Biography

Birth date:  August 14, 1964                    Birth place:  Grand Rapids, Michigan

Current Residence:                               Grand Haven, Michigan

Height:  5'8"                                          Weight:  125 lbs

Occupation:                                          Physical Therapist       

Began Skiing:  10                                   Began Competing:  25   

Events:  Slalom, Tricks, Jump

Division:  V2/3  Partially sighted, slaloms with use of "bat blaster", machine that beeps when skier pulls out far enough to round a slalom turn buoy at proscribed rate of speed (34mph) the rope is shortened once she "makes it" through gates and 6 turn buoys.  Uses a jump guide for jump event.  Guide hold skiers elbow, shouting out distances to the approaching ramp, guide skis around ramp, skier goes over, they meet on the other side.  Visually impaired (blind) at age of 15.

Sponsors:  Action Water Sports, Grand Haven Plastic,

Hobbies:  Running, snow skiing

Career Highlights

• Gold Medal as US TEAM Member at ’03 World Championships in Florida (USA)
• Individual Gold Medal for Overall ’03 Worlds 
• Individual Gold Medal for Audio Slalom ’03 Worlds
• Individual Gold Medal for Tricks ’03 Worlds 
• Individual Gold Medal for Jump ’03 Worlds 
• Overall Champion 2003 Nationals
• National Jump Champion 2003
• National Tricks Champion 2003
• National Slalom Champion 2003
• Set a World Record in Slalom 2 @ 12' off at 55kph
• Set a World Record in Slalom 1 @ 11.25' off at 55kph
• Silver Medal as US TEAM Member at ’01 World Championships in Australia
• Individual Gold Medal for Overall ’01 Worlds 
• Individual Gold Medal for Audio Slalom ’01 Worlds
• Set a World Record '01 Worlds
• Individual Gold Medal for Tricks ’01 Worlds
• Individual Gold Medal for Jump '01 Worlds
• Overall Champion 2000 Nationals
• National Slalom Champion 2000
• National Tricks Champion 2000
• National Jump Champion 2000
• Gold Medal as US TEAM Member at ’99 World Championships in England
• Individual Gold Medal in Slalom ’99 Worlds 
• Set a World Record '99 Worlds
• Individual Gold Medal in Tricks '99 Worlds
• Individual Gold Medal in Jump '99 Worlds
• 8 Time Overall World Champion 
• 8 Time World Tricks Champion 
• 8 Time World Jump Champion 
• 8 Time World Slalom Champion (audio slalom and/or wake crossings)
• 8 Time National Overall Champion
• 8 Time National Tricks Champion
• 8 Time National Jump Champion
• 8 Time National Slalom Champion (audio slalom and/or wake crossings)

Best Performance  Slalom 5 @ 22 off 34mph Jump 57'  Tricks 770 points

Records

World Record Audio Slalom, World Record Tricks, World Record Jump

Ski Club Affiliation

None

Future Career Plans

Continue practicing as a physical therapist in sports medicine and orthopedics

Most fun skiing experience

1999 Worlds Training Camp in Ireland, loved that river site

People I look up to or who have helped me

Dan Van Dyke, Rhonda Van Dyke, Steve Cok               

Katie's from Grand Haven, Michigan and works as a physical therapist when not skiing. She and her guide dog, Sam, always seem to be collecting World Record Certificates.  It seems Katie skis a new World Record every time she competes.  She is a US TEAM veteran who holds 8 national and world records.  Well, that's 8 years of national/world records in 3 separate events, so actually that's 24 World records, 24 National records.

Katie set a World Record at the 2001 World Championships, also bringing home the Individual Gold in jump, trick and audio slalom! K-A-T-I-E!

That's Katie and her husband Dave (picture on the right) in Australia at a TEAM dinner at the Kilgour Estate Winery.  It may seem like tons of fun to traveling around the world to ski, but I'll tell you there's lots of work involved also.  Long, long days and late nights.  Here's a shot of Katie, I call it Ski till you drop Katie! It's one reason she's a World Champion.  She skied hard and tried to be sociable during the TEAM dinner, but there is a limit to what a body can endure.

It is absolutely amazing watching Katie ski at the Worlds.  Can you imagine having so much trust in another person that you'd WILLINGLY allow them to lead you (totally unable to see anything but darkness) over a jump ramp?  I think few of us sighted people could be so trusting.  US Silver Medalist Craig Timm is Katie's jump guide.

Watching jump is one thing, impressive of course, but watching Katie slalom was unsettling, as any of you slalom skiers will understand.  Imagine Katie approaching a slalom course she can't see, she pulls out to the left of the boat (at 34mph) for her "gate shot", then she cuts across the wake . . .  leaning away from the boat (like all good slalom skiers do in their dreams) and cuts through both wakes, staying on edge until she hears the beep from the "bat blaster" signaling her to cut back towards where the next buoy should be.  She performs an edge change, smooth turn and she's pulling for ball two that she can't see.  The process is repeated until she should have exited the gates.

Why should I find that unsettling?  (Perhaps I do have a shallow side to me after all:{   Well, what I find unsettling isn't about Katie, but about ME (I must be self centered too:{ )!  Anyway, Katie has beautiful form, her cuts are near perfect, her turns excellent . . . and so I wondered, what's wrong with me that I can't ski like her?  She can't see, I can, and she out skis me!  Harrump:)  Katie makes no excuses, she just skis and smiles alot.

After watching Katie ski I decided to feel more and look less.  Trust I suppose is an issue all through life, Katie seems to have mastered it well.

You may email Katie directly by clicking on the icon