Kaye Thurlow-Faulkner has one distinction that none of the others being honored tonight can claim: she is the only one to have skied in a World Championship in Canada. And it was 1967 in Sherbrook and not 1979 in Toronto. Kaye may well have thought she had been irretrievably overlooked, since so many of the fine women skiers she competed with had already been inducted: Liz Allen, Maria Victoria Carrasco, Sylvie Maurial and Jeanette Stewart-Wood.

 

Kaye skied as an overall skier on the Australian team for the World Championships five times from 1967 to 1975 picking up eight medals in the process: a bronze and silver in 1969, two silvers and a bronze in 1971, and two bronzes and a silver in 1975. In the five World Championships she placed third in overall twice. When Kaye won medals, the Australian team also prospered, coming in a strong second to the United States team in each of those three years.

 

One of the distinctions of which Kaye is most proud is her selection to ski in the Olympic demonstration in 1972 where she placed second in tricks, jumping and overall. She was a consistent winner at the Moomba Masters, raking in a total of 24 gold medals, including eight overall titles.

 

Kaye and her husband, Colin Faulkner, authored a book on water skiing which has influenced a generation of skiers in Australia. I am pleased to announce the induction into the International Hall of Fame of one of the finest women overall skiers of her time: Kay Thurlow-Faulkner.