Hometown heroes: Central Coast twins Jaali and Kianna Walsh take on World Water Ski Racing Champs

Jaali and Kianna Walsh are the homegrown Tuggerawong twins looking to claim top honours at the IWWF World Water Ski Racing Championships in Gosford. Hear from the incredible 16 year olds.

Central Coast twins Jaali and Kianna Walsh are taking on the IWWF World Water Ski Racing Championships in Gosford. Picture: Russell Chown Photography

Tuggerawong twins Jaali and Kianna Walsh are looking to be at the top of the world come Saturday at the IWWF World Water Ski Racing Championships on the Gosford waterfront.

Both 16-year-olds are in the Junior category with Jaali currently second in the Junior Boys World Championship after leading the title race heading into Wednesday’s race three.

Kianna on the other hand is in a three-way battle for second in the world after the Junior Girls crowned Victorian Leilani Cartledge as champion elect on Wednesday.

The duo were raised in the sport, Jaali starting at four and Kianna at six, and are enjoying the fact they get to race on their home water.

“It’s great to be racing here and sleeping in your own bed,” said Jaali - who is skiing behind Sydney boat Trim Lab.

“I don’t think there is anywhere better than the Central Coast to be running the World Championships.”

Kianna agreed, believing they have a strong advantage, as she prepares for a big weekend running behind Kidstuff.

“Racing not far from where we live has given us the opportunity to train on home water and become used to the conditions before we went into the qualification races and now the four World Championship events,” she said.

Tuggerawong's Kianna Walsh is taking on the IWWF World Water Ski Racing Championships in Gosford. Picture: Russell Chown Photography

The junior races are conducted over a 30 minute time period with an extra lap and three of the four best races count towards crowning the World Champion.

There have been mixed conditions across the three days of racing conducted so far, providing a real challenge for competitors - none more so than the choppy conditions on Wednesday.

“It can be rough some days, it just really depends on the wind, but when it’s smooth, it really just becomes who has the fastest boat, but when it starts chopping out, it is good - it’s fast and it’s rough,” said Jaali.

The juniors hit over 100 kilometres an hour on the water - the open senior men approaching 180 kilometres per hour and the danger isn’t lost on the duo.

“It is dangerous, it’s really dangerous, particularly when it is choppy,” said Jaali.

As for being in the same race, both have a different approach to how their twin is going on the water.

“I don’t really stress about his race, I’m more focused on mine, but he’s usually going past me quite fast, so I don’t really see him very often,” said Kianna.

“Sometimes I watch him as he goes past and try and stick with him when I can.” But for Jaali, he takes concern on how his twin is performing.

“It can be scary, because as much as I try and avoid her, but when you’re out there and you’re watching her, you get two emotions - you get happy for her if she is going well, but then you get a bit concerned because we’re going at fast speeds here. It’s pretty scary.”

With the World Championship on the line for Jaali and a podium for Kianna, the strategy heading into Saturday’s race is a simple one.

“For me it is just about staying up on top of the water and just do my own race and whatever happens, happens,” said Kianna.

Tuggerawong's Jaali Walsh is taking on the IWWF World Water Ski Racing Championships in Gosford. Picture: Russell Chown Photography

“My good friend Charlotte Neal is right behind me and on my tail every single race. So yeah, it’s very difficult and it can go either way.

“I’m just very happy to be where I am and proud of myself for getting this far in my first World Championships.”

For Jaali, he is hoping for some extra speed from Trim Lab to take him to the top.

“The boys who drive and observe Trim Lab - Aaron Sheath and Troy Hood - will be playing around with the boat, just trying to get extra speed out of it. And my job is just to recover and get my muscles ready.”

Jaali heads into Saturday’s 1000 point race 19.12 points behind the current leader, while Kianna holds onto second place in the Junior Girls by 10.59 points. Points are calculated based on how far a skier finishes behind the winner and then the worst round is dropped.

The event has brought ski racers and their boats from across Australia, New Zealand, America, Belgium, Austria and the UK with around 1700 people across competitors, support crew, officials and fans staying on the Central Coast for a two-week period, with organisers anticipating the financial injection to the coast to exceed the initial forecast of $5 million across the fortnight.

The Junior World Water Ski Racing Championship race will be at 11am local time on Saturday, with Women’s at 9am over 45 minutes plus a lap and the fast moving Men’s race at 1pm for 60 minutes plus a lap.

Entry is free right across the course on the Brisbane Waters with the start line adjacent to Drifters Wharf. Livestream coverage will be shown on the Ski Racing Australia website.