By SNS Communications
Olivia Chute of Fall River, Nova Scotia, competed in the 2025 International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation World Under 21 Waterski Championships this past summer, taking home 4th and 11th place finishes.
“It was an exciting event for me. I have been working really hard on the runs that I chose to do at that tournament for a good year or two now,” says Olivia. “I just had the goal to do my runs to the best of my ability and that was exactly what I did. So, it’s very satisfying to be able to go to a high-level world-class event under that kind of pressure and just execute the cues that you know how to do.”
Olivia is also very proud of competing in the slalom finals, her first time ever at an international event. Her fourth-place win was in the trick category, finishing just 40 points shy of making the podium.
This event, held in Calgary, came shortly after Olivia finished her university sports career in the United States. Graduating from Florida Southern College this past May, in her final year of competing she won the women’s tricks title at the Division One National Collegiate Championships.
“That was a very exciting and bittersweet way to closeout my collegiate season and career. It was very special to be surrounded by all my collegiate teammates. It’s a unique side to the sport where you find a lot of support and camaraderie with your teammates, so that was one of my most special accomplishments,” says the 21-year-old.
Olivia started travelling to Florida to train when she was around 16, and that was when she started getting approached by American universities.
“By the time that I graduated high school, I certainly wasn’t ready to give up the sport and spend the long cold winters in Canada,” she says.
Yet even before heading to university, Olivia was the 2021 Pan American Championships Junior Women’s Trick Champion and got bronze in trick at the Junior Worlds that same year.
Olivia got into waterskiing through her mom, who grew up skiing on the lake where her family lived in Northern Ontario. Starting when she was six years old, her mom taught Olivia and her brother to water ski, thinking it would be a fun summer activity for them.
Then when she was 10, Olivia went to a camp put on by Water Ski Wakeboard Nova Scotia. It was there that she learned how to trick ski and was encouraged by the camp to try the sport competitively.
“That year we showed up to our first tournament and they asked where my rope was. And we were like, rope, don’t you provide that,” laughs Olivia. “But after that first tournament I fell in love with it and won my first National championships about two years later at 12 years old. And the rest is history.”
When it comes to tricks, Olivia’s favourite is the toe pass, where the skier performs a series of moves holding on to the tow rope by only a foot. She credits her dance background for her strong ability to toe ski. Then, when it comes to hand passes, where the skier has the tow rope in their hand, Olivia recently got her front flip, a very difficult move in waterskiing that she says only a handful of elite women in the world can complete.
“At the level that I’m at now, it’ll often take me anywhere between one to two or even three years to learn some of the most challenging tricks. Then putting it into a sequence and then an entire run, it’s another whole element in itself,” says Olivia. “But I would say there’s few things more satisfying than sticking a new trick for the first time. Especially a new flip.”
Olivia has been on a break since competing in the Under 21 Waterski Championships, her first substantial break in around eight years. This is because Olivia is now studying optometry at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida.
“It’s busy days in the classroom. I am now in class from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. doing the Doctor of Optometry program. But once I find my routine and new flow, I’m excited to see where I can fit some water skiing into my schedule and continue to enjoy that part of my life and hopefully continue to qualify for future Open Masters and Open World Championships.”
