Malibu open not in Milwaukee again this year

[SkiOrDie]

Saw that the city of Milwaukee wouldn't issue a permit for the Malibu Open again this year due to the concern of another algae bloom. Disappointed that this is leaving the Midwest once again and I presume that it will be challenging to get a permit in future years too due to this fear. Loved that site in the city.

[BraceMaker]

Ya this sucks

[lpskier]

It will be at Trophy Lakes. I hear that it wasn’t that they wouldn’t issue a permit, but that they wouldn’t guarantee not to revoke it at the last minute if there was an algae bloom. Either way, it’s Milwaukee’s loss and Trophy’s gain.

[Chad_Scott]

The event is returning to Trophy Lakes and looking forward to this years event. The county parks in Milwaukee has refused to issue a permit due to the lack of a plan to address the issue with regards to the algae. Veterans park is a great venue and we hope to have an opportunity to return. However at this point it is in the hands of the county to address the issue in the lagoon

[Chad_Scott]

Very thankful that Trophy Lakes has welcomed us back. There’s a great crew with Adam and Kim Bryant. Looking forward to building on last years success.

[JWebSki]

Will there be a jump event?

[Chad_Scott]

Yes!!!

[foxriverat]

Bummer for all of us in the Midwest who look forward to this tournament. Have they thought about changing the date when there's less chance of algae bloom.

[Horton]

It really is a shame. That Milwaukee site is a great public access venue for a pro event.

[fu_man]

The public access to the Milwaukee venue was awesome.

 

I am not sure where all the college teams' ski site are. However, if there are some sites on/close to campus they should hold pro events there. Get the ski teams involved and market the event to the college kids. Cheap food, beer, a day by the lake watching the event. Young beau-hunks in trunks and ladies in bikinis....sounds like fun. Might draw a crowd of primarily young people that would help introduce them to the sport.

 

 

[UWSkier]

@fu_man the colleges mostly ski open water sites. There are only two actual "ski lakes" in SE WI. One is Dr. Evil's place, and the other is Still Water, which isn't spectator-friendly.

 

I still say we take up a collection to air-drop in a few pallets of pool shock in the cover of night. I don't live in WI anymore but was really looking forward to flying back for this event this summer.

[fu_man]

OK maybe not in Wisconsin....but I guess I was thinking any campus that has a ski team. Moving pro tournaments from out-of-the-way private ski lakes with little public access to more conspicuous public venues is a step worth pursuing. (No offense intended to Trophy Lakes....I don't know anything about their site.)

[Orlando76]

Well that makes it almost feasible for me to spectate. What’re the dates?

[Orlando76]

Oh I see, dates are Aug 17. My wife will be 8.5 months pregnant. Going to trophy lakes will fly like a lead balloon. Hopefully next year!

[BraceMaker]

@fu_man not sure what Midwest school has real site access maybe Iowa State? Did Purdue keep access to that lake or has that been developed? Seems most college team use sites 45 to an hour from their campus.

[ALPJr]

Hope the MO makes it back to Milwaukee some day. The pro tour events I attended back in the 90's in or very near to Phila, Hartford and the Bay Area made it real easy to tie in some other fun in the cities - a show, ball game or other attractions.

[RazorRoss3]

Yeah, if you’re looking for private water on campus you’re dreaming as far as Midwest college teams are concerned. Maybe possible to do something with the Iowa river I’m iowa city but that things so gross the skiers wouldn’t want to get in

[aupatking]

As much as Trophy Lakes has welcomed this tournament, and brought them in on short notice, I’d think that maybe that should be the home of that tournament.

I know we need them (Public venues with good normal folk turnout) but if they won’t issue a permit, it doesn’t feel like they value us at all. Leave it to government to get nothing accomplished.

I know the schedules are pretty full but, like @foxriverat asked, any possibility of moving to an earlier date?

[BraceMaker]

That veterans park lagoon however hosts all sorts of pedal boat stuff all year long where you can rent boats and putz along the lagoon - the real home run would be if some organization could have more clinics or disabled skiing or similar running on a lake like that in cooperation with the park districts in major cities. That's dreaming too.

[Chad_Scott]

Veterans park lagoon was still frozen when we began discussions about the event. The real issue is that they do not have a plan to address the algae issue. My guess is that the lake has had this algae since our first event. Just happens last year the college texted the lake as a project. They consulted the EPA with the findings. And that was all she wrote. The lagoon gets runoff water from all around the area The nutrients continue to feed the algae. I agree and don’t know how they can still allow the paddle boat but I am not in charge.

 

Trophy lakes is a great venue and would be a great place to make the home of the Malibu Open. So all those that wish to see it stay at trophy lakes and can get to the event. Bring your butts to the lake. Sponsors want to see people they do not want to put up money for a tournament that does not bring asses to the shores. So show up. Bring your families and make a weekend of it. Charleston is a great town.

 

The Midwest always showed up and supported the event even when the weather was bad. Milwaukee is a great place. We actually had planned on trying to have two separate events this year with one of them already planned at Trophy Lakes. So we are always looking for great places to showcase these skiers. But again people have to show up to keep sponsors interested.

[Stevie Boy]

I aam really surprised, Algae Bloom is not that difficult to deal with, they should at least give the straw bales approach a go this year to prove it will be OK next year.

Every year we put about 70 barley straw bales semi submerged around the perimeter of our lake, the Algae Bloom has never returned since we have done this, been around 7 or 8 years now.

[Lieutenant Dan]

@Chad_Scott If Malibu is looking for a great Midwestern location for this event I’d suggest that they check out Voice of America Metropark in West Chester, OH (a northern suburb of Cincinnati). VOA Lake has hosted a number of Watersports events such as the Junior Nationals and professional Wakeboard tour events. My understanding is that one of our local skiers had a hand in assisting Westchester in designing this lake just for this purpose. It is a public park with loads of parking and open lakeshore for spectators as well as area for vendor displays etc. you can check it out here:

 

https://www.yourmetroparks.net/parks/voice-of-america-metropark

[DW]

Good that Trophy Lakes took over in a time of need, but if the sport or waterskiing is interested in growth, great events like this should seriously consider going to places where one would draw a new or different spectator demographic. Attendees of events at a traditional 3 event lake are pretty much existing customers. It can become a balancing act of pleasing a spectator v. pleasing the competitor. That priority can also shift depending on the state of the sport, the legacy of the event, etc.

[Wish]

@DW. not sure if you know but Trophy Lakes is pretty public. They have festivals there during the year as well as a cable park. I was there when a festival was happening to the toon of thousands over the weekend that I'm sure had never seen skiing before. I personally have never had so many folks on the shore watching me ski. Makes it suck a little more when you fall. So Trophy is prime for this if any tournament is scheduled along side a festival. In the vid, skip ahead to 2:16 you will see the festival we were able to enjoy. They even had helicopter rides to enjoy the view of the skiing.

..

There's an event coming up soon that is all about water sports. :)

 

Johns Island Water Festival is a premier water and land festival located at Trophy Lakes, Johns Island. Come out and enjoy an array of watersports, the best gourmet food trucks in Charleston and live entertainment to please the entire family. Admission is $10 and includes access to all free activities. ATMs will be on site. Bring the entire family, pets, a chair, and a towel. Please no coolers. For more info visit