HICKORY, N.C. — The season is about to kick off for a wakeboarding national champion in Hickory.

What You Need To Know

• 12-year-old Zoey Carroll is back in the water
• The national wakeboarding champion had an almost career-ending injury last year
• She’ll compete in Nationals this July

After suffering an almost career-ending injury last year, Zoey Carroll, 12, went on to win the 2022 World Wake Association U.S. Nationals for her age group.

She is now back in the water trainging after placing first at the USA team trials in April.

“My focus probably, is probably Nationals and probably maybe like a few little comps, but mostly focusing on progression,” she said.

Carroll says she plans to achieve that goal by competing in a higher age group.

“I think sometimes when I ride in a bigger age group, it kind of pushes me a little bit,” she said. “And I have some, like really good competition so I can push myself to their limit.”

She will compete in the 2023 WWA U.S. Nationals this July in Georgia.

While wakeboarding isn’t an Olympic sport yet, Carroll hopes that will change. If it does, she says her goal is compete on that stage.