Williams Lake’s Conley Pinette is headed to Lago los Morros, Chile, to represent Team Canada at the IWWF Junior World Water Ski Championships.
Pinette will join Jaimee Bull (Ontario), Thomas Daigle (Quebec), Dominique Grondin Allard (Quebec), Paige Rini (Ontario) and Neilly Ross (Ontario) to form Canada’s team at the event, which takes place from Jan. 5-8, 2017.
Pinette will compete in slalom, jump and trick at the junior worlds.
Of those three events Pinette, who has been training in Florida with Canada’s national team throughout the fall, said jump is his best event and the one he expects to achieve the most success in.
“I’ve always enjoyed it the most and figured it out pretty easily,” Pinette said. “It’s also the most fun one.”
At the junior worlds, water skiers from roughly 30 countries around the globe will be participating.
As for having the opportunity to represent Canada, Pinette said it’s an honour.
“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “There are only six of us going from Canada so it’s pretty crazy.”
Team Canada’s head coach Steve Bush, meanwhile, said he is looking forward to showcasing our country’s athletes at the championships.
“This is the first Junior Worlds to have a six-member team, which allows all of our best junior skiers to be on the team,” Bush said. “I am excited about this group of skiers as it has been a while since we have had a team of this depth and skill level.
“The venue in Chile is first class and I expect it to be a very good competition.”
This past Nov. 14-20, Pinette also competed as a member of Team Canada at the 2016 Pan American Championships, held in Chapala, Mexico, helping the team win the overall title.
Pinette, who was in the under-17 boys division, set a new Pan American Games record and won gold in jump after soaring 176 feet through the air — the length of roughly four-and-a-half school buses.
He also finished fifth in tricks and seventh in slalom to capture the overall silver medal.
Pinette has also qualified for the Junior Masters as one of the top five in the world, which will take place in May of 2017.
In 2015 Pinette was the open men’s Canadian national champion and the 2015 junior men’s jump, trick and overall Canadian national champion.
For any businesses or individuals who would like to support Pinette in his travels, a donation can be made at www.conleypinette.com.