Paul Boel

[MISkier]

Paul Boel passed away this morning. He was 98. He had a tremendous passion for water skiing and a great influence on Michigan water skiing. I ski at one of the sites he built and our club (which was his club) continues to benefit from his dedication to the sport.

 

Below is from the writeup for his 2016 Award of Distinction from the USA Water Ski and Wake Sports Foundation:

 

Involved in water skiing since 1956, Paul Boel was a pioneer in our sport. As one of the original organizers of the Michigan Water Ski Association, Paul developed the private Tivoli Gardens Lake site in the early 1960s and has been hosting major water ski events there for more than 50 years. Besides local, collegiate, state and professional tournaments, Paul hosted the 1976 Midwest Regionals and the 1978 Nationals, which saw more than 28,000 spectators. It was the largest number of spectators to ever attend a National Championship. Paul was the Men 6 National jumping champion in 1991 and Men 10 National jumping champion in 2006. He also was the first Senior Men competitor to jump 100 feet. Paul was inducted into the Michigan Water Ski Association's Hall of Fame in 1987 and was an active long-time financial supporter and board of trustee for the USA Water Ski Foundation.

[klindy]

Paul was a great guy! My time with goes all the way back into the early 80s. He was always fun to be around and he loved to jump!!

[VONMAN]

Sorry to hear that. He would come over from time to time (Dixboro Ski Club) have beer and the stories he would tell about the past. Not to mention the knowledge he had about the sport and what he gave to his love of Water Skiing.

[aupatking]

I’m happy to have skied at one of his sites, Tivoli Gardens, and have to say, it’s still the most naturally beautiful site I’ve ever skied at. The only word I have to describe the place is “Mystic”. It always astonishes me to find out about these great people who, on opposite sides of the country, have impacted and influenced my skiing life.

My prayers are with his family

[WIRiverRat]

Back in college Paul let us host two tournaments a year at Tivoli. His only requirement for that was we had to bring him a six pack of beer (nothing domestic) and we had to drink it with him when we were done skiing, he never charged us a dime for all that skiing. Great guy with a ton of great stories.