SCHOOL FOR LIFE: FlowPointTV S2 E8

[Horton]

[Stevie Boy]

I think Marcus has a very good point to make here, when you can create a atmosphere with so many young people not only enjoying the sport of water skiing, but having a great time hanging out with friends, it has got to be the way to go for the future of our sport, perhaps some of the big events should be held at these lake to further fuel the enthusiasm for the sport.

[Bulldog]

@MarcusBrown nailed it again!!! His message is always right on the mark, life on the water is always good. Thank you again for your incredible work.

[Glock]

I can speak from personal experience that the waterski club at Michigan State University changed my entire college experience and life. I was a recreational skier who only skiied with friends whose parents had a boat and was pretty proud of putting up a big spray before I found the club. I still remember my first time out was with Kevin Bishop and a couple of other guys. I free skied a bit, got into the boat, and was pretty proud of my spray. I asked them how my spray was and I think Kevin almost fell out of the boat he was laughing so hard. Needless to say, they taught me to ski the course which began my full blown addiction to the sport.

 

Marcus's video is spot on that collegiate waterskiing is a crucial piece to the future success of our sport. If I had not gone out for the club at MSU, I would probably not own a boat, or buy a new ski every other year, or be getting my two kids into the sport. What can we do to help encourage the sport at the collegiate level?

 

I now live in Oregon and as far as I know, there are not any collegiate waterski clubs in Oregon. This was such a great experience for me that I would love to help any of the schools, Portland State, OSU, or U of O get something going.

[dbressel]

I have a 14 year old freshman H.S. student and this will be required viewing. Very Cool! Thanks Marcus.

[jhughes]

I don't have many regrets in life but if I could roll back the clock I WISH I would have known how to ski in college and been on a ski team. Had no idea at the time. I think I was about 25 the first time I made a full pass in course.

[ToddL]

@MattL!

[DooSPX]

Great video! Thank you @MarcusBrown ! Really wish my college had a Ski team. The guy that taught me to ski and who I boat my boat from was a coach at VT.

[jimbrake]

My oldest son is a freshman at UC Santa Barbara where they don't currently have a waterski team because of an unfortunate incident a few years ago at a tournament. The team was shut down after the incident (don't ask, I know nothing of the incident - just that it happened) for a period of 3 or 4 years. I sent the link to the Flowpoint episode to my son and it prompted him to contact the NCWSA Western Regional rep who said they would try to help him get a team restarted. Hopefully it works out because he loves to ski (has been competing since he was 7) and was really hoping to ski in college. I skied for CSU Chico back in the early '80s and had a blast. It's just cool that Marcus put this episode together, because it really is one of waterskiing's best growth areas and more people need to know about it.

[h2onhk]

very cool indeed....this would have been fun to be a part of back in college. Especially now with technology like social media and drones/GoPros etc.

[Broussard]

@jimbrake I just restarted a team at LSU which was shut down in 2012 after an incident at a tournament. It is a lot of work, but definitely rewarding and worth it.

[ToddL]

I love how @MarcusBrown 's video contains ample footage of skiers who are falling or trying hard, but not yet skilled. Even better, the video footage, scene cuts, background music, etc. makes those scenes look cool, fun, extreme, and exciting!!! Nicely done!!!

[jimbrake]

@Broussard - that is excellent. If need be could I have my son contact you for information, ideas, etc? I know each school is unique, but I'm sure you have some valuable insight and the LSU case could be an example for him to show his school's decision makers.

[ALPJr]

Are there any eastern region schools with ski teams/clubs?

[Broussard]

@ALPJr None are currently registered with USA Water Ski

[DooSPX]

VT used to have one back in the day... sadly it seems that most schools now do not have a ski team. My guess is money, and rather put it toward football...

[BrennanKMN]

@jhughes

I was about to come and comment the exact same thing. I wish I attended a school that had a ski team. Life got in the way of life on that one.

 

This video is amazing. Really gets the point across. Most of us skiers already know this information, what we need to do is get this video into the hands of those that don't. Quite honestly, it could be game changing for the sport.

[lakeaustinskier]

Great video and very well done. I wish I had been on the ski team at Texas.

 

I'm sure there are more knowledgeable people that can comment but I'm actually surprised that more schools don't sponsor a waterski team and give scholarships. @DooSPX if you want to offset football that might be an option. Seems like a win win for everyone. I hope I haven't opened up a can off worms here............

[Broussard]

@lakeaustinskier What incentives are there for a school to divert money from their football program to a water ski team? I'm all ears.

[kingshredd]

I really enjoyed watching this episode, showing not only the competition but the fun to be had with watersking, makes me hope that my kids as they attend college will look at joining the ski team or club. Great job @MarcusBrown!

[ToddL]

@jimbrake - just FYI:

http://www.ncwsa.com/index.php/start-a-team.html

 

@ALPJr

http://www.ncwsa.com/index.php/eastern-region.html

http://www.ncwsa.com/index.php/results.html (look for the "E" in the 4th column for the top teams in the Eastern region.

See also: https://www.facebook.com/thencwsa/?fref=ts

[Broussard]

@ToddL I believe he was referring to the regular Eastern Region, and not the collegiate Eastern Region.

 

@ALPJr AWSA and NCWSA regions do not correspond directly. There is no "Southern Region" in NCWSA

[gregy]

@Broussard @jimbrake

I got involved in competitive water skiing during college, back in the 80s also. I had skied since a young child but never had access to a competition environment until college. I went to University of Texas, when it comes to money it has more than most. However our team at the time was setup as a club and almost entirely self funded and ran by the members. We received some travel expenses etc but it didn't amount to much. Most of the funding came from membership dues which if I remember was less than $200 a semester. We used member's boats. The team has a boat now. Not sure how they are paying for it. @toddl might know more.

 

As I remember we had to come up with a budget and submit to the university for funds. We had some kind of a representative with the university. I sure a lot of schools have money set aside in there budgets for clubs. Just have to state your case for a share of it. I'm sure the NCWSA is the best source for info.

 

@Broussard LSU was our nemesis to getting to Nationals. We traded back and forth while I was on the team. There was only 1 spot after La Monroe to get to nationals. Not like is today.

[ToddL]

FWIW, the first team boat for the University of Texas was purchased and owned by a separate LLC created by a former school of business graduate so as to insulate the asset from some university regulations regarding club assets of significant value. As far as I know, their current boat (their 3rd since the LLC was established in the early nineties) is likely sheltered that way still. IIRC, the boat was financed and the monthly cost of the loan was factored into the team member dues. I believe the semester dues have gone up near $400/semester, to cover boat, lake lease, and operational expenses.

[BCM]

I skied for Cal Poly 04-08. Joining the team was the best decision I made. The eligibility requirements kept me from dropping out of school (I was really close, even took some time off). By the end I had good enough grades to get a fully funded stipend for a MS (salary and tuition) which led to a PhD (fully funded). Collegiate skiing took my career path from laborer to doctor. I am now a member at a 3-event site and will be buying my first practice boat shortly (in a few weeks). I also went from a recreational -15 skier to -35 and from never jumped to 108ft in the 4 years.

 

Getting funding from the school is nice, but not necessary. In the 4 years I skied we went from a team of a handful of people (some could run a pass) to a team that qualified for D1 Nationals. All with no funding from the school (we may have received a little funding at the very end). We organized fundraisers and created budgets that allowed us to grow. It was an incredible experience. It was a lot of work. My life was class and waterski team.

 

I am a little biased, but I believe the collegiate skiers are the future of our sport. AWSA gained a life member when I joined NCWSA.

[ToddL]

Maybe a little off topic, but @BCM said, "AWSA gained a life member when I joined NCWSA."

 

What if AWSA provided a discounted life membership to NCWSA members if they sign up while in college or within 12 months of graduation? Or maybe offer an incentive program of discounted annual memberships for as long as the member participates in a sanctioned event at minimum of every 3 years. Just trying to think of ways to encourage continued participation into AWSA after graduation.

[jimbrake]

@BCM - very cool story. It's amazing that involvement in a water ski team in college could help a kid to stay in school and lead to better things in life for that kid. Power of the sport. I see you ski now at Mint Lake. Took a practice set there when we were at Regionals this last summer. I loved the way that lake skied. Really nice and in such a beautiful location. Good on ya, mate.

[rab]

@jimbrake one last comment for your son. If he is unable to get other students at his school interested in a water ski team he can still compete as the solo member of his team. I have done that in the past and in the midwest we get a lot of community college skiers that ski as the only member of their team before transferring to a school with a team. Once he is at the tournament he won't feel alone, all the teams are welcoming to new people.

[MattP]

@jimbrake I will echo the same as @rab. I skied with a small team for a few years and solo for a few. The teams were very welcoming and I never felt like I was apart of a 1 man team. Everyone was there to be together and have a good time with some skiing.

[jimbrake]

@rab and @mattp - thanks. That's what others have told him as well, so he's thinking he'll do that this spring while he's in the process of trying to get a team together.

[matt_b]

Awesome video Marcus, I think all skiers should watch this and remember why they got into skiing, Because it was fun. I live on a ski lake and I wonder how many of the folks here really remember to have fun instead of just chasing buoy's. Collegiate skiing is Great !

[BCM]

@jimbrake - It is a great site. After bouncing around the country (CA, ID, VA and now WA) I landed a job in WA and live a few miles from the lake. Couldn't ask for much more.