Flying Font: Windermere's Patricio Font reigns supreme on the water

Going into the Masters Men’s Tricks competition at the 60th Nautique Masters Water Ski Tournament in Pine Mountain, Georgia, Patricio “Pato” Font was already slightly annoyed.

After qualifying last year for the pro division, Font had to settle for competing at the juniors level. It was an early disappointment, but he didn’t let that affect him. 

Instead, he used that disappointment to motivate himself to do better, and it showed early on in the tournament.

“I beat everyone in the first round, so I was really nervous for finals, because I was the last on the dock; so you know the score to beat and you see everyone else ski,” said Font, 17. “Being last on the dock in the most prestigious tournament to every trick skier there is — I was pretty nervous.”

When it comes to tricks in waterskiing, a skier makes two passes of 20 seconds each — the first of which includes flips and twists, while the second sees skiers put their foot in the rope handle as they do twists.

It’s difficult enough as it is, but add on the significance of the moment and it’s a pressure cooker.

But still, the Windermere resident and rising junior at Windermere Prep made his runs and before he knew it, he saw his name up on the scoreboard in first place — edging out second-place finisher Adam Pickos.

“I went from not being in it, to basically winning — it was weird,” Font said with a laugh. “My dad skied in that tournament in 2008… I used to watch all these people ski. My dad stopped skiing — because of a back injury — and then I go there and start skiing against them a couple of years ago, and then I just beat everyone in this tournament. I guess I’m becoming really good at this.”

The win in Georgia was the latest bit of success in a career that builds upon a family legacy that’s been a part of the ski world for over 60 years.

Back in the 1950s, Font’s grandfather was tearing it up on the water in his native land of Mexico, and by the time he was 21 he had already broken the world record in tricks.

And with such success, it’s no surprise that he passed on his love for skiing down to Font’s dad and uncle — both of whom have skied at the professional level. Even after an injury left his uncle paralyzed from the waist down at the age of 19, he still went on to become a seven-time world champion in tricks.

Coming from a lineage of great skiers the way that Font did could be a positive or negative thing depending on how you approach it. For Font, however, it was a thing to be proud of. 

“I never thought, ‘OK, I have to ski up to what my dad did,’” Font said. “At the beginning, when I was little, of course my mom and dad pushed me to start skiing and get involved with it and get better, but a couple of years ago it was my decision of how good I wanted to be and what I wanted to do.”

Font himself was introduced to the sport before he could even walk, recalling the stories his parents told him about riding in the arms of his father as he glided across the water.

While those photos of him at 2 years old show him crying, it would be only three to four years later when Font turned that frown into a smile as he quickly built up his skills on the water.

“I beat everyone in the first round, so I was really nervous for finals, because I was the last on the dock; so you know the score to beat and you see everyone else ski. Being last on the dock in the most prestigious tournament to every trick skier there is — I was pretty nervous.”

— Patricio Font

“I started like any other skier, but started learning tricks really fast, so I think that’s what got me into it,” Font said. “Running passes, trying new tricks and then when I started to grow up, I’d land one trick and then land another one the next day.”

It was also during that time that Font participated in his first tournament at the age of 6, and he has been tearing it up ever since.

But unlike those early days, the sport has gotten more difficult and the challenge to land new tricks has become a full-time commitment. Of all the obstacles that Font faces, one of the biggest just may be learning a new trick.

“I try a new trick and it takes me a year to land — it’s frustrating,” Font said. “I used to try it and two tries later I would land it, and now it takes me 600 tries.”

But no matter how many times he falls or fails, Font gets right back up on his ski and goes at it again and again.

He knows that at the end of those 600 tries, he is one step closer to being on the winner’s podium — taking in that unforgettable feeling that motivates him to keep going.

“I enjoy it, and the moment after winning is like no other moment,” Font said. “The feeling you get of being there, skiing, feeling good on your board and enjoying it and then winning — I don’t think there is another feeling (like that).”