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Photos by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
RJ Teter, 17, slaloms at LymanLand USA.
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Photos by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Tessa Teter, 14, and her older brother RJ. The Teters competed in the Junior U.S. Open in Texas in late June and RJ is competing in the slalom at the 2024 International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation Under-17 world championships at the end of July in Canada.
What began as family fun on the lake has turned into aspirations of world championships for a Homewood family.
Siblings RJ and Tessa Teter started waterskiing as small children, when their parents took them to Lake Lanier near their home in northern Georgia. “My dad sort of skied for fun on the lake on the weekends,” RJ said.
Those fun weekends eventually stoked a competitive nature in RJ. When the Teter family moved to Alabama, RJ brought that fire with him. By age 8, he was entering competitions and discovering he was “pretty good at tournament skiing.”
Soon to be a senior at Homewood High School, RJ is now among the best in the country. Following in her older brother’s direction, rising freshman Tessa is, too.
The thrill of competing against other elite water skiers is only part of what drives the Teters.
“It’s one of the only sports where every time you take a part in it, you end up losing,” RJ said. “There’s always a shorter rope length, there’s always a faster speed. The world champion can go out there and win the competition, but they’re losing to the boat.”
Many of the top competitors are children of current or former pros. The Teters’ rise didn’t happen like that, but their development came through seeking mentorship from top trainers.
“We just sort of stumbled into the competition part of it,” RJ said. “Before that, we were just recreational skiers.”
The siblings practice their craft at Lymanland near Tuscaloosa, on the manmade lake built by renowned skier Lyman Hardy, currently the president of the American Water Ski Association.
RJ’s best event is the slalom, which he’ll compete in at the worlds. His best national finish was fifth in his age division. Tessa already boasts a fourth-place finish in trick skiing.
“I definitely had his expertise to help me, and it was easier because we had already been to some bigger tournaments, so we knew how to deal with it,” Tessa said.
They enjoy the camaraderie of the sport.
“The people in your age division, you’ve been skiing against your whole life, so you’re pretty familiar with them,” Tessa said. “It’s really fun going to the big tournaments.”
The fun takes a backseat to the competitive side once it’s time to crank the boat and go for it. That’s when all the training becomes instinct, and where even the slightest movement can dramatically impact the result.
“It’s a very technical sport because, I mean, you’re standing on a piece of carbon fiber and fiberglass at 36 miles an hour, trying to get from one side of the course to the other,” RJ said. “And you have to do that six times in 16 seconds. The slightest degree of body position, left or right, forward or back, very much changes how the ski will react and where you will go.”
The Teter siblings were scheduled to compete at the Junior U.S. Open Water Ski Championships in Texas in late June. Then in July, RJ will compete in the slalom at the 2024 International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation Under 17 world championships.
