Several weeks ago I attended the Masters in Callaway Gardens. It was a big, brash, as good as it gets tournament. Elite athletes, large scale vendors and huge crowds.  While this past weekend I attended and worked our State Championships. What a difference in style, format, and attendance.

     The Masters was a huge undertaking with many organizations sharing the work load. Meanwhile our State Championships was run by individual volunteers and one host club. And while we had our share of glitches, overall it was a fairly well run tournament. We had over one hundred total pulls on Saturday for all three events. 

     We had three different ski boats, all personally owned but loaned out for the tournament.  A Malibu Response, a Mastercraft 197, and a Ski Nautique 196. For these owners to loan their boats out shows a lot about the character of tournaments skiers.  The effort put forth by the volunteers was tremendous and without their dedication to the sport these type tournaments could never happen. 

     The site had to be prepared, scoring computers set up, new course buoys installed, and just the athlete registration is a task in itself. Judges, officials and drivers had to be brought in as well. Several residents around the lake opened up their homes to allow some of them to stay on site. Food had to be brought in, tables and chairs, tents for sun shelter, port-a-lets, even a snack trailer was commandeered by someone. Over one hundred gallons of fuel had to be trucked in.

     Just surveying and setting up the jump course required hours and dedicated workers without whose efforts it would be just another practice session. Close to a mile of wire and cables were run for the various course cameras and computers. All of which had to be dismantled after the tournament.

     The host lake was privately owned and the owner was gracious enough to allow use of his facility’s by all.  NSL was included in the format as well to give everyone a chance to ski in the State  Championships.  What is awe inspiring is that this same scenario is played out somewhere all over the world on any given weekend.

     The amount of enthusiasm for this sport is staggering considering many have written it off as a sport without an audience or market. And while these local tournaments were never meant to be money makers they can produce enough revenue to cover expenses and provide the host with a little spending money. Knowing full well that every dime will be put back into the ski site anyway.

     Pro tournaments are completely different altogether. Without sponsors to offset the cost the first buoy would never be run. And while Pro Skiers would still ski slalom courses and jump distances, they would never be able to travel as extensively as they do now without sponsors and the prospect of some prize money.  Hopefully water skiing can regain the stature it once held and again be a heavily promoted sport. Bringing back the Pro Tour is a tremendous step in that direction.

     Putting Pro tournaments aside however, if you take the number of skiers at our State Championships and multiply that by the number of local tournaments held world wide, the number of participants at the amateur level is staggering, the amount of enthusiasm undeniable and the potential for marketing untapped.

     We can only hope that those that can make a difference will start to notice.


 
Gordon Slingerland

Gordon is a regular contributor and can be found carving buoys in his spare time.

Post your comments on the discussion board.

If you would like to contribute something to On The Platform Click Here and include your subject of interest.

BACK

		Contact
Terms of Use		Advertise on Aquaskier		Privacy Policy