By Amanda Durry  January 26, 2012

Seven Mid Canterbury waterskiers will put their skills to the test this weekend in the Oz-Kiwi waterski challenge being held in Wanganui.

Twenty-four skiers will represent New Zealand in three teams to take on the skilful Australians in under 14s, under 17s and under 21s.
Mid Canterbury is making its presence felt in the under 14s, with Waterski Lake Hood members taking four of the spots.
Twins George and Hugh Donaldson have taken part in the trans-Tasman battle before, Hugh twice before and George once, and will be joined by debutants Shay Cousins and Anna Doig.
Ben McFadden is back in the under 17s along with Hannah Wright, who individually claimed first overall in the under 14 girls last year.
Rachel Donaldson was selected to appear in her fifth Oz-Kiwi, stepping up into the under 21s but has had to withdraw because of a slower than expected recovery following knee surgery last year. Older sister Lana has returned from Santiago, Chile, where she has been competing for New Zealand in the World University Water Ski Championship, to be part of the under 21 team in what is her fourth Oz-Kiwi.
The tournament sees teams consisting of six skiers from each country in each age group with the three best scores from the slalom, trick and jump events taken for the overall team scores.
In last year’s event at the Mulwala Water Ski Club in Australia, the New Zealand teams all came second but Janeen Donaldson, who is travelling with the team, said the teams had a reasonable shot at it.
“Last year, they had three world champions in their team and the teams are usually pretty competitive so we can’t be ruled out. We’re just looking forward to a good challenge,” she said.
The tournament will begin tomorrow and wraps up on Sunday.