Skip Gilkerson

[Horton]

Skip Gilkerson, the legendary show skier and 1996 USA Water Ski Foundation Water Ski Hall of Fame inductee, passed away on Sunday, Oct. 25, succumbing to injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident on Oct. 7. He was 74 years old. For information on the Skip Gilkerson Memorial Party on Nov. 15,click here.

From his biography in the USA Water Ski Foundation’s Water Ski Hall of Fame:

 

You can call Skip Gilkerson a lot of things – show skier, slalom champion, judge, driver and pioneer, but one name stands above them all: "Mr. Show Skiing."

 

Skip was born to entertain crowds, and was a natural at it even from his auspicious beginnings on Indiana’s Lake Freeman. After returning from a family vacation in Florida where he watched the world famous Cypress Gardens Ski Show, Skip pleaded with his father, Babe, to give him a chance to ski. Armed with his mother Ann's clothesline for a rope and her broomstick for a handle, 6-year-old Skip got up quickly behind Babe's 10 horsepower aluminum fishing boat. During that first ride, Skip hit some wakes, lost a ski and kept going, slaloming around Freeman his first time on skis. The seed was firmly planted.

 

Skip's love for skiing consumed him. He learned to barefoot soon thereafter, in the same fashion. Without instruction and having seen barefooting only once, Skip made a step-off on one of his very first attempts. The 11-year-old soon realized he not only wanted to spend summers skiing on Lake Freeman, but to spend the rest of his life on top of the water.

 

Skip GilkersonThrough high school and college, Skip skied as often as he could in the chilly waters of the Midwest. Like all of the three-event greats before him – Alfredo Mendoza, Joe Cash, Barbara Cooper and others – Skip yearned to ski professionally, so he headed back to Cypress Gardens to fulfill his dream. His interview, during a college break, included a flawless barefoot run around a choppy Gardens show circle, and he was hired on the spot. Skip performed in a special show for Jordan's King Hussein the very same day.

 

In the summer of 1960, Skip defeated then "unbeatable" Warren Witherell in slalom at the Great Lakes Open, and later came within a buoy of the world slalom record. But it wasn't his slalom prowess that got him noticed. Word of Skip's show skiing mastery and the flair in which he performed acts quickly spread. Dick Rowe of Tommy Bartlett's Thrill Shows offered Skip a position at the Wisconsin Dells, Wis., theme park. After one summer, Skip was given the show director's position, which he held for 23 years.

 

During his tenure, Bartlett's show blossomed into the finest in the country. Skip incorporated many new acts and equipment into his shows, including show ski helicopter jumps, strap doubles and costume design. Skip is also credited for developing World's Fair and satellite ski shows for Bartlett, along with the Sea World of Ohio show.

 

Naturally, his work at the pro level trickled down to the amateur clubs. Skip was constantly called on to host instructional clinics for all skiing disciplines. In one year alone, Skip hosted three clinics in 11 states. Skip spread the gospel of skiing through his thousands of ski shows, hundreds of ski clinics and judge at every Show Ski National Championships. The Skip Gilkerson award is presented annually to the top male skier at the Show Ski Nationals.

 

Skip ended his Bartlett tenure at the calling of MasterCraft Boats’ owner Rob Shirley, one of Skip's former show skiers. Shirley enlisted Skip's help in the formation of the world's first cash-prize skiing series, the Coors Light International Water Ski Tour. As director of promotional activities for MasterCraft, Skip was instrumental in developing the tour's format, flow and legion of superstars.

 

He was the 35th inductee to the Water Ski Hall of Fame -- and the first show skier.

 

source http://www.usawaterski.org/default.asp?Display=2283

[Sean]

Skip seemed like a great guy, I only met him once when he was teaching show ski scoring and strategy, but he was super approachable and friendly.

[Mateo_Vargas]

I first met Skip at the Collegiate Nationals, I think it was '91. A guy on our team had spray painted "MasterCrapht" on the bottom of his trick ski and he stood up his conservative 1 pass trick run so on the way back he could do his crowd pleasing tumbleturn. A local reporter got a picture which totally showed the bottom of the ski and the paper printed it the next morning. That day we heard a guy from MasterCraft was looking for him and didn't know what to think. Skip and his orange hat finally tracked him down and he said he loved it! He also said he had something for him and asked him to come over to his car so I tagged along. Skip gave him a MasterCraft hat and I got one too for being in the right place at the right time. I've owned 15 MasterCrafts since then so got to meet Skip again at events during that time. He was a great ambassador for towed water sports and will be missed.

[EFW]

Does anyone know the particulars of the exact accident scenario? ( how it evolved )

[Edbrazil]

This is posted on the new: www.skipgilkerson.com website. Sounds like an accident where

there was no driver at fault.

 

On October 7th, at the age of 74 Skip was riding his motorcycle when hit by a deer causing him to crash and lay down his bike. He was then hit by a silverado pick up truck that was heading the opposite direction.

[Horton]

F***ING terrible

[EFW]

A stupid ass deer. Not surprising. All the hours I've been in the woods and not a once did I ever come even remotely close to hitting one. Get out on the street and its like a game they play trying to jump in front of you. I read that deer are the most deadliest animal in North America. That's too bad.