The 2009 List is comprised of each individual athlete's
best score in each event skied for the calendar year of the
Ranking List: January 1 - December 31.
Last Updated ( Friday, 29 January 2010 )
KSO wins highest award given to Water Sports Athelete
Written by Paul Adams
IWWF MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR 2009 and ABC Male Athlete of the
year!
December 20th,
2009 The International Waterski & Wakeboard
Federation announced Keith St. Onge as the Male Athlete of the Year. This is the second time Keith has one this
prestigious award and the only Barefoot Athlete to win the award.Keith was chosen from among the top
Competitors in the following Water sports disciplines, 3 Event, Racing,
Wakeboard, Cable ski, Cable wakeboard and Disabled.
St.
Onge is once again proving he is the most dominant international force in
Barefoot Waterskiing.He turned in
another unbelievable performance in 2009, repeating as the World Overall
Champion in New Zealand.
He once again reset the world trick record, this time at an amazing 11,250 and
he retains a stranglehold on the world record in Wake Slalom.
St.
Onge also turned in an incredible performance at the World Games in Taiwan helping bring the U.S. team to victory, as well as
winning the individual Gold Overall medal on the international stage.
Stateside,
he completed “barefooting’s triple crown” by capturing the U.S. National
Championship for the tenth time in 12 years.This year, he not only won the overall championship but also the gold in
tricks and slalom. Just weeks after his Nationals success, KSO switched gears
and finished second in the endurance figure eight championship,
“Footstock.”
St.
Onge’s participation in all forms of barefooting makes him a respected
ambassador of the sport, recognized around the world. He is now turning his
attention to growing the sport by training the next generation of Barefooters.
KSO recently joined forces with former World Champion David
Small to create the World Barefoot
Center in Winter Haven,
Florida.The WBC is nurturing young barefooters to
rise to the top of the competitive world by offering sponsorship programs and
all levels of training.St. Onge is
also inventing new equipment and training techniques to give his students the
edge.Everyone will soon want to be on
Team WBC.
Throughout
all of his success, St. Onge has developed a loyal following of fans because of
his humble and kind nature.The best
barefoot water skier in the world still pitches in to help at tournaments and
even drive the pick up boat.
And
St. Onge is showing no signs of slowing down.
“I
am staying motivated and looking ahead to Germany in 2010.I want to raise the bar on the record and the
world,” says St. Onge.
Write-up provided by Betsy
Anderson
St.
Onge Bio
Number of Tournaments Skied in the Past Year
Keith participated in 11total
Tournaments in 2009
7
Traditional barefoot tournaments
1
Regional Championship
1
National Championship
2
Endurance tournaments
1
National Endurance Championship
Number of International Tournaments Skied in the Past Year
Keith
participated In 2 International Tournaments
2008
World Championships (held in Jan 09)
2009 World Games
World Ranking
Based
on the 2008 WSL Keith is currently ranked;
3rd
Overall
2nd
Slalom
4th
Trick
6th
Jump
Based
on the 2008 World Championships Results:
1st
Overall
1st
Slalom
1st
Trick
3rd
Jump
Medals at World Titles
23 World Championship Medals
7 Team Medals
16 Individual Medals
9 Gold
3 Silver
4 Bronze
Keith
has won individual medals in all but one World Championships. (His 1st one)
World Records
Keith
has held 7 world records
Currently
holds the World Slalom and Trick records
20.6
11,250
Confederation Ranking
1st
Overall
1st
Trick
1st
Slalom
1st
Jump
Confederation Records
This
confederation does not keep records but if they did I am confident Keith would
own all of them.
National Ranking
1st
Overall
1st
Trick
1st
Slalom
1st
Jump
National Records
Keith
owns all 3 National Open Pro records
20.6 Slalom
11,250 Tricks
25.8 Jump
New Personal Bests
12,650 Tricks
25.7 Jump (25.8
was back in 1998)
New Skills Learned
I
think the best new skill that he has learned this year, is the ability to
combine the most difficult barefoot tricks into a 15 second routine at
standards that the world has never witnessed.
Contributions and Support to Their National Team
Keith
Is the best ambassador that the US
team has he Is ALWAYS helping new and seasoned skiers everywhere he goes.He'll give pointers, advice and even training
to help progress a skier in their quest to learn and improve.
World Contributions to the Sport
Keith
travels the world teaching and promoting the sport, yes It Is his business, but
he does it with a great personal touch.He is regarded as the best in the world by an over whelming majority of
his peers.He has sponsored many
tournaments, clinics around the world and is the premier sponsor of the 2010 World
Championships.
He
represented the USA
at the 2009 World Games and 2008 World Championships (held in 2009)
Confederation Contributions to the Sport
Pretty
much same as above, he is very good at sharing his time and donations across
the globe.
National Contributions to the Sport
Again
more like above, and always willing to lend a hand to help out at the
tournament scene.
Local Contributions to the Sport
Owns
and operates a very successful ski school in Winter Haven, FL.He offers promotional deals to many skiers
such as skiing on the ski school's team, deep discounts for aspiring skiers,
etc.
Time Donated Coaching Other Skiers.
Every
year Keith donates too many hours of coaching to actually count.He recently announced his support to the 2010
World Championships in several ways of which include free coaching / training
sessions.
He
also provides extreme training programs for young potential world competitors
who are serious about being the next world champion, at a fraction of the cost
that it takes to actually run it.
Promotion of the Sport
I
can not think of any single person in this world that promotes the sport more,
on a global basis, as Keith does.He is
highly regarded as an ambassador of barefooting.
New Skiers Introduced to Sport
Too
many to name and he is constantly taking on personal projects to develop new
future champions.
Officials Ratings Held
Keith is an
assistant Judge, Driver, and Scorer
Extracurricular Activities
Keith enjoys Kick
boxing, working out and biking.
Other important information
Keith
is a role model for barefoot waterskiing, his humble and kind nature help make
him the dedicated human being he is.