From the Foothills to southwestern Louisiana.
The sport of waterskiing has vaulted Bragg Creek area athlete Megan Pelkey to a scholarship as a student-athlete with the Ragin’ Cajuns at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
“I needed to work really hard for this to happen,” Pelkey said. “And I’m really grateful the school gave me this scholarship and this opportunity.
“I’m excited to ski with the team this upcoming semester.”
The Ragin’ Cajuns have slalomed into the most successful program in the U.S. with 10 national championships to its credit.
The international appeal of the sport is reflected in the makeup of the Ragin’ Cajuns.
In addition to athletes from the U.S. and Canada, Lafayette’s squad boasts skiers from Argentina, England, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and New Zealand.
Pelkey will be studying psychology as a pre-med student starting next month.
“The weather was a lot warmer than I’m used to,” she said with a laugh. “But the campus is very nice, the people are very nice. I had some good first impressions.
“A lot of professional waterskiers have skied on this team and I do know all of the team members as well.”
Pelkey, the oldest of four sisters heavily involved in skiing of either the water or alpine variety, burst onto the waterskiing scene after the family dipped its toes into the sport at its cabin on Kootenay Lake.
She made a splash on the provincial, national and international stage in short order, capturing two junior masters overall championships and a junior world overall championship in 2023.
“Working hard plays a big part, but it’s about having fun and enjoying yourself as well,” she said.
Pelkey was the Water Ski and Wakeboard Canada Female Junior Water Ski Athlete of the Year in 2023 and this year has earned a spot on the Canadian Junior National Water Ski team.
It was following her first foray into big events, such as the U17 world championships in 2022 and the junior masters last year, that schools started to reach out, she said.
“I’ve definitely come a long way,” she said. “When I started out in the sport, I didn’t expect to win any of these kinds of titles or be offered a scholarship at a university to ski for a team.
“My younger self would be surprised, but my hard work did pay off.”
Pelkey acknowledged she couldn’t have made her way in the sport without the support of her parents Bob and Sandra, her coaches Bruce Dodd, Matt Rini and Cole Grant, along with a host of sponsors, including Shuswap Ski and Board, Benpro Technologies, D3 Skis, S-Lines and the Vern Oberg Legacy Fund.
