Lake City Skiers Host, Win National Tournament
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Until now.
Warsaw-based Lake City Skiers won the seventh annual Malibu Division II Show Ski National Championships Sunday with a score of 1,676.37. Second-place Brown's Lake Aquaducks, Wisconsin, took home second with 1,575.57 points. Five teams from five different regionals of the U.S. competed over the weekend for the national championship.
"It's great to win back to back," said Brett Patrick. "To defend the title at home ... we had a great home crowd, that made all the difference."
"This is awesome," said Chris Wilson. "After this, we're going to Division I and that's what we've been striving to be for the past 15-20 years."
"It's just overwhelming," said show announcer Ty Patrick. "It's just absolutely fabulous. I've spent my whole life in this club waiting for this day. We're ready to bring it to Division I."
With the back-to-back win, the show ski team moves up to Division I competition next year. Teams in Division I usually are bigger in the number of team members, equipment and financial resources.
"It's time for us to step forward against great Division I teams; it's just another stepping stone," said Jakim Wilson.
Show co-director Tracey Patrick said, "I'm very, very excited. It's a dream come true, but we now really got to step up. Division I is going to be big. And we will step up. It feels good to beat the team that beat us two years ago at nationals."
In 2006, the Lake City Skiers won first place at national competition in Evansdale, Iowa, with 1,706 points.
To compete in national tournament this year, the Lake City Skiers had to win the Central Region tournament in Rock Island, Ill., on July 14-15. The Warsaw team won first place with 1,422 points.
This also is the first year the Lake City Skiers hosted the national tournament on their own site at Hidden Lake.
"I thought it was hosted really well," said Marty Pottebaum, a member of the Hartwick Husky's show ski team in Iowa. He said Hidden Lake is a phenomenal lake for competitions, and the tournament itself went great.
Along with winning the national championship, the Lake City Skiers also won several other awards. With 230 points, the team won the barefoot award; 203 points, the jump award; and Gary Hawblitzel won the best male skier award. An award also was presented to the team for best sound and equipment. In individual competition, the Lake City Skiers also won for best jump team.
Nationals was a two-day event, with the Lake City Skiers performing Saturday, and winners announced Sunday. After their performance, but before winners were announced, team members commented about how well they thought they did.
"I think we did really well," said Andrew Shriver. "We came out with momentum. We did great with showmanship."
Shriver, like most of his team members, agreed the barefoot pyramid sling-shot was a highlight of the show.
Ashley Wilson admitted the team did have more falls this year at nationals than in 2006. "Compared to last year, we had a lot more falls, but we stayed through it and had a nice production," she said.
Tracey Patrick said even with some rough spots, "I think this was our best show of the season." The team pulled together and did its best despite the falls, she said.
"It's all about team," she said. "We appreciate the local community coming out and supporting us. We had a packed house."
Patrick's co-show director, Matt Gudeman, said, "I think they did a very good job under pressure. They always seem to pull it out."
The strengths of the show, he said, include the team's strong skiing ability. The weakness, he said, in general, is the "lack of experience in a competition environment. I wish there were more tournaments so everyone feels more comfortable under pressure."
However, Gudeman did say the team really comes together down the line and puts on an awesome show. Showmanship and stage presence are other strengths of the Lake City Skiers. "This team does an awesome job at that," he said.
The Lake City Skiers' show theme this year is "Pirateology: A Pirate's Life from Ship to Shore." The production is a cross between Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" and Broadway's "Pirates of Penzance."
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 Lake City Skiers are a not-for-profit organizations. Their remaining show dates are Aug. 14, 6 p.m.; and Aug. 19 and 26 and Sept. 2 at 5 p.m.
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Until now.
Warsaw-based Lake City Skiers won the seventh annual Malibu Division II Show Ski National Championships Sunday with a score of 1,676.37. Second-place Brown's Lake Aquaducks, Wisconsin, took home second with 1,575.57 points. Five teams from five different regionals of the U.S. competed over the weekend for the national championship.
"It's great to win back to back," said Brett Patrick. "To defend the title at home ... we had a great home crowd, that made all the difference."
"This is awesome," said Chris Wilson. "After this, we're going to Division I and that's what we've been striving to be for the past 15-20 years."
"It's just overwhelming," said show announcer Ty Patrick. "It's just absolutely fabulous. I've spent my whole life in this club waiting for this day. We're ready to bring it to Division I."
With the back-to-back win, the show ski team moves up to Division I competition next year. Teams in Division I usually are bigger in the number of team members, equipment and financial resources.
"It's time for us to step forward against great Division I teams; it's just another stepping stone," said Jakim Wilson.
Show co-director Tracey Patrick said, "I'm very, very excited. It's a dream come true, but we now really got to step up. Division I is going to be big. And we will step up. It feels good to beat the team that beat us two years ago at nationals."
In 2006, the Lake City Skiers won first place at national competition in Evansdale, Iowa, with 1,706 points.
To compete in national tournament this year, the Lake City Skiers had to win the Central Region tournament in Rock Island, Ill., on July 14-15. The Warsaw team won first place with 1,422 points.
This also is the first year the Lake City Skiers hosted the national tournament on their own site at Hidden Lake.
"I thought it was hosted really well," said Marty Pottebaum, a member of the Hartwick Husky's show ski team in Iowa. He said Hidden Lake is a phenomenal lake for competitions, and the tournament itself went great.
Along with winning the national championship, the Lake City Skiers also won several other awards. With 230 points, the team won the barefoot award; 203 points, the jump award; and Gary Hawblitzel won the best male skier award. An award also was presented to the team for best sound and equipment. In individual competition, the Lake City Skiers also won for best jump team.
Nationals was a two-day event, with the Lake City Skiers performing Saturday, and winners announced Sunday. After their performance, but before winners were announced, team members commented about how well they thought they did.
"I think we did really well," said Andrew Shriver. "We came out with momentum. We did great with showmanship."
Shriver, like most of his team members, agreed the barefoot pyramid sling-shot was a highlight of the show.
Ashley Wilson admitted the team did have more falls this year at nationals than in 2006. "Compared to last year, we had a lot more falls, but we stayed through it and had a nice production," she said.
Tracey Patrick said even with some rough spots, "I think this was our best show of the season." The team pulled together and did its best despite the falls, she said.
"It's all about team," she said. "We appreciate the local community coming out and supporting us. We had a packed house."
Patrick's co-show director, Matt Gudeman, said, "I think they did a very good job under pressure. They always seem to pull it out."
The strengths of the show, he said, include the team's strong skiing ability. The weakness, he said, in general, is the "lack of experience in a competition environment. I wish there were more tournaments so everyone feels more comfortable under pressure."
However, Gudeman did say the team really comes together down the line and puts on an awesome show. Showmanship and stage presence are other strengths of the Lake City Skiers. "This team does an awesome job at that," he said.
The Lake City Skiers' show theme this year is "Pirateology: A Pirate's Life from Ship to Shore." The production is a cross between Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" and Broadway's "Pirates of Penzance."
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 Lake City Skiers are a not-for-profit organizations. Their remaining show dates are Aug. 14, 6 p.m.; and Aug. 19 and 26 and Sept. 2 at 5 p.m.
On the Net:
usawaterski.org
lakecityskiers.org[[In-content Ad]]
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