Young water-skiers set to face off | Manawatu-Wanganui Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Manawatu-Wanganui

Flips, spins and somersaults - not to mention skiing backwards ... they are all in the repertoire of tricks that New Zealand's best young water-skiers will be showing off in Wanganui.

Throw in skiers hitting a ramp at more than 100km/h for 50-metre-plus water jumps and slalom riders weaving round obstacles on an ever-decreasing length of rope and Lake Wiritoa looks the place to be for spectacular action this weekend.

The Wanganui Water Ski Club is hosting the annual New Zealand vs Australia international on the lake just off State Highway 3.

Running from Friday to Sunday, the competition is designed to develop the sport's young talent and will feature under-14, under-17 and under-21 skiers, all performing across three disciplines - slalom, tricks and jump.

Local interest centres on 20-year-old Wanganui builder Nick Bakker, who has twice been a reserve for the New Zealand team but this time is a fully-fledged Kiwi rep.

He's been water skiing for 16 years, having got a taste for the sport from his father Ron, who is president of the Wanganui club. Bakker is a slalom expert and admits his best jump so far of 36m won't cause the opposition too many sleepless nights.

The slalom requires remarkable precision as the skier crosses behind the boat - which goes straight at a constant 58km/h - and skirts round a series of buoys. As the competition progresses, the rope between skier and boat gets shorter - with the margin for error getting smaller in direct proportion.

On the tricks front, skiers get two 20-second passes to weave their magic, with an on-board cameraman filming their effort for the judges on the lake shore.

The Aussies - who won last year's clash in Muwalla - will get six hours to work out on Wiritoa on Thursday and then it's game on. The event promises plenty of thrills and spills over the three days and entry is free to the public.