Merritt Continues Dominance

Posted on Fri, May. 18, 2007

BY JIM VARSALLONE

Raimi Merritt, who won every tournament she entered en route to winning last year's
13-and-under girls' wakeboarding world championship, is on her way to repeating that
feat this year.
In March, she claimed the IWSF Girls' Pan American Championship title for the
second consecutive year.
She continued by winning the Air Nautique Wake Games, which were April 26-29 at
the Orlando Watersports Complex.
The 14-year-old trains primarily at Crystal Lake in Pompano Beach and Lake Osborne
in Lantana, near her home.
An eighth-grader, she is home schooled to accommodate her training and event
schedule.
Her father, Steve, is a former professional barefoot water skier who also taught water
skiing.
She first learned to ski from her father when she was 4. She tried wakeboarding for the
first time at age 9.
''I got hooked on wakeboarding because it came easier for me,'' she said. ``It was more
fun, and there were more tricks to learn.''
Merritt continued to learn and improve.
''When I was just starting, I liked it, but I didn't like it as much as I do now,'' she said.
``We'd go out just to have fun instead of trying stuff and getting frustrated.''
Merritt trains with two of the top coaches in the industry, Mike Ferraro and Dean
Lavelle.
They both believe this highly motivated, high-flying kid is one to watch.
''She's one of the very few girls I've coached who is really willing to work hard,''
Ferraro said. ``She has the drive. She can deal with the pain, and she's getting great
support from her family. As long as she stays healthy and keeps listening, she's going
to go a long way. The sky's the limit for her.''
Lavelle, a four-time world champ who runs a wakeboarding school in Pompano
Beach, said: ``If Raimi continues at the pace she's going, with her attitude and her
talent, she definitely has the potential to be the very best.''
Merritt has dominated the awards podium from the start, winning the first WWA
National Championship she competed at in 2004. In 2006, she won every major title,
including the WWA Girls' World Wakeboard Championship, WWA Girls' National
Wakeboard Championship and USA Girls' National Wakeboard Championship.
''I wanted to be the best,'' she said. ``I wanted to be a world champion. I wanted to be
on the top with the other top wakeboarders. I had the drive to keep going. I never
thought I'd ever be able to do the tricks that they do. Now I can do half of them or
more, and I'm still working on getting better.''
Tournament schedule: Today-Sunday, Pro Wakeboard Tour, Acworth, Ga.; May 25-
27, Masters Tournament, Callaway Gardens, Ga.; June 20-24, WWA National
Wakeboard Championships, Kenosha, Wis.; July 12-15, USA National Wakeboard
Championships, Syracuse, N.Y.; Aug. 23-26, WWA World Wakeboard
Championships, Reno, Nev.; Oct. 30-Nov. 2, IWSF World Wakeboard
Championships, Qatar, a neighboring country of Saudi Arabia.
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