ROCK ISLAND, Ill. -ÊWhen a sports team competes in a tournament, each member must put on their best game face and give it their all more than ever before.

Sunday, the Lake City Skiers did just that to place fourth at the 2002 Master Craft Division II National Ski Tournament at Rock Island, Ill.

"I think it went real well. I think we peaked like we should at nationals. We had the best show we had all year," said show director Kevin Hayes after the team competed Sunday, before the winners were announced.

"I think the team really pulled together," he said. "The show went pretty smooth."

"I think we did really good," said skier Erika Rainwater. "Our team spirit was up really high."

Skier Jakim Wilson said, "I was very happy. We put on the best show we could do and had a great time doing it."

"It was good," said skier Keaton Patrick. "A lot of fun. I thought the flow was really good. Everyone came together. I think the whole show is strong overall."

Lake City Skiers earned a score of 1,517; Muskego Waterbugs placed third with a score of 1,551; Five Seasons, second, 1,800; and Waterboard Warriors received 1,805 points for first place. Both Five Seasons and Waterboard Warriors competed in Division I at their respective regional competitions but chose to move to Division II for national competition.

The seven teams came from six different states to compete at nationals. Each team has 1-1/2 hours to set up, perform 14 or more acts and then tear down. A panel of seven judges gives scores to the teams based on flow, execution, difficulty, originality and audience appeal. The skill of the boat drivers and the announcers and safety factors are taken into account.

Lake City Skiers club president Randy Patrick said, "I think our showmanship came up a notch. If there was a spirit award, I think we'd get that." Except for a few acts in the show, he said, the team had a good show. Everyone pulled together and worked hard. "The team spirit was there."

"Overall, we did above average," said skier Jeff Estes. "I think the team's come a long way." Compared to the ski team's performance at regionals last year, Estes said, the team is "100 percent" better.

There are some weak areas the team needs to continue to work on, but if the team keeps improving as much as they have, Estes said, they'll be a top-notch team.

"Our skiing talent is top-notch. We have more talent than any other team here," said Estes. What the team needs to continue to work on, he said, is their stage act and fillers. The club is young, so the small parts of the show will come together in time.

"With our advance tricks, no one can compete with us." The jump act, Estes said, is just "miles ahead of other jump acts."

Everyone on the team had a good time at nationals and it was a good learning experience, he said. It's a great sport for a lot of young kids and it gives them a goal to work toward. Show skiing is good for all family members and the team has to work together to be successful, he said.

"It is water skiing. It is a sport," but young kids can learn from it and take those lessons and put them to use later in life. It also gives them valuable confidence, he said, so they'll not be afraid to be in front of others.

Jakim said having Estes back, after being off for most of the season with a back injury, helped the team because he motivates the team, he's a great skier and he spent time with some of the skiers Saturday to help "polish things up so we could be a national ski team."

"I think all of us came together. There were some falls that shouldn't have happened," said skier Chris Wilson, but, as in life, sometimes things don't go as planned. The team did better than last year. A highlight was when both the barefoot pyramids made it, and, he said, "Mike (Wilson) did a really good job on the stage. We had better skiing days, but, overall, things went pretty good."

Dee Patrick, who shares announcing duties with Mike, said, "I thought Mike did a very good job. He's getting more confident. His win last week (at the Michigan invitational) did a lot for his confidence."

What made the job easier, she said, was the good show the skiers put on. "When they do as well as they did today, it really helps with the announcing."

Mike said he thought the show went "pretty good. We could have done a little better. The skiing was really good." When the skiing goes well, he agreed it makes his job of announcing easier.

Skier Chuck McLaughlin said the strong point of the show was the opening act. "We've got a killer opener. I think we should keep that for next year, too."

The opening act includes a six-man barefoot run, a jump over another skier barefooting at 39 miles per hour and the air chair flip.

Rainwater agreed the opening act was strong "because it pumps you up. It gets the crowd going and that gets us going."

A vital part of any good ski show is the dock worker.

"Our dock was running smooth today," said Randy. "Joan (Santa Maria) is the hardest worker on our team. She gives 110 percent."

Randy said the boat driving was solid and the ballet line performed very well. "They were solid. They stayed together well all the way to the stage."

Angela Wilson, a member of the ballet line, said, "(The team) did awesome and the ballet line kicked butt!"

"The team's strong point was our ballet line. The girls in our ballet line worked hard all year long to get along and it paid off," said Jakim.

In addition to the team show ski competition, several Lake City Skiers competed in individuals Saturday.

"We're real proud of the individuals. They worked hard and did a good job," said Randy.

Tracey Patrick placed first in swivel competition with a total score of 16.48, with Erika Rainwater placing 10th. The Lake City Skiers jump team of Gary Hawblitzel, Estes and Chris Wilson won first in the jump competition with a score of 81.20, more than 14 points more than the second place team.

"I was certainly glad to see Tracey Patrick win first in individual swivel competition and our jump team place first," said Hawblitzel. "We certainly executed the jumps we wanted to execute."

Tracey said, "It felt awesome and I couldn't have done it without the support of my husband, the boat driver and my family." She said she thanks God for giving her the ability to swivel ski and the team for "really encouraging me, it really pumps me up. ... As many good competitors as we have here, I'm very happy with my performance."

The team's season this year, and the tournaments, should help the team tremendously next year, Hayes said. "It built a lot of confidence. The team came together and they'll come together next year. It doesn't sound like we're going to lose anybody."

Randy said, "The experience is good. It makes the team grow." The season and the tournament participation will help team members not only learn to be prepared, but learn to be winners.

McLaughlin said all the other show ski teams are watching the Lake City Skiers because the team is an up-and-coming team and the other teams recognize that.

Next year, said skier Kim Love, the goal will be "to do even better, ... to get along all the time, to just work together." The team will be able to accomplish that, she said, because the team knows how to put on a good show by being in their spots at the right time and they know what they're supposed to do.

"To just keep improving," said Rainwater of the team's goal for next year. "We've been improving for how many years now? We need to just keep going higher, not lower."

Hawblitzel said, "We'll definitely go back and evaluate the positives so we can keep building on that and examine the things that didn't go well and improve on that."

The competition, skier Mark Skibowski said, "is really building us up for next year." From here, the team can only grow and get better.

Skier Ginger Shriver summed up the weekend at nationals by saying, "We pulled together as a team and performed to the best of our ability. Go Lake City (Skiers)!"

Remaining home shows for the Lake City Skiers include Aug. 18, Aug. 25 and Sept. 1 at Hidden Lake, Ind. 15, behind Smith Tire, at 5 p.m. The Aug. 11 show was canceled so the team can attend and watch division I nationals in Wisconsin. For more information, visit the team's Web site at www.homier.com/~lcskiers [[In-content Ad]]