Kobee with her national championship trophy.
Photo by
Daniel Briggs
Following a strong showing at the Victorian Wakeboarding state championships, local girl Kobee Williams has taken it to another level, being named the under-9 National Champion for wakeboarding.
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On Wednesday February 25 through to Saturday March 1, Kobee was up against the best wakeboarding talent from across the nation.
The Nationals were held on the Hawkesbury River, at Windsor.
Her involvement in the Wakeboarding Nationals, and representing Victoria, came after she put on a dominant display here in Deniliquin.
Kobee claimed a second placing in the straight air event, was named the Rookies Season Champion and the Under-9 Victorian State Title winner, propelling her to the Wakeboarding Nationals.
On the day, Kobee’s wakeboarding runs were scored across three different categories, those being execution, intensity and composition, being the top score in each of those categories.
Competitors were made up of the best young wakeboarders from around the nation, with many of them being state champions.
Kobee defeated runner-up Summer O’Connor from NSW 53.67 to 52.11.
Both girls were 10 points clear of the third placed competitor and at least another 20 clear of the remaining competitors.
It was also the first time Kobee has been able to get the wood over Summer, with the two competing at several events as competitors before the Nationals.
“Kobee has not actually been able to beat Summer in any competitions to date, so being able to do that for the first time was exciting and a big achievement,” her mother Aimee said.
“Kobee only came off the wakeboard once, which wasn’t too bad because the salt in the water makes the landing softer,” she added.
Kobee also touched on her journey, albeit short, as she has crammed a lot into wakeboarding in a short time.
“I have been wakeboarding since just before I turned six.
“I really love it, and just having fun like mum and dad always tell me to,” she said.
Because having fun is the most important facet of Kobee’s wakeboarding, there is no surprise she enjoys it above all else, despite fierce competition.
But having achieved what she has, has not come without its toils.
“Yeah we were on the water about three times a week or even more in preparation for the Nationals,” Aimee said.
“As well as that, we were going out most weekends to wakeboard.
“There have been a lot of hours on the water, but when they enjoy it this much it’s easy to do, although we are looking forward to the end of the season.”
Kobee will now make the big jump from under-9s in wakeboarding to under-14s.
With no age groups in between, she will compete to represent team Victoria at Nationals against other competitors considerably older.
Hoping to continue her run of form, Kobee has her sights set on the World Wakeboarding Association World Championships as a future goal.
