Winning at the top level doesn’t come easy – but working hard will get you there.

That’s what Fletcher Ball discovered at last month’s National Barefoot Water Skiing Championships.

The Echuca local’s dedication paid off as he took home gold in the sub-junior jumps event at the Mulwala Water Ski Club.

Ball continued his good work in the slalom and tricks, finishing in second place with scores of 941.61 and 712.12 respectively.

These placings saw Ball finish in second place overall behind a fellow Victorian with a score of 1653.73.

He has now earned a place in the Australian training squad, which has an eye on the World Championships in April next year.

Liam Hamilton

Liam Hamilton had close to the best season of under 16s cricket anyone could have in 2018/19.

The BLU all-rounder claimed the champion player of the competition award, as well as the individual batting title.

Hamilton made 295 runs across the season, averaging an incredible 49.17 for the season.

Adding to his prowess with the bat, he took 15 wickets, and was no slouch in the field with three catches and four run outs to add to his tally.

Brady Threlfall

It wasn’t Brady Threlfall’s best career performance at the Lake Biwa marathon in April.

But it may have been the toughest.

Battling brutal headwinds and wet weather, Threlfall battled the 42km of his sixth career marathon against some of the best runners in the world.

Fatiguing in the later stages of the race as his body battled back, Threlfall admitted to himself his PB time was out of reach, but pushed himself to the limit in the second half of the race.

He jumped from 90th to 57th in the final 21km, finishing as the second fastest Australian despite being the fifth fastest qualifier.