Water Ski May 1, 2015

So many ways to die, so little time to live. I try to make the best of my experience on this wonderful planet by enjoying a multitude of activities that often involve painful consequences or can lead to my last breath if I fail to use good judgment — namely surfing, skiing, skateboarding, calisthenics, and acrobatic air guitar on my neighbor’s trampoline. When I’m unsure of a potential hazard or unclear about the risks involved, I call on my good friend, Frank — my imaginary friend. I say, “Hey Frank, bada bing, bada boom, what do you think about this situation?” He’s usually there when I need him, although — to be honest — he’s let me down a few times. When Frank is there for me, he helps me…

Prior to competing in a major event, world slalom record-holder Nate Smith trusts Okeeheelee Park in West Palm Beach, Florida, as a premiere training site for a couple reasons. “It’s warm no matter what,” he says. Which is quite the contrary to his iced-over lake in McCordsville, Indiana, in late February. Even Orlando, by Smith’s standards, was “too cold for getting any quality sets on the water.” But there’s another reason why Okeeheelee is so special to him: Becky Lathrop. “Becky is like family to me. She opens up her house in the wintertime and allows me to stay and ski with her. As one of the world’s best drivers, I can always count on the boat being right down the middle.” Smith’s time in South Florida this winter has…

Canadian 3-eventer Stephen Collins was on the right path to challenge the world’s best skiers. Prior to 2014, he had tournament scores of 2 at 39 ½ off, an 8,000 point trick run, and a 217-foot jump. Then a jump accident in early 2014 at the Pan Am Games in Bogota, Colombia, changed all that, upending Collins’ life — but not his attitude. “We have a choice how we react to bad things,” he says. “I think about the things I can do instead of what I can’t.” His story hints at a bit of serendipitous bad luck. You see, Collins started skiing at age 6 with his dad, then tried his hand at tournaments and competitions before finally landing at the McClintock’s Ski School in Cambridge, Ontario, learning the…

“I always have to take a moment and visualize before I jump. I also have to put my left glove on before my right one before slalom – or I will have a bad pass! But I am a gymnast, which means I am a perfectionist, and that is hard to do with skiing.”— Genna Boeckmann “I insist on Elvis as my music. I wrap surgical tape between the knuckles on my middle and ring fingers on both hands. The last thing I put on is my vest. Then I step in my ski, front foot first. I drag my back foot because I don’t like rear boots. When I’m ready to go, I switch to a baseball-bat grip, put my right hand up and say, ‘Shoot it.’”— John Oakley…

Ahhhhh, spring! That special time of year when the days get longer, the water gets warmer and Midwestern collegiate skiers pack the team captain’s minivan, circus-clown style, and trek down south to get in some serious spring break turn and (sun) burn. Hitting the usual hot spots such as Bennett’s in Louisiana and Jack Travers and Lucky Lowe’s in Florida, committed student athletes know that spending spring break at a ski school is about more than just knees/trees/freeze and tall at the ball. It’s about all the little things they pick up along the way. Here are a few lessons that this year’s crop of skiing spring breakers learned: “Staying up all night, every night, and skiing four sets a day always seems to be the best idea.” – Kathryn…

For some graduates, collegiate skiing is the last hurrah. The real world can hit hard: college loans, trying to prove yourself worthy of career growth, family, debt galore, etc. Skiing gets pushed to the back burner, and your days at the lake are a fading memory. Such is not the case for senior UCLA skier Kirk Lee. This lucky boy’s post- graduation employment doesn’t consist of grueling days in a cubicle, but rather a familiar domain with a new twist. Lee was offered a stunt water-skier position in the Waterworld show at Universal Studios Hollywood. “I’m grateful to have a job that lets me do something I love,” Lee says. And Lee has added skills to his repertoire. One of his stunts showcases being shot off a Jet Ski launch.…