Hey World!

It may be February but we have already had the first pro tour event of the season. The 2012 MasterCraft-Headzone Australian Open took place this past weekend at Stoney Park. Two full days of non stop slalom, trick and jump. There was even a few barefoot exhibitions and a flip off.

There was a lot of great skiing….Josh Briant set the U17 Aussie trick record with 10,100pts, Nick Adams ran 4.5@39 the first two rounds, Tim Bradstreet went over 220ft and there was approx. 7-10 personal bests set.

In the prelims, I ran 3@39/10.75 and 1 1/2@39/10.75. It qualified me for the finals and gave me the #3 seed. In the finals, I ended up with 5.5@38/11.25.

I am thrilled to share with you a major milestone in my career! I got third place! No, that wasn’t the milestone, but more importantly I made it to the podium for the first time in a pro event and got paid!!! YES, GOT PAID!! On the podium I was thinking about all of the time and hard work I have put in has finally paid off! Don’t worry; the hard work will not stop. It felt great to hear my name called, walk up with my Syndicate ski, receive the trophy/check and stand proud on the podium. It meant a lot to me to get paid for my performance on the water and to know my skills are worthy of being paid. Thank you for letting me reveal my feelings and boasting a little. I don’t mean to seem prideful….but dam it feels great to finally prove myself at the pro level! I got paid!!!!!!!! Now I can pay for my own happy meal at McDonald! Sorry Mom.

Team HO swept the slalom podium with all 3 of us (Nick Adams, Karina Nowlan and myslef) skiing on the Syndicate A2. Ironically, the photo above was taken after the 2nd qualifying round and it is the same order we would finish and stand on the podium. (Photo by Dan Oliver)