My experience as the 1st American Woman to race runabout jetskis in China | by Ashley Sponaugle #66 - Jettribe Team Rider.
Not only was racing with Jettribe in China an amazing, unforgettable experience, but getting to be the 1st Woman from the United States to race Runabout jetskis in China made this a once in a lifetime opportunity! I learned so much and I can’t thank Jettribe enough for inviting me to be a part of this historic event!!
Initially, I was a little nervous about traveling to the other side of the world to race jetskis in a communist, male dominant culture where Facebook & Google/Gmail are blocked. So, my goal was to learn as much as I could about the sensitivities of Chinese culture and apply it to racing, especially since women are not regarded as equals like we are in the United States.
Now that I’ve made it home in one piece, I can definitely say traveling and experiencing a new culture with Jettribe Team USA was a blast! I learned so much and I love the Chinese people.
The first day we arrived at the race site, it was all about teamwork with the Jettribe crew! The race skis had been sitting in storage since last year, so it was an ‘all hands on deck’ group effort to get everyone’s boats up and running before the first races the next day.
I rented a local Chinese boat for the Runabout Stock Class (everyone rode a SeaDoo GTI 155). On practice day, our bus was late. I missed practice to learn the course. I did my best to memorize the course from shore, but mixed in the middle of the course was a second slalom course that we were expected to ignore even though the buoys were the same color as the main course. I had to go straight into qualifying without any water time or practice on my race boat.
In qualifying, I had a great start, but went on the wrong side of a buoy which allowed 2 other racers to pass me. Sadly, I missed qualifying by 1 spot. That meant I was done racing in China on the very first day. I was super bummed to come all that way and already be finished racing.
But by a stroke of luck, Jettribe worked a miracle and found another ski I could race the next day! This time, I would be racing in the Runabout Limited Class (modifications allowed). I had to qualify in this class as well…and this time I was on a bone stock 2012 Yamaha FZS. This was even more of an uphill battle since all the skis I would be racing were modified and faster than my stock ski. But to be honest, I was just happy to get a little more seat time around the track regardless of the outcome. I didn’t come to China to watch from the sidelines.
So I went out and rode my little heart out and Qualified!!
The race standings were determined in 3 motos. I had great starts, but my ski wasn’t fast enough to stay up front, and aggressive riding/blocking is extremely frowned upon in China. Especially as a woman, I had to be careful not to offend anyone or beat up a Chinese loaned ski.
I battled back and forth with one of the Jettribe Korean team riders, “Spiderman”, and finished in 9th & 10th place. Not a spectacular finish overall, but I’m pretty happy with outcome given the situation.
I was ecstatic just to get out on the water and race in China, especially since no other American woman has ever had the opportunity to do so before! Sure I would have loved to make it up on the podium my first time there. Now I know the rules of engagement in China and have a goal to fight for next year!
Our role as Team USA with Jettribe was to serve as role models for the sport and to bolster enthusiasm to help grow an already popular sport in China…and hopefully encourage inclusion of more women in the sport!
We definitely succeeded in garnering new enthusiasm and interest amongst the Chinese people. We all made so many new friends in the international racing community and with the local Chinese racers & volunteers!
I can’t wait to go back to race next year in 2016!! Thank you Jettribe for everything you have done for me and thank you for everything you are doing to grow Jetski racing around the world!!