THE excitement was written all across the faces of Tori McDonnell and Telicia Lalor as they prepared for their first Hawkesbury 120 Water Ski Race.
The 120-kilometre long race will be run across Saturday and Sunday this week, and for the 10-year-old pair, the weekend cannot come fast enough.
They have both raced before, but never on a course quite as long as this one, but if the thought of the long race was daunting them, they do a bad job at hiding it with their huge grins.
The pair first met at pre-school, but now go to different schools, and have recently renewed their friendship through water skiing and the race will be the first one they have competed in together.
Tori said she had raced since she was three years old.
She said her dad, Phil, who will observe for her on the weekend, had always been pestering her other sisters to go out and race, but they were not interested.
It was their loss in Tori’s mind.
“I just started watching it because dad always came down to the races, and then I just got into it,” she said.
“I have no idea how many races I've done because I've been doing it since I was about four years old.”
Telicia began water skiing out of jealousy.
“I started on one ski when I was about seven, and I started racing this year,” she said.
“My brother has been racing for a few years now and my dad got me into it because I was a bit jealous of him.”
The pair have been practising together for about six months, and when they found each other, it was a god send for Tori’s dad, Phil.
Phil said it was great that she had some company, and was doing something that she loved.
“It is really good. We had a lot of trouble finding somebody to do the two up for these races, and they have paired up really well,” he said.
Phil, who has raced the Hawkesbury 120 a few times himself, said it made him very happy being able to spend time with his daughter doing something the pair enjoyed.
“She has been skiing since she was three years old, we often go up to Lower Portland to do it.
“I have been racing since I was 16 and for her to come into the sport and enjoy it is absolutely fantastic.
“She doesn't have to do it and at any time she doesn't want to race that is fine. When she says no that will be it but at the moment she never wants to stop racing.”
The three of them will race in Andrew Randell’s Clip On racing boat at the weekend.
They are the only girls in the under-13 class, which Tori said she did not mind, because it meant they would cross the line as number one, although her dad said it was a shame there was no one to race against.
