RUDI TUSCHEK competed against nine water skiers in the age category
of ‘55 'ti? dead’’ at the World Masters Games in Denmark last month

and came out on top.

path?
NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

MASTERS CHAMP

Rudi waterskis
to perfection

RUDI TUSCHEK is ai his hap-
piest gracefully zipping through
the water on a ski oz two at his
Hatzic Lake summer cottage.

Tite 63-year-old West Vancouver
resident has been hitting the lakes
almost every summer for more
than 30 years.

And all that water-time has been
paying off — most recently when
Tuschek emerged the overall
champ at the World Masters
Games in Denmark fast month.

He accumulated the winning
points with a second place in trick
skiing, third in slalom and ‘‘a very
disappointing fourth’’ in jumping.

Tuschek competed against nine
water skiers in the age category of
**55 "til dead,"’ as he puts it.

But Tuschek’s performance
wasn’t good enough for him: ‘‘It
was 4 bit of a surprise to me that I
won the overall. I wasn’t pleased
with my skiing because | didn’t ski
as well as I normally do.”’

He laments that there isn’t more
competition in his age category (he
was the only Canadian waterskier
in the masters games) but said
that, as an amateur sport, master
athletes have to pay their own way.

But Tuschek hasn’t let the cost
deter him.

Competing since 1962, he’s
travelled to two world champion-
ships, Sicily in 1983 and Florida in
1984 where he won the overall ti-
tle.

He’s also been a solid record
setter on the local waterskiing
scene — he set three senior Cana-
dian jumping records, two. of
which were bettering his own. In
1988 he won the overail Canadian
title for the over 45 age category.

And ia B.C. he’s in the record
books for establishing both a re-
cord jump and record slalom
points for 1987. Aud the list goes
oa — as Tuschek said, ‘In the last
30 years I have won most of the
championships for B.C.”’

Tuschek’s trophy room at his
British Properties home is brimm-
ing over with 260 medals and
trophies.

For the Yugoslavian-born
waterskier, the sport is a way of
life. He has his private ski jump
and slalom course at the lake
where he religiously goes every
weekend in the summer with wife
Mitzi.

And apparently talent runs in
the family — daughter Cindy is a
two-time Canadian junior cham-
pion.

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SOCCERWEST

01-1433 Lonsdale
Phone 984-9572

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