Biography

Vital Statistics         

Birth Date:  November 11, 1977         Birth place:  Yuba City, CA

Current Residence:                            Gridley, CA

Height: 4'9"                                        Weight: 95 lbs

Occupation :                                     Unit Director, Boys & Girls Club

Began Skiing:  17                               Began Competing:  17

Events:    Slalom, Trick, Jump 

Division:  Womens MP3 (Multi Plegic – Level 3 – lowest level of injury, unable to stand to ski- uses a sit ski) Born with Spina Bifida

Sponsors:  Gath Helmets, Challenged Athletes, private donations

Hobbies:  Dancing, writing, anything outdoors, traveling

Career Highlights

• Gold Medal as US TEAM Member at ’03 World Championships in Florida (USA)
• Individual Gold Medal for Overall ’03 Worlds (Overall is combined score of slalom, jump & trick skiing)
• Individual Silver Medal for Tricks  ’03 Worlds
• Individual Silver Medal for Jump ’03 Worlds
• Individual Bronze Medal for Slalom ’03 Worlds
• 2003 National Tricks Champion
• Silver Medal as US TEAM Member at ’01 World Championships in Australia
• Individual Silver Medal for Overall ’01 Worlds (Overall is combined score of slalom, jump & trick skiing)
• Individual Bronze Medal for Slalom  ’01 Worlds
• Individual Bronze Medal for Jump ’01 Worlds
• Individual Bronze Medal (tie) for Trick Skiing ’01 Worlds
• 2000 National (Overall) Champion
• 2000 National Slalom Champion
• 2000 National Jump Champion
• 1999 National Overall Champion
• Gold Medal as alternate US TEAM Member at ’99 Worlds in England
• Exhibition skied at Marine World, Africa USA, thereby exposing general public to waterSkiers with disabilities

• Volunteer ( and tennis coach) at “Ability First” a summer camp for DisAbledyouth aged 5-15, offering waterSkiing, tennis, track/field, basketball, wall climbing, and independence
• Speaks to college classes about life with a disability and sports
• Volunteer at ACT Games, a track and field competition for kids with disabilities
• Skied on the Chico State WaterSki Team (no division for disabled, skied against able bodied)
• Graduate of Chico State with Bachelor of Science degree in Therapeutic Recreation

Best Performance:  Slalom:  2 @ 30mph  Jump:  39 feet  Trick:

Records:  None yet

Ski Club Affiliation

Team Ridge, CSU (Chico State WaterSki Team)

Future Career Plans

I dunno

MOST FUN SKIING EXPERIENCE

Training with Matty, skiing for my college and traveling to all of the competitions

People I look up to or who have helped me

Royce Andes, who first got me into skiing and taught me at the beginning and continues to be a mentor.  Bill and Denise Bowness, Luis Bair, Steve Hornsey have all been huge influences in skiing and have helped to coach me (the old school boys).  Ann O'Brine was a big influence because she was one of the few women skiers in the states and she is tough and can hang with the big boys.  Jennifer Leachman and Sherri Slone have also left an impression on me, again because they are motivated women that are good at what they do and they are nice and fun to work with.  And last, but not least, Matty Oberholtz.  He has given me that push that I often need.  His coaching techniques and my personality match very well.  So it works and it's always fun (99.5% of the time anyway).  I must also give credit to the Chico State Water Ski Team and Alumni because my competition skiing improved greatly after skiing with them.  They also supported my efforts.

A recent college grad  of Chico State (with a B.S. in therapeutic recreation) Kerri moved from her home state of California to complete her residency in Colorado.  The great state of California is pleased to have her back among us. An alternate on the US TEAM last Worlds, she got a chance to show her stuff at the 2001 Worlds.  

Kerri earned Silver Overall at the 2001 Worlds                    Bronze in Slalom                                                        Bronze in Jump

There she is at the Kilgour Estate Winery in Australia, look at that sunset!      

While in Australia, Mark "ANIMAL" Turner was giving Kerri garbage about something or other and she threatened to black his eye.  She then took a karate stance and warned him she was part Asian!  We thought it hilarious, even considered taking bets! It may be that you had to have been there to find it really funny, if so the US TEAM will really laugh at this and other won't.

Here's Kerri (far left) at a WOW Sports Clinic at our Pond.  Kerri learned a few slalom tips from Jennifer Leachman (center 2nd row), but spent most of her time talking with Jumper Sherri Slone (center front row).  

Kerri is also the only "disabled" female skier to exhibition at Marine World, Africa, USA.  She did this at a WOW Tour Stop - you should have heard the crowd roar as she and Mark "Animal" Turner skied onto the show platform!!!

Prior to leaving California, Kerri spent a great deal of time  training with Matt Oberholtz at his private lake in Chico; Kerri's also the current Women's National Champion.

And really folks, I must also tell you that Kerri is a World Renown "Pass the Pigs" player.  This fun little game was THE game played by the US TEAM when not skiing; Kerri was awesome, and got quite serious about tossing the little pink plastic pigs. 

At the 2001 Worlds she and several other skiers kept Kent Daddy and I up quite late dancing one night. (And before you get thinking we were irresponsible because we had athletes in training, Manager John Reid had an alcohol limit of 1 drink and bed by 11pm.  There was one night after training camp (before the Worlds) that the TEAM was allowed to cut loose a little.) Ten of us basically took over the dance floor at a bar down the street from our hotel.  Kent Daddy and I are older folk (Grandparents even) who'd never danced to "Techno" music . . that stuff will kill you!  Songs never end, they just go right into the next one.  We made our TEAM proud, we stayed with them until 2:30am! 

That's Kerri with the Aussie TEAM just prior to the Opening Ceremony of the 2001 World Championship.  The big joke here is that the AUSSIE mascot was none other than Craig Miller, a former US TEAM member. Craig wasn't selected to the US TEAM but he'd made some great AUSSIE friends, so he flew to Australia to visit and to support the US TEAM!