2022 WSWC FEMALE JUNIOR WATER SKI ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Photo Credit: Johnny Hayward Photography
Canada’s Golden Girls of water skiing selected as 2022 WSWC Female Junior Water Ski Athlete of the Year!
Nellie Allard (QC), Megan Pelkey (AB), and Hannah Stopnicki (QC) have earned this award due to all their hard work on and off the water. Each skier earned a gold medal at the 2022 U17 World Water Ski Championships in Santiago, Chile. Nellie won U17 Girls Jump, Hannah won U17 Girls Trick and Megan won U17 Girls Overall. All three skiers were part of Team Canada at the U17 World Championships and helped bring home the silver team medal.
Read below for more information on each skier.
Quebec’s Nellie Allard had an exceptional 2022 season with many medals to go along with it. To start off the year, Nellie qualified for the Jr. Masters in Overall at the first qualifying series event. At the Jr. Masters, Nellie placed 2nd in Jump and was crowned Jr. Masters Champion in Overall.
At the Canadian Nationals in Edmonton, AB, Nellie came home with six medals, competing in the U17 age division as well as keeping her own in the Open division. She became National Champion in U17 Girls Jump and Slalom as well as in Open Women Overall. Nellie also placed 2nd in U17 Girls Trick and Overall and came 3rd in Open Women Jump.
Nellie finished the 2022 season at the U17 World Championships in Santiago, Chile. There, she became Jr. World Champion in Jump with a personal best distance in the finals of 41.2m.
Nellie also started University in the fall of 2022, attending the University of Louisiana at Monroe where she can pursue an education and continue water skiing.
Alberta’s Megan Pelkey had a remarkable 2022 season on the water, earning multiple medals at events throughout the year. Megan’s year started off with qualifying for the Jr. Masters during the Masters Qualifying series. During the summer, Megan competed in the Jr. Canadian Open and won U17 Girls Slalom, Trick and Overall. In August, Megan competed in U17 Girls and Open Women at the Canadian Nationals in Edmonton, AB. Megan placed 1st in U17 Girls Trick and Overall, 2nd in U17 Girls Slalom and Open Women Overall, and 3rd in U17 Girls Jump and Open Women Trick.
At international events, Megan competed at the 2022 PanAm Championships held in Santiago, Chile in November – December and the 2022 U17 World Championships also held in Santiago, Chile in January 2023. Megan earned two silver medals in U17 Girls Jump and Trick at the
PanAm Championships and became PanAm Champion in U17 Girls Overall. At the U17 World Championships, Megan placed 3rd in Trick and was crowned U17 World Champion in Overall.
Montreal’s Hannah Stopnicki had a great season on the water, starting with qualifying for the Jr. Masters in May. During the
summer, Hannah competed at the Jr. Canadian Open and placed 3rd in U17 Girls Slalom and Trick. At the Canadian Nationals in Edmonton, AB, Hannah placed 3rd in U17 Girls Slalom.
To end the 2022 season, Hannah won two gold medals in international competition. Hannah won the PanAm Championships in U17 Girls Trick and then went on to become U17 World Trick Champion with a personal best score of 6680 points.
These junior skiers have a bright future ahead and we can’t wait to see what they do next!
LAKE COUNTY SELECTED TO HOST 2021 IWWF WORLD WATER SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS
POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH IS A TEAM EFFORT #BellLetsTalk
Positive mental health is a team effort. By talking about it, we help each other. #BellLetsTalk
How can I help end the stigma about mental health?
There are five simple ways everyone can help end the stigma that keeps two out of three people who struggle with mental health silent:
1) Realize that language matters and choose appropriate words and phrases that don’t hurt others.
2) Educate yourself because having the right tools, knowing the right words, and truly understanding how to speak to someone with mental illness can be a difference maker.
3) Be kind and offer support. Do the little things that let someone know you are open for conversation and there for them.
4) Listen and ask. You can help someone take the first step to recovering their mental health by just really hearing what they have to say and asking how you can assist.
5) Finally, just talk about it.
Click here for more info and resources: https://letstalk.bell.ca/en/get-help
2020 WATER SKI & WAKEBOARD CANADA AWARDS – NOMINATE TODAY
Click HERE to nominate today!
For criteria click HERE
Although this year looked different, we still want to honour our athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers for all their hard work in 2020. That being said, it’s that time of year again to celebrate the people who make a difference in our sport, recognize outstanding achievements and celebrate the success of our members!
Water Ski and Wakeboard Canada believe in supporting excellence by recognizing exceptional performances of our athletes, coaches, officials, and volunteers.
The objectives of these awards are:
· To honor the best representatives of our sport
· Stimulate our representatives in the pursuit of excellence
· To favour the visibility of excellence throughout the country
· To create a link of our excellence with our sponsors and the public
Nominations are open to WSWC members (individuals, clubs, schools, and provincial associations). All individual nominees must be WSWC members in good standing and Canadian citizens. Nominations for each award must be made by any two WSWC members in good standing.
The award categories are:
| Male Water Ski Athlete of the Year |
| Female Water Ski Athlete of the Year |
| Junior Water Ski Athlete of the year (female or male) |
| Top Barefoot Athlete of the Year (female or male) |
| Junior Barefoot Athlete of the Year (female or male) |
| Top Adaptive Athlete of the Year (female or male) |
| Top Show Ski Athlete of the Year (female or male) |
| Steve Bush Coach of the Year (amongst all disciplines) |
| Official of the Year (amongst all disciplines) |
| Volunteer of the Year (amongst all disciplines) |
Click HERE to nominate today!
For criteria click HERE
Please complete the nomination form in full. Should you have any questions, please contact:
EMAIL: Info@wswc.ca
PHONE: (888) 526-0685×110.
Deadline for Nominations: January 31, 2021
NOTE: Nominations are kept confidential and only reviewed by Water Ski and Wakeboard Canada and Selection Committee members.
COVID-19 Update / COVID-19 Mise à jour
