Oti Trigas is off to the Freestyle Kayaking World Championships

The Year 12 student from Crookwell High School is off to Spain to represent Australia at the World Championships in Freestyle Kayaking in June.

The opportunity to represent his country came not long after he started kayaking. 

"When I took up the sport, the scouts came and saw me," Trigas said. 

"They asked me to train with them.

"After a bit of training, the nationals were on and I finished in the top three.

"That allowed me to qualify for the World Championships."

Competing in the championships is a massive achievement already, but the youngster vows he will give it his best shot. 

"I'm hoping to gain experience there and I will give it a good crack," he said. 

"My goal is to compete and to try to get my personal best score."

Trigas's father used to kayak and that made him decide to give the sport a crack.  

"I love kayaking because it's a bit of a challenge," he said. 

"My coaches and father are my kayaking idols now."

Trigas moved to Crookwell from Sydney last year and as a result, has to travel four hours every fortnight to train at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium. 

"I surf waves, learn new tricks and get tips on how to improve," he said. 

He wants to get better and compete as a senior in the future. 

Trigas wouldn't mind competing at the Olympics, but won't be able to at the moment. 

"There are World Championships every two years, but unfortunately, freestyle kayaking isn't an Olympic sport yet," he said. 

The World Championships will be on for a week in Sort, Spain from Saturday, June 29 to Saturday, July 6.