Kendra competes at World Championships

BY Dawn Rankins

Canyon Lake’s Kendra Nathan, 17, spent much of last week competing in the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation Under-17 and Under-21 World Championships in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. She failed to reach the finals in each of the two divisions.

The Worlds Championships marks the end of her summer skiing seasons where she trained extensively and competed at the highest levels of competition in the country, bringing home medals in regional and national tournaments.

Kendra Nathan

Kendra, training most of the summer in Florida, returned to Canyon Lake Monday and was back in school on Tuesday.

“The Worlds was the best experience I’ve ever had,” she said. “Even if I would have known I wouldn’t have skied well, I still would have gone, just for the experience and being able to meet so many new people from all over the world.”

Kendra competed in just the Slalom event at the World Championships. She skied in the U17 tournament where she had an unfortunate fall that didn’t allow her to advance to the slalom finals. In the U17 event, she was one of 112 skiers from 23 countries. She finished in 40th place.

She also competed in the U21 tournament, where 123 skiers from 25 countries joined her. She finished in 22nd place in the slalom event.

Kendra, a member of the US U17 and U21 team, did help her team win the overall gold team medal in both divisions.

“I am so proud of how dedicated Kendra is and of all the hard work she did and continues to do,” Erin Waite, Kendra’s mother, said. “I know how disappointed Kendra is, but I am still so proud of her.”

Kendra said she knows she won’t ski well or perfectly at every event and that’s OK.

“I always do my best and I work to improve,” she said. “On bad ski days, I recognize it and move past it. Not every tournament will result in a medal or a win.”

Photos provided by Erin Waite.

She says she’s happy to be back home in a normal routine of being back in school for in person learning after a year and a half of virtual school.

“Being in school and on this routine is a polar opposite of what I’ve been doing,” Kendra said. “Getting up at 5:00 a.m. isn’t something I enjoy or think I’ll ever get totally used to.”

She still trains and skis and is anxiously waiting to see if she made the PanAm team that will be headed to Mexico sometime in November.

While Kendra was skiing at the World Championships, her father, Tom Nathan, jumped in as an emergency fill-in volunteer to help run the tournament.

Tom was asked to work both events due to an assigned safety official falling ill. During the closing ceremonies, he was one of three volunteers to receive a medal of recognition for his contribution during the two events this past week.

“This is probably the only time I’m going to come away from a tournament with a medal and Kendra won’t,” he said.