Water skiing came easily to Caroline Hensley, a UA junior who recently won a gold medal at the World Championship in waterskiing.

Learning to ski at age eight and competing by nine, Hensely said she began skiing with her dad and sister.

“We all started at the same time, and everything was pretty hard at first – it took me a whole day to learn to get up – but having my sister to compete against helped me move along pretty quickly,” Hensley said.

After learning how to stand up, Hensely improved her skills and has competed in multiple tournaments since. After just five years of skiing experience, Hensley began competing internationally.

“When I was 13 I went to my first junior world competition,” Hensley said. “I’ve been to three junior worlds and two regular worlds, and this past July I was actually in Russia for my first Elite World Competition.”

Hensley also skis on the University ski team, coached by Tom Strong.

“Caroline is sensational,” Strong said. “Tremendous. One of the things I’ve observed over the years is that skiers like Caroline – I mean the really good skiers – are more than just good at skiing. They have good work ethics and are organized and are willing to spend so much extra time doing everything.”

Justin Peterson, president of the UA Ski Team, said he loves being a part of the team because of the people on it.

“Everyone is a lot of fun,” Peterson said. “It’s also cool to meet other students who ski for other universities.”

Strong said Hensley is also the UA Ski Team’s treasurer, a job that requires being efficient with time management.

“Her biggest contribution to the team goes beyond skiing,” Strong said. “Its her leadership and the example she sets for the others.”

At the World Championship, there are three events: slalom, trick and jump. Hensley said she got third place in slalom, but that her gold medal was in overall – meaning that she was the best out of all three categories.

“You have to be the best in each one to win overall,” Hensley said. “And there were 30 countries competing and probably 150 to 200 competitors.”

Recently, Hensley was also announced to be one of six members representing the United States on the University World team, which will hold its competition in Chile in January.

“I’m the only one from Alabama,” Hensley said.

Hensley said the ski team practices five to six days a week, and that each practice is about three hours long.

“When you get out of class, you go to the lake,” Hensley said. “We ski at a private lake about twenty minutes away from campus that the University rents.”

Strong said Hensely’s dedication to the team was tremendous, and that she was not only a terrific athlete, but student as well.

“We are just so blessed to have her,” Strong said. “She’s got the whole package.”