Her excitement is rooted in both the historical significance and the personal achievement of securing her spot in such a prestigious event after successfully defending her European title. 

"I immediately realised that I had qualified for The World Games, and I was super stoked and happy because it was one of my biggest goals! The qualification process was intense —filled with personal challenges. I think the biggest challenge was just the pressure I was putting on myself! I wanted to secure my spot as early as possible, and the first opportunity was winning the European Championships in Whitemills (GBR from 27-30 June). I’m glad that I succeeded in taking this opportunity," the 31-year-old shared.

The nine-time European champion makes her ambitions crystal clear, and the path she is taking to achieve her goals.

"My goal is to win the gold medal in The World Games Chengdu in 2025. I think my training will not be very different from my usual routine—lots of training on, but also off the water! However, as soon as I have some details about the actual course (the cable park is still under construction), I will try to practice as specifically as possible to prepare myself in the best possible way,” she said. 

Rick, the first woman to land a Backside 900, Backside 1080 and KGB 540, says maintaining a routine is key to keeping competition nerves in check. 

"I am always very nervous during competitions! What helps me is keeping my routines before and during competitions to stay relatively calm. On the water, during the competition, I’m mentally in my zone and fully focused. That’s also how I train—when I’m on the water, I’m fully focused on my training and my riding, this transfers to competitions,” said the three-time winner of “Trick of the Year“.

Before The World Games next year, Rick is set to compete at Munich MASH in August, before heading off to the IWWF World Championships in Paris, France, in September to defend her World Champion title.

Rick hopes to continue pushing the sport forward and dreams of wakeboarding becoming an Olympic discipline. 

"I just want to keep pushing the sport. Furthermore, I want to give something back to the sport with my coaching, maybe Wakeboarding will become an Olympic discipline one day, and I will be able to take part—whether as an athlete or coach!"