LAKELAND, FLA.: A smart decision at the end of her run is what led Olivia Chute to the national collegiate trick water skiing championship.
The Windsor Junction product competes in waterskiing at Florida Southern College where she is studying to become an optometrist following in her parents footsteps.
Unlike international waterskiing tournaments and competitions, collegiate skiing is different in that you only get one trick pass instead of two.
“I always opt for my toe pass as this is my higher scoring pass,” explained Chute in an interview with The Laker News. “In international competition, I would order my passes to do toes with the wind at my back.
“However, given the one pass nature of the collegiate competition, I didn’t have a choice in this regard and completed my toe pass into a stiff headwind. This made it nerve-racking heading down to the dock.”
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Chute said she kept giving herself a speech as she headed down to compete.
“I kept telling myself that the conditions were the same for everyone and I had an advantage because I am a strong skier,” she said. “Our team coach’s motto for the week was “be smart.”
“I ended up making a smart move to opt for an easier trick at the end of my run that I knew I would be able to complete in the wind, which ended up paying dividends and earning me the title.”
She said she’s filled with gratitude over the win.
It didn’t come with another obstacle that almost sidelined her and her team in Florida. Hurricane Milton was approaching their area in Florida before they were to depart for the competition in Texas.
“There was some uncertainty if our team would even be able to make it to Texas to compete,” she said. “I feel so lucky that everything came together for us to go and compete.
“Nothing made this win sweeter than being surrounded by the most supportive teammates I could ask for.”
Chute was over the moon that after three podiums in three years of collegiate skiing, she landed on top.
“I am ecstatic to walk away from this years Collegiate Waterski Nationals title in women’s tricks,” she said. “It feels great to be on top.”
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After her run, Chute and the others had to wait for their scores to even see who finished where.
She had friends Allyson Grathwohl (University of Alabama) and Hannah Stopnicki (Rollins College) to wait it out with, both who compete with her. All three cheer and support each other.
“While there are so many things I love about waterskiing, my least favorite thing about trick skiing in particular is that scoring is not immediate and the results are often not finalized until hours after I get off the water,” she said.
“Something that made this win extra sweet is that I got to share the podium with two of my closest friends in the sport, Allyson and Hannah.”
Chute said she and Hannah were checking up on the scores together, knowing that one of them would be crowned the champion.
“Hannah was actually the first to tell me that I had won,” said Chute. “In a small sport, your closest friends are also your closest competitors.
“I’m grateful to have a friendship like I do with Hannah where we can support each other through wins and losses, even when to each other.”
The win happened without her immediate family there to cheer her on, but her FSC teammates made up for that.
“My team at Florida Southern is truly a second family and nothing made this win more memorable than sharing it with the most supportive teammates on the planet,” she said.
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Chute, who trained this past summer with her mom on Third Lake near the WJCC, was asked what’s next for her?
“Looking ahead, I hope to qualify for my first open masters this May,” she said. “I’ve had the honor of skiing in a couple of master’s as a junior, but now I am in the elite division so qualifying in this category is certainly my next goal.”
She also hopes to compete with the Canadian team at the Junior Pan American Games in Paraguay and the U21 World Waterski Championships in Calgary next summer.
This is her third year at FSC, and she can usually be found with her face in her books when not on the water.
“When I am not on the water, I am usually buried in books studying to follow in my family footsteps and become an optometrist like both of my parents,” she said.
“Though I miss my family very much when I am away at school, I had a rewarding summer training at home with my parents on my home lake, Third Lake in Windsor Junction.”
