Cal Poly Water Ski Club to host 2009 NCWSA Championship

The Cal Poly Water Ski Club was recently awarded the host site for the 2009 National Collegiate Water Ski Association (NCWSA) National Championship, giving the reborn program further recognition in the national collegiate water ski arena.

“This is an excellent opportunity for us to continue to prove to the water ski community that we have what it takes to perform on a national level, both behind a boat as well as on the shore running an event,” club president Kyle Desautels said in a statement.

Amanda Wilson, the club’s coach and a recreation administration graduate, shares Desautels’ excitement.

“It’s a big deal for us to be able to host such a high-profile, large event,” she said. “It’s not like these events are planned over a weekend – you have to be a team willing to put in the work and prove yourself to the point that you get awarded the bid.

“This is really a great next step in terms of our club getting even more national recognition, which was started with our team placing so well in regional and national competitions.”

The event won’t take place in San Luis Obispo County, however, but rather at a two-lake site in Arvin, outside of Bakersfield.

“You have to have the facilities and personnel in order to be able to host more than 300 skiers coming from 22 teams from all across the U.S.,” said mechanical engineering senior Colin Gibbs, former club president. “This is truly a good opportunity to gain more exposure within the national water ski community, among prospective and non-college skiers, and to just gain more support for our club in general.”

The event will take place at Ironwood Ski Ranch from Oct. 24 to 29, 2009, and will entail everything from the actual competition to banquets, awards ceremonies, housing and feeding a hungrily competitive crowd of the best skiers from across the nation.

The 2008 National Collegiate Water Ski Association Championships will be hosted by Arizona State from Oct. 16 to 18.

The club at Cal Poly has made significant strides since its rebirth in 2003, due largely to the club’s no-pressure atmosphere as well as its openness to skiers of all experience levels.

“The fun and competitive aspects of the club are really one and the same,” remarked Wilson, a founder of the newly re-incarnated club and its president for much of the time leading up to her graduation. “The Water Ski Club gives anyone a chance to shine and have a lot of fun and is open to everyone. Many of our skiers started off with little to no experience and were on the all-star team by their second year.

“No one has to be an all-star, and everyone can contribute. We look to take advantage of the wide variety of talent that we have to work with.”

The club’s progression can be seen by its competition in the NCWSA Division II Championships in 2006 and the 2007 Division I Championships. More than 150 collegiate programs compete in the NCWSA nationwide, according to a club press release.

“Last season was our best, with our club getting third place or better at almost all the regional tournaments,” Gibbs said. “We placed third at regionals, and got to compete at the Division I nationals, which was like a dream come true. Things just keep getting better for us.”

“Our hosting the national championship is really a logical next step in the quick pace that our club has grown,” Wilson agreed. “From qualifying for, competing in, and now hosting the national championship, it’s really great to see our club develop so well along with the skiers that comprise it.”

The club is primarily funded through donations and fundraising, which is the club’s focus during the winter quarter offseason.

Fall and spring quarters are the club’s competition seasons, and tournaments consist of two-day events which include slalom, trick and jump categories.

During competitive seasons, the club practices four to five times a week at Lake Nacimiento in Paso Robles behind a 2005 Mastercraft Tournament Team 197 ski boat owned by alumni and maintained by the team.