Canyon Lake resident to be inducted into Wakesports Hall of Fame

Canyon Lake resident Kelly Kingman was recently nominated to be inducted into the Wakesports Hall of Fame for media. 

“It is such an incredible honor to be nominated amongst some of the greatest of our industry,” Kingman said. “We were the first generation of wakeboarding.”

In 1993, Kingman, an amateur waterskier, met Larry Harris. In September 1994, the two formed the Canyon Lake Wakeboard Club. With the industry booming, the club grew quickly. That same year, Kingman judged her first competition and began to photograph wakeboarders.

In 1995, Kingman spent six months traveling to dealers in the eastern states as part of the promotional team for Mastercraft WetJet.

The following year, Kingman met Andrea Gaytan, the only female professional rider at the time. Gaytan invited Kingman to her home in Florida, where Kingman photographed some of the best up-and-coming wakeboarders in the world and judged her first pro-rider event.

For the next two summers, Kingman traveled to several countries judging the European Wakeboard Tour.

From 1999 to 2001, Kingman continued to photograph athletes from around the globe, traveling to a total of 24 countries. She also judged several competitions for the American Wakeboard Association, including serving as chief judge in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

Between her travels, Kingman discover she enjoyed cooking and began to cater events for her friends. In 2001, she began attending specialty courses at the Culinary Institute of America, Greystone in Napa.

Today, Kingman’s career as a private chef keeps her busy. She caters private sit-down dinners and owns and operates a mobile artesian pizza business.

The Wakeshports Hall of Fame is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to honoring and preserving the heritage of Wake.