*Madison Savory won the U12 slalom division at Westerns at Shalom Park in Edmonton Aug. 9-11.(Courtesy of Monni Savory)*

It was clear in 2017, that at just five years old when she powered her little legs up the side of Mount Tzouhalem, Maple Bay's Madison Savory had the drive of a champion.

Hikers with her said at the time that "if this young lady maintains the sticktoitivness she showed us this weekend, she’ll do more than just climb mountains, she’ll move them."

They were right, but instead of moving mountains, she's making waves as it turns out Savory, now 12, is more a fan of water spots.

One of the youngest competitors at the 2022 BC Summer Games in Prince George, a 10-year-old Savory won gold in U14 water skiing's trick discipline and took bronze in the slalom, and added a Zone 6 (Vancouver Island-Central Coast) water skiing team gold her her medal haul.

This summer she hit the road for a summer of skiing.

Up first was a visit to Cambridge, Ont. where she trained for two weeks with Team Canada skier Jason McClintock of Canada's first family of water skiing.

"Madi is a very driven young skier," McClintock said after spending two weeks helping her hone her skills on the water. "She works hard and is always eager and ready for her next set. As a coach it is always rewarding to work with people, adults and kids alike, that crave the information that will help them progress."

It just so happened the Ontario provincial water ski championships were being held the weekend in between her training weeks and while she couldn't compete to win the event because she's from B.C., she could compete for national ranking scores and so she did.

Had she been born in Ontario, Savory's score would have earned her first place.

"She is so happy and honestly doing so well," said her mom Monni, from Kamloops where Madison had just won won U12 slalom provincials at Shumway Lake in the last weekend of July. "Her score would have won the U14 group, too actually," Monni admitted.

Following her provincial win, Savory opted to stay and train in Kamloops before moving on to the the Westerns at Shalom Park in Edmonton Aug. 9-11. She won that event too, giving her the opportunity to return to Ontario for the national championships Aug. 16-21.

"I can tell she is hungry for it and it has been fun to watch her grow as an athlete over our time together," McClintock said prior to the event. "I’m looking forward to having her back to get her trained up for the Canadian Nationals."

Savory's return to Ontario was triumphant, with the young skier earning second place in the country — behind only an American skier who had just won the US nationals, but who also has dual citizenship.

After Savory has been invited to an event in Texas on Labour Day weekend where she could earn scores toward her world ranking.

"These tournaments help her if she wants to make Team Canada when she's a bit older," Monni said.

She's also considering one more event in Abbotsford this September that would likely wrap up her competitive season.

It's been a long summer on the road but Savory wouldn't have it any other way.

"It's been fun to be able to train and compete at different sites all over Canada and I am grateful to have this experience," Savory said.

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