Racing awards: 3rd place in Geel (Belgium) European Cup Race 2007, 3rd place overall Nationals 2007.
My History: I started out skiing when I was 15, I started of doing club races at my home club Hunstanton. Then after ½ a year of club racing I decided to enter myself into a National race. I was skiing in junior class at that point. I was very pleased with my first race as I achieved 2nd place. That gave me the confidence to carry on and here I am today. Now as I am 18 I moved up from Juniors to Ladies class. This is more competitive as the Ladies have faster boats and more experience. I am now in my second year in Ladies class and am loving it!

Injuries: Of course skiing at speeds of around 70mph isn’t the safest thing to do, so when you come of your going to know about it. I was racing for 3rd place in the 3rd round of the European Championships in Holland in September 2007 when I had my first major fall. Unfortunately it left me with two torn ligaments in my knee which stopped my 2007 racing career. But I have trained hard over the winter and am rearing to go. Bring on Ski Racing season 2008!

What is water ski racing?

Ski Racing is the fastest form of water-skiing there is. It really gets your adrenaline going as you race against other skiers that can be right by your side at times. Racing is very much a team event, so if there are a few of you who go out skiing together, it can be the ideal discipline to get involved with and many teams are made up of families.

As well as the skier, there's a driver who tows the skier according to the skier's ability, the water conditions and the way your competitors are going. Then there's the observer who keeps a close eye on the skier, relaying signals to the driver, ensuring the skier is skiing to his/her maximum ability but also ensuring that they don’t take a fall and lose vital time in the race. He's also keeping a close eye on the competition, ensuring the driver is kept up to date with the situation.

Nowadays, Racing adopts the 'wrapping' technique, where two handles are held together behind the backside with one hand and a third handle is held at arms length in front, with the second hand. It allows you to race for longer periods without a lot of strain on your back. A special race ski is used and this allows a skier to maintain better control at higher speeds. The race ski cuts through rough water and gives a racer much better control than a regular mono ski would offer.

Races take place on seawater and on inland waters so conditions can vary from a small chop to quite rough conditions. The lengths of races vary too, ladies and juniors ski for 35mins + a lap and mens F1, F2 and F3 ski for 50 mins + a lap.

Some general guidelines are that Formula 1 is generally a high powered twin engined boat or a very large horse powered inboard. This class is for very experienced skiers and drivers. Formula 2 is up to a single 300 hp engine, Formula 3 is up to 175 hp and Club Class is up to a standard 150hp. The maximum length of boat allowed is 21ft. So if you're looking for speed on a ski, then Racing is the way you need to go.