If you’re a McClintock — of the Cambridge, Ont. McClintocks — two things hold true. You probably water ski, and ski darn well, and your first name almost inevitably begins with a J.

One tradition is, well, quirky and the other is extremely impressive.

From the time John and Joyce got their kids John, Jim, Joel, Jeff and Judy on skis when they were preschoolers, the McClintocks have been akin to Canada’s water skiing royalty. Joel and Judy became world champions while Jeff was a national team member who not only won national titles but was also a highly regarded coach.

Then came the next generation, Justin, Jamie, Jessica, Jordan, J.D. — who was almost born at a ski competition — and . . . you get the idea.

Jason is part of that third generation. A double silver medallist at the last Pan Am Games, he is in Toronto with his highly decorated sister Whitney, who brought home a gold and three silvers from those Games at Guadalajara, for the Pan Am water skiing competition that got underway off the shores of Ontario Place on Monday.

Since their sport is not in the Olympics, these Games are one of the pinnacles in . . . hey, back up a minute. Whitney? How did that happen.

“My father wanted to call me Jennifer, but my mother won,” she explains.

Adds Jason: “We have 11 cousins and they’re all Js except my sister.”

Jason and Whitney are among the best in the world, and while it’s not unusual to see two or more outstanding athletes from the same family, crossing generations makes the family tree a little more unique.

“Honestly, I feel like there should be more of us since my aunt and uncle were both world champions,” says the 27-year-old Jason. “It’s just my dad that really has anybody skiing now. Some of my cousins used to ski but they kind of moved on, lost interest. It’s tough, mentally, technically, it can beat you down. That’s kind of what happened with my cousins. They got sick of it, got too frustrated with it and just moved on.”

Water skiing lends itself to family involvement which is why, through the years, various Canadian families have been a force in the sport.

“You can’t do it by yourself,” explains Whitney, 25, who first got on skis when she was 2. “You need someone driving the boat, someone watching. I think that’s why it tends to be family sport. You go up to a cottage on the weekends and your whole family is out on the water.”

The McClintocks had another edge. Their father, Jeff, operated a ski school on Puslinch Lake east of Kitchener, a perfect place to learn because it is almost devoid of moving water. And he was also the highest ranked water ski coach in the country. Jason competed in his first nationals at 8; Whitney was 6.

“My dad used to be the national team coach and that’s who we skied with our entire childhood so we were pushed to be better, we ran a ski school and we had people coming in and out, competitive skiers, training with us all the time,” says Jason. “We were always around good skiing, and then moving to Florida in 2001 you’re around even better skiing down there.”

Jason and Whitney both train year-round in Florida, but Jason returns each summer to help run the ski school.

“All those things just put you in a good situation,” says Jason. “To always have that good coaching so you’re learning things right from the start instead of picking up habits that later need to be broken, which is always really difficult.”

The parents still follow their kids from event to event. Mother Sherron, once a national-level water skier herself, even packed a lunch — a quinoa salad — for Whitney on Monday.

After preliminaries off Exhibition Place, Whitney is ranked first in slalom and second in tricks. Jason sits fifth in slalom and third in tricks.

Besides a supportive family, the third generation of McClintocks has another important ingredient according to national coach Steve Bush, who has been with the team since 1977-78, long enough to joke that he remembers booking flights under the name J. McClintock, just in case a different family member needed to use it.

“One thing they have — and you can’t buy this stuff — it’s that competitive edge,” says Bush. “Uncle Joel had that and Judy had that and Whitney and Jason have got that. I see the similarities between the different generations. It’s actually scary. They’re really true competitors.”

And the fourth generation is already following the family traditions.

Jason has a son named Jaxson, born last August, and yes he’s already been on skis. Well, sort of.

“I actually rode my trick ski carrying him a couple of months ago. He was six months maybe when I did that,” recalled dad. “He’s really comfortable in the water, he loves the water, so we’ll get him out there when he’s feeling decently ready. Don’t want to push him too hard, but he’ll be out there eventually.”

read article