Waterskiing: Williams brings home bronze from Oz

Curtis Williams. Photo / Supplied

Northland waterskier Curtis Williams has carved out a podium-worthy finish in his latest outing.

The 17-year-old Puhipuhi teen won several medals in a series of events at this year's Junior Moomba Masters in Melbourne, Australia.

On the Yarra River, the competition venue provided challenging conditions. But Williams' strong performances in the slalom and jump categories helped rectify a third overall placing in the boys junior division, earning him with a bronze medal.

"I skied really well, considering it's not an easy place to ski," Williams says.

"The conditions weren't ideal. We're not used to skiing with current, and the wind caused a bit of chop."

Williams excelled in his favoured slalom event, in which skiers must ski past six buoys while being towed at speeds of 55-58km/h, but had to narrowly settle for second behind American skier Taylor Garcia.

"I'm probably better at the slalom event but the jump event is more fun. It definitely gets the adrenaline going," he said.

A third placing in the jump category, combined with his second in the slalom and an eighth place in the trick category, placed him third overall behind Joshua Wallent of Australia and Rafael De Osma of Peru. If Williams can continue producing this level of results, he could well be picked for the New Zealand Under 21s team to travel to Spain this year.