George and Hugh Donaldson, ready to take on the world at the junior water ski championships in Chile. Photo suppliedThere’s not much of the world George and Hugh Donaldson haven’t seen – from the water of a lake.

The Ashburton 17-year-olds are about to spread their travel net a little wider today as they leave for the World Junior Water Ski Championships in Santiago, Chile.

This morning they were up at 4am, bags packed and ready to hit the road with mum Janene and dad Neil, looking forward to playing their part in earning honours for both the New Zealand team and for themselves.

George and Hugh are no strangers to international competition.

They’ve been competing in the Oz-Kiwi championships every year since they were 10 and this is their second outing as members of the New Zealand junior team to the world champs.

Last time the pair scored personal bests in several events and this year, older and stronger, they’re hoping to make the finals and perhaps come home with medals.

For the last event in Peru they were the team babies; this time they’re the old hands.

In an odd quirk this year’s New Zealand team is made up of two sets of twins (both males) and two individual females.

This is the first time the event has hosted teams of six (previously teams were made up of four skiers) and that will make securing top placings just that bit more difficult, mum Janene said.

Making it onto the world stage doesn’t come without hours, months and years of practice.

For the pair that means Lake Hood is their second home.

Standing out at the top simply means being better, faster and turning on more complex and perfectly executed tricks than the competition.

“But the better you get the harder it gets to keep improving,” Hugh said.

Getting better, however, means water skiing has to become the number one focus in your life, George said.

“We never get sick of it.

“We’ve got friends all over from skiing and it’s great to ski with friends.”

Trips to international events are usually family affairs, with the opportunity taken to spend a few days post event on holiday.

This time that will include a few days in Buenos Aires and a trip to the Iguazu Falls; at the Peru champs they walked the Inca trail.

If there’s a downside, it’s the travel to training camp, the days of missed schooling and the lack of time to play other sports.

George and Hugh will be Year 13 students at Ashburton College next year and know they’ll have to make some big decisions before that year is over.

Already there have been approaches from American universities, but both are noncommittal when they look at where their future might lie.

The pair have been water skiing since they were six, competing since they were seven.

The sport is what the Donaldsons do as a family.

Like any sport, water skiing comes with a high chance of injury and 19 stitches in George’s mouth are an example of how easily a jump can go wrong even for an expert.

The pair are looking forward to competing on a lake that is as close to the perfect venue as you can get – privately owned with wrap-around shelter.

Like every other competitor, they’ll be fighting for water time during the five-day lead up, but with months of training behind them, George and Hugh say they’re as ready as they’ll ever be to foot it on the international stage.

By Sue Newman © The Ashburton Guardian - 29 December 2016