Undefeated in Jumping on the Pro Tour in 1996

From the first time he stood atop the podium a national champion at age 12, it was evident that Carl Roberge was a legend in the making. Born in 1964 in Montreal, Canada, Roberge entered his first water skiing competition at age 7, close to five years after his family relocated to San Diego, Calif. By the mid-1970s after he and his family became eligible to compete on a national level as U.S. citizens, Roberge and his two sisters, Karin and Nathalie, began to emerge as champions on the national water ski scene. In 1976, he won his first national titles in Junior Boys slalom, jumping and overall.

As an athlete, Roberge’s talent and determination as a young boy pushed him to the height of success and launched a 20-year professional career that led to more than 100 professional victories. During his illustrious career, Roberge earned 21 U.S. Open titles and was an eight-time Masters champion in slalom, jumping and overall. He was a member of six U.S. Teams—five times throughout the 1980s and once in 1995. He also was the only athlete to win pro tour championship titles in both slalom and jumping. His greatest achievement, he says, was winning an unprecedented eight stops in jumping on the Pro Tour in 1996. “My biggest career accomplishment was to go undefeated on the Pro Tour in jumping in 1996. Nobody’s ever gone undefeated on the Pro Tour,” he says.   

Today, Roberge resides in Bellingham, Wash., with his wife, Carmen, and three children Ryan, 17, Carly, 14, and Andre, 11. He works at Business Benefits and stays active playing in an adult ice hockey league, snow skiing, snowboarding, wake surfing and making occasional guest water ski appearances on Bow Lake.

Being inducted into the Water Ski Hall of Fame is a huge honor, he says. “I was really blessed, and I’m so thankful for what I’ve won and what I’ve accomplished,” he recalls. “While I was [competing], I was numb to it taking it day by day as an athlete. Looking back, it’s something you always carry with you the rest of your life. Whatever you’re doing, who ever you meet, you get recognition constantly. It’s something no one can ever take from me.”