KELLNER, Wis. (WSAU) — A central Wisconsin water ski show team is preparing to host the best teams in the world later this year. The Wisconsin Rapids Aqua Skiers is used to performing at Red Sands Beach on Lake Wazeecha near Kellner every summer, and they also host the state championship ski show every summer. Team member Taylor Christianson says they are preparing for another big show September 9th through the 11th. She says the Aqua Skiers successfully won the bid to host the World Water Ski Show Tournament.
Christianson says there are teams committed to appear at Lake Wazeecha already. “Each team will ski one show each day, so there will be five shows each day. We have China. We have Belgium. We have Canada, U.S, and Australia.”
An event like the state competition and this World Water Ski Show Tournament bring a lot of people to the Wisconsin Rapids area. Christianson says the team is getting some help as they prepare. “The biggest people that have been helping us with the World Tournament is the Wisconsin Rapids Visitor’s Bureau, and they are extremely excited that we are bringing this back, and also the local hotels, because they will be full again. It’s very exciting for our community, being a smaller community, to host such a large event.”
Christianson says the Aqua Skiers performers, family members, and volunteers put in a lot of hours getting ready for the summer events. “We have the team committee that meets. We have a Wisconsin State Tournament committee, and then we also have a World’s Committee, and a lot of people are on all three, which becomes very, very busy… especially this year with addition of the World’s (event).”
She says Wisconsin has the highest concentration of water ski show teams in the world, even though the summer skiing season is barely over three months long with comfortable water temperatures. Many of the performers work year around on land before taking routines to the water, and they spend winters preparing the next season’s costumes and shows.
The World Water Ski Show Tournament is held every other year. The most recent two were hosted by Janesville, Wisconsin.
For the World tournament, each team is limited to 35 participants and five alternates. This number is consisted of skiers, boat drivers, announcers and show directors. Each team has one hour to perform a theatrical production featuring all disciplines of waterskiing. Spectators can expect to see bare footers, jumpers, wakeboards, sky skis, shoe skis, trick skis, ballet lines, swivel, pyramids and maybe even snow skis from Canada. Judges score acts in the performance based on originality, presentation and execution.
Lake Wazeecha’s Red Sand Beach is at South Wood County Park in Kellner, between Wisconsin Rapids and Plover.
(Listen to our interview with Taylor Christianson on our website, here.)
