Ashburton water skier Hugh Donaldson attempts a flip in one of his trick runs at the World Open Championships in Paris. Photo SuppliedAshburton water skier Hugh Donaldson has come away from his first ever World Open Championships with some pleasing results.

Part of the team of six New Zealand skiers that competed at the event, Donaldson was the highest scoring member of the team, finishing 18th in the overall standings for men.

With the choppy conditions in Choisy-le-Roi, Paris, proving challenging, many skiers struggled to match personal bests.

“Ryan Dodd, who is the world record holder for the jump, which he set this year, was nine metres off his best, so when Hugh was only two metres off his personal best, that is pretty impressive,” mum Janeen said.

Donaldson’s best score came in the jump event, posting a score 587.79, while also posting a 539.22 in the slalom.

A fall on one tricks run limited his score to 372.38, giving him a total score of 1499.39, only 4.1 points behind the 17th placed Spaniard Noguera Vergés Lluís.

“It was an amazing experience, it was a really big thing over there. The event was structured around the television schedule and there was high up diplomats there,” she said.

“They bussed in school kids to cheer on the French skiers and the support was really big, especially on the weekends.

“For the prize giving, the bus was running late because of the French team, so we had a police escort through the city. It would have normally been an hour’s  drive but instead it only took 20 minutes, and that was pretty special.”

Despite it being his first senior world championships, Hugh said nerves were not an issue.

“I was probably more nervous for the junior worlds. There I was just going to ski and see how I went,” he said.

Mum Janeen said the focus would now switch back to school, before the big events such as the Australia New Zealands and the Oceania Championship are held in the first third of next year.

By Jaime Pitt-MacKay © The Ashburton Guardian - 22 September 2017