Jaimee Bull is hoping a new documentary about waterskiing helps North Bay residents get an understanding of her sport.
The North Bay native is a superstar in the world of competitive waterskiing, winning her second straight pro tour women's slalom champion this fall.
"I started waterskiing on Trout Lake and North Bay is where I learned to ski," she said.
"It is really where my passion started for waterskiing."
Bull felt the support locally from sponsors and her teachers who helped her get through high school despite missing so much time due to her rigorous schedule which included lengthy stays in the southeastern U.S. in Florida and Louisiana.
"A lot of my first sponsors came from North Bay and I would not have been able to progress through the ranks without that support," she said.
"Teachers as well were a huge part of my success as I missed a ton of school and without them supporting and sending me homework I would not have been able to leave school for that long so I definitely had a lot of support while I was growing up from North Bay."
Because of that, Bull will be at Gateway City Brewery on Thursday, November 30 as part of a documentary screening called, "The Unknown Sport of Waterskiing."
The evening will begin with a meet and greet at 7 p.m. with the one-hour and 15-minute documentary playing at 8 p.m. There will be a question-and-answer period after the film.
"I just want to give back to the community a little bit and share my story and some of the success that I have had with the community that has supported me from a young age," explained Bull.
"I am excited for people to get a little bit more understanding of waterskiing and help raise funds for NoahStrong.
"In slalom we are going really fast and when you are skiing that fast the water is really hard. We accelerate and decelerate very quickly so it is a pretty intense sport and I think most people do not know that," she added.
NoahStrong, which was created in honour of 13-year-old Noah Dugas who passed away due to a stroke back in the fall of 2020, was well known as a local hockey player.
However, Bull noted that Dugas was also a very good waterskier too.
"Noah did love waterskiing and they skied a lot at the cottage and he came out with his cousins and friends and he would ski and I would give him some tips," she said.
"He always had a great time. I think everyone who knew Noah knew that he had a pretty big influence. Even now you see all the stories and everyone seems to say Noah was one of the nicest kids they ever met and that was the same for me. He was so sweet and so kind and his passion for sport was amazing."
Tickets for the event can be found HERE
