Lana Donaldson at full stretch on the Yarra River last weekend where she competed brilliantly at the Moomba Waterfest. Photo SuppliedAshburton-based waterskiers have been in action on Melbourne’s Yarra River as part of the four-day Moomba Waterfest.

Skiers from all over the world are invited to ski at the event, having first submitted their credentials.

Lana Donaldson and her younger brothers Hugh and George were part of the action, with Lana making the semi-finals of the open women’s slalom.

Skiers use the Yarra, which is closed to boating traffic, competing in slalom, tricks and jumps. A special feature of the event are night jumps, which take place with a background of fireworks.

The event is considered one of the biggest in world waterskiing, not only for competitors but for spectators who line the banks of the Yarra.

With temperatures varying from 20 to 35°C, challenging river currents and occasional breezes, and a programme running from early morning until dark, it is a testing event.

In the women’s open slalom, Donaldson led from second off the dock till the 12th skier in series two, with a season’s personal best of 2.5 bouys on the 12m line at 55km/h.

She was stoked with the run and score, which put a lot of pressure on the following skiers. Unfortunately she couldn’t pull out a repeat performance in the semi-final to advance to the final.

Hugh and George Donaldson competed in the Junior Moomba, having only just finished the Oz-Kiwi tournament in the North Island days before and having to adjust to a different boat speed on the Yarra because of their age.

Hugh came away with a bronze medal in the jump, and a silver in the night jump; capping off a good run of competition form.

The season is far from over though, with a three-event tournament at Lake Hood later this month and nationals at Piarere in April.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 17 March 2018