SPORT
Barefoot
bravery
Year 11 student Steele Anderson
recently won the Junior Boys’ State
Barefoot Skiing Title and then competed
in the National Barefoot Championships
in Victoria. Steele talks below about his
love of “footing” and his plans for his
future in this sport.
When people ask me what I like most about
this extreme sport, I say I just love barefooting
because the thrill of flying across the water
at 70kmph on the soles of your feet, is so
exhilarating that even after a fall (and there
are a few) you just want to go again!
the first tournament onwards and I wasn’t
nervous until the day before the competition,
at the practice day.
On the first day I had two events, trick and
slalom, and I received personal bests in
both. My next event two days later, was
the slalom, with another personal best. My
last event was tricks on the final Saturday
and I smashed my previous personal best by
100 or so points. I placed sixth overall with
personal bests in all four of my events at my
first Nationals.
I began Barefooting when I was around 10
years of age, skiing socially with my dad and
our friends; it was the natural progression
from slalom water skiing. It wasn’t until 2014
(when I was 15) that I started competing at
the WA Barefoot Club. I was hesitant at first
as I didn’t know anyone and I wasn’t overly
confident skiing competitively, but once I
started and got to know the members, I was
super keen and I have loved my time on the
water ever since.
In my first tournament I was super nervous
because I hadn’t done much skiing long-line
behind the boat, but all the skiers in the club
were really supportive, giving me tips right up
until the moment I jumped off the dock into
the water. I won all of the junior tournaments
last year and came first at the state titles,
with a personal best of 420 points, up from
210.
The next competition was the 2015 Barefoot
Nationals in Mulwala, New South Wales. I
was really pumped for the Nationals from
selection next year along with some more
skiers from WA.
I have been selected as a junior to attend a
development camp later this year in NSW,
which all the juniors who competed in the
nationals in 2015 have the opportunity to
attend. This is a new initiative in developing
Australian barefooting at the grassroots level
as there are some super talented barefooters
in our country.
My personal goal this year is to commit to
train really hard and try to start jumping
in my events. I’m really looking forward to
continuing skiing in the future and I plan to
continue to compete against some of the
best in Australia and around the world.
On completion of my schooling in 2016,
I hope to travel to America and go to the
World Barefoot Centre to further my career
in this sport. The World Barefoot Centre has
the best elite coaching and training in the
world and it would be a dream to experience
this in the near future.
I was stoked with my results and I had an
awesome time, meeting lots of new people.
I am really fortunate to be coached and
mentored by Brendan Paige, a professional
barefoot skier who is ranked number 3 in the
world for tricks, and recently featured in an
advertisement for HBF. The whole experience
was great and I’m definitely aiming for state
Many people ask me whether barefoot water
skiing hurts your feet and whether it’s hard
to do. If you ask me, no it does not hurt and
anyone can give it a try! There are children
as young as six and people as old as 90
involved in this sport, so there are no limits.
If you want to learn, have a go or even
just watch, come down or get in contact
with the WA Barefoot club on Facebook
or through the website
www.wabarefootclub.com.au
Steele Anderson
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