Local Jetski Racer Compete At The World Finals

It has been quite a season for Andrew Vo, a 13-year-old junior jetski racer from Sulphur Springs, who recently relocated from Southern California. This year Andrew finished the Jettribe Mid America series with an impressive first overall in the Junior 13-15 lites two-stroke class and a second in the four-stroke class.

With confidence, we headed to the Jetski World Finals In Lake Havasu City, AZ, knowing that he would race against the best junior racers from all over the world and in the older junior class of 13-15-year olds. It was an international competition with over 40 countries: kids from Finland, France, Thailand, the Middle East, and the local Lake Havasu junior racers. They were all fast, really fast! The skills are all on another level.

It was the most challenging race Andrew had ever participated in, with the rough water conditions for which Lake Havasu is known. The competitors are all fast, assertive, aggressive, and experienced.
Andrew fought hard and rode his heart out all week. After some motos, we shed tears due to frustrations and defeats. He said, “I tried my best,” despite being hit from behind, run over and forced into a buoy, and finally hit from the side, where both racers flew off their skis! Thankfully, both kids were unharmed. Unfortunately, Andrew’s ski will need some fiberglass repair this winter.

After a week of racing six motos over two classes and the emotional challenges, Andrew earned a 7th place trophy in the Junior 13-15-year-old four-stroke class and a 14th in the two-stroke class.

The few things that make me so proud of him were that he improved after each moto; he was methodical, did not miss any buoys, stayed on his ski, and would finish his laps or run an additional lap just in case there were any missed lap counts. Plus, whenever he crossed the finish line, no matter how much his body hurt, he would always ride on his feet, not his knees.

One thing as a dad, I always stress to Andrew in this sport, it is not always about winning on the track or being the fastest, but the relationships he needs to earn along the way. So between each moto, he would walk into vendor alley with a handful of resumes he typed up. There he would face his biggest fear, more than racing itself. So he approached each vendor, introduced himself, and asked for support for next year.

A massive shout out to Andrew’s support team – Darren and Jon were a tremendous help as the pit crew from launching and retrieving Andrew’s race ski for each race moto, tracking race schedules, fueling, and walking Andrew down to the starting line. Thank you, Terry and Justin, for setting up the team pit for all Texas/Kansas NautiWater team riders to have a home base.

Word up to Ryan for holding at the starting line and protecting Andrew on the line when other dads were getting too excited. John C. for volunteering to stay and keep Andrew on the last day, even though John had a 20-hour drive back to Texas. Lastly, a big hug to Kylie. He talked and coached Andrew through some of his lowest points after some of the worst races. Tim for building a bulletproof race ski that performed all week, and Peter’s team for fine-tuning Andrew’s ski.

The biggest heartwarming thing we witnessed was Andrew’s Junior teammates, who offered comfort and encouragement after each race motos. Such close friendships and bonds we can never forget.
Some say it takes a whole village to raise a kid, but an entire race team puts a kid on the water to race Jetskis.