Waterskiing Championships to be held in Bogota, Colombia, from July 1-7.

Richardson, 33, has hit a dry spell in recent weeks during international meets in Florida but is encouraged by past performances at the big meets, notably last year's world championships in Austria.

"There shouldn't be a reason why I can't make it to the finals,'' said Bermuda's one and only international competitor.

Richardson has been off the Island for the past seven months, competing and training as well as coaching.

"I worked hard on my slaloms in the fall and came to within two to three buoys of my personal best,'' he said.

In the tricks category, Richardson had his best effort in Tampa, placing sixth out of 13 in a Record Challenge tournament.

"I did a good bit of cross training, trying to run a `32-off' pass. The best I did was four-and-a-half buoys at 13 metres.

"I also did a lot of coaching in the Florida Junior Development Clinic where I worked with different countries -- Argentina, Japan and the European teams.'' Richardson acknowledges that he is in a bit of a slump now and is back in Bermuda to get his head together so he can concentrate on having a good showing in Bogota.

MAKING A SPASH -- Waterskier Kent Richardson.