Lake City Skiers Host National Championships
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
The team will host the seventh annual Malibu Division II Show Ski National Championships Aug. 4-5 on Hidden Lake, Ind. 15, behind Smith Tire, Warsaw. The tournament is expected to feature more than 500 athletes competing for the national title.
"Hosting nationals at this site is a dream come true," said skier Gary Hawblitzel. "Since the club began, we had hopes of hosting a tournament of this caliber. It's an exciting opportunity for us this year, coming back to try to be the first team to be two-time back-to-back national Division II champs."
Sarah Santamaria, 18, has been a member of the team since she was 8 years old. She's traveled to many other teams' sites for tournaments, so getting to stay home for a tournament is a big relief.
"I'm really glad we're hosting it," she said. "The drive is exhausting. It'll be good to be here and ski on our own lake. I think we'll do really well, too."
"The Malibu Division II Show Ski National Championships makes national-level show ski competition available to a variety of teams," said Andy Jugan, executive director of USA Water Ski, in a press release issued earlier this week. "A tremendous amount of preparation and a commitment to excellence by all competing teams makes the Division II Nationals a truly special event - fun for participants and spectators alike."
According to Natalie Angley, media relations coordinator with USA Water Ski, the national governing body for the sport of water skiing, the Lake City Skiers put in a bid to host the tournament and their bid was accepted.
Randy Patrick, LCS club president, said bids to host tournaments are awarded two years in advance. The team already turned in a bid to host the 2009 tournament on July 15. The team also will host the Central Region tournament in 2008. For the 2008 tournament, there will be four to five Division I teams, and four Division II teams.
"We really want to see the community come out and support these tournaments," Randy said. If only the competing athletes and their families attend the tournaments, the tournaments could be taken back to the bigger cities. For the city of Warsaw and the surrounding areas, he said the tournaments will contribute to the local economy through hotels, restaurants and gasoline sales. They help the entire community.
"We've gotten good sponsor support from some local businesses, but we'd like to see more," he said. Some of the local sponsors include the Ramada, Comfort Inn, American Table Restaurant, The Boathouse and Griffith's Wawasee Marina.
"It's an excellent opportunity for the community not only to come and see our team, but also teams from North Carolina, Michigan and different regions of the country. It's a great opportunity to see what other teams do as well as the Lake City Skiers," said Hawblitzel.
Santamaria said she hopes the guest teams also enjoy their stay in Warsaw. "I just hope they have a good time," she said. "There's a lot of places to eat and it's fun to meet new people."
In competitive show skiing, each club has one hour to present a theatrical performance on water skis. Judges score the acts by awarding points based on originality, presentation and execution. Elaborate costumes and staging intermix with music and fast action on the water as an announcer leads the audience through the show.
The Division II Show Ski National championships also feature athletes competing individually in adagio doubles, swivel and multi-jumping acts. Competition will begin with the individual events. The team competition follows.
To advance to the national championship, a team must win at its regional competition.
During the weekend of July 14-15, the Lake City Skiers won first place at the Central Region competition in Rock Island, Ill. The Warsaw-based team won first place with 1,422 points, according to show director Tracey Patrick. The Warsaw-based team has dominated the regional competition for the past six years. In individual competition, the jump team also placed first. Their show theme this year is "Pirateology: A Pirate's Life from Ship to Shore."
In 2006, the Lake City Skiers won first place at national competition in Evansdale, Iowa, with 1,706 points. Second place went to the Ski Broncs, Loves Park, Ill., who scored 1,428 points, with third place going to Bayside Skiers, of Albert Lea, Minn., with 1,344 points.
After the Division II national competition, the show ski team will have only a few shows left for the public. Those shows are Aug. 7 and Aug. 14 at 6 p.m.; and Aug. 19, 26 and Sept. 2 at 5 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]
The team will host the seventh annual Malibu Division II Show Ski National Championships Aug. 4-5 on Hidden Lake, Ind. 15, behind Smith Tire, Warsaw. The tournament is expected to feature more than 500 athletes competing for the national title.
"Hosting nationals at this site is a dream come true," said skier Gary Hawblitzel. "Since the club began, we had hopes of hosting a tournament of this caliber. It's an exciting opportunity for us this year, coming back to try to be the first team to be two-time back-to-back national Division II champs."
Sarah Santamaria, 18, has been a member of the team since she was 8 years old. She's traveled to many other teams' sites for tournaments, so getting to stay home for a tournament is a big relief.
"I'm really glad we're hosting it," she said. "The drive is exhausting. It'll be good to be here and ski on our own lake. I think we'll do really well, too."
"The Malibu Division II Show Ski National Championships makes national-level show ski competition available to a variety of teams," said Andy Jugan, executive director of USA Water Ski, in a press release issued earlier this week. "A tremendous amount of preparation and a commitment to excellence by all competing teams makes the Division II Nationals a truly special event - fun for participants and spectators alike."
According to Natalie Angley, media relations coordinator with USA Water Ski, the national governing body for the sport of water skiing, the Lake City Skiers put in a bid to host the tournament and their bid was accepted.
Randy Patrick, LCS club president, said bids to host tournaments are awarded two years in advance. The team already turned in a bid to host the 2009 tournament on July 15. The team also will host the Central Region tournament in 2008. For the 2008 tournament, there will be four to five Division I teams, and four Division II teams.
"We really want to see the community come out and support these tournaments," Randy said. If only the competing athletes and their families attend the tournaments, the tournaments could be taken back to the bigger cities. For the city of Warsaw and the surrounding areas, he said the tournaments will contribute to the local economy through hotels, restaurants and gasoline sales. They help the entire community.
"We've gotten good sponsor support from some local businesses, but we'd like to see more," he said. Some of the local sponsors include the Ramada, Comfort Inn, American Table Restaurant, The Boathouse and Griffith's Wawasee Marina.
"It's an excellent opportunity for the community not only to come and see our team, but also teams from North Carolina, Michigan and different regions of the country. It's a great opportunity to see what other teams do as well as the Lake City Skiers," said Hawblitzel.
Santamaria said she hopes the guest teams also enjoy their stay in Warsaw. "I just hope they have a good time," she said. "There's a lot of places to eat and it's fun to meet new people."
In competitive show skiing, each club has one hour to present a theatrical performance on water skis. Judges score the acts by awarding points based on originality, presentation and execution. Elaborate costumes and staging intermix with music and fast action on the water as an announcer leads the audience through the show.
The Division II Show Ski National championships also feature athletes competing individually in adagio doubles, swivel and multi-jumping acts. Competition will begin with the individual events. The team competition follows.
To advance to the national championship, a team must win at its regional competition.
During the weekend of July 14-15, the Lake City Skiers won first place at the Central Region competition in Rock Island, Ill. The Warsaw-based team won first place with 1,422 points, according to show director Tracey Patrick. The Warsaw-based team has dominated the regional competition for the past six years. In individual competition, the jump team also placed first. Their show theme this year is "Pirateology: A Pirate's Life from Ship to Shore."
In 2006, the Lake City Skiers won first place at national competition in Evansdale, Iowa, with 1,706 points. Second place went to the Ski Broncs, Loves Park, Ill., who scored 1,428 points, with third place going to Bayside Skiers, of Albert Lea, Minn., with 1,344 points.
After the Division II national competition, the show ski team will have only a few shows left for the public. Those shows are Aug. 7 and Aug. 14 at 6 p.m.; and Aug. 19, 26 and Sept. 2 at 5 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]
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