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WATERSKI MagazineJoey Blakely leans forward to rest his forearms on the bed rails of his Chevy S-10. He, like Siemers, is an enigma. Blakely's a male skier marching into his best athletic days with every possible apparatus under his arms: slalom, jumpers and a trick ski. The Lakeland, Florida, native isn't out to save water skiing's white elephant (men's overall) as much as he's out to keep himself in the hunt for a trip to the Olympic village.
“They could pick any event to be included in the Olympics, so it gives me a lot of drive to train for all three,” says Blakely, 18, and the 1998 Junior Masters overall champion. “If water skiing gets into the Olympics, the Masters would be like a Mickey Mouse tournament in comparison.”
Blakely's name came out of the gunnel net three years ago when he started personal tutoring with Cory Pickos in Destin, Florida. In one year, Blakely's personal-best trick score rose 2,500 points (it now stands at 7,850). His best jump, 168 feet, is certain to stretch further this year when he settles in behind a boat going 35 mph, and he knows it's just a matter of time before he's working on the 39-off loop in slalom (he's currently getting 3.5 at 38).
Even if he didn't have a gram of talent, Blakely would have to get better just from rubbing rashguards with Pickos, the 11-time U.S. Open tricks champ, and former Pro Tour jump champion Scot Ellis.
“I'm lucky because I live in central Florida,” says Blakely, who is expected to sign a scholarship and enroll this fall at either the University of Alabama or Rollins College in Orlando. “For Justin it must be crazy to live in California.”
Still propped on his forearms, Blakely scans the dock from a distance of about five boat lengths.
“I think Regina is the future of women's skiing. Susie's awesome. Jimmy is unreal. From Justin's scores – he could be the next Chris Parrish. To be here with them is really something.”
He is the first to drive away. In the next hour they will all scatter. They'll return to the West Coast, the southwest, the Deep South and the eastern seaboard; to the places where they've honed skills that could one day bring them back together on a dock – or maybe to a spot on a nice, big podium.
Born: April 2, 1981 Hometown: Lakeland, Florida In practice I'm:
Running 38 in slalom, jumping into 170s, tricking 8,500 Most
memorable moment: Winning Junior Masters in 1998 Water-skiing
heroes: Cory Pickos, Scot Ellis When I'm not skiing I: Play golf with my friends Favorite Olympic moment: Michael Johnson running in his gold shoes in Atlanta (1996) Favorite movie: The Wedding Singer Favorite music: Everclear I could live on: Big, fat steaks Most
awesome place I've seen: Space Needle and the docks in Seattle On Friday nights I usually: Chase girls The person I'd most like to spend one day with: My dad, Chuck
