HISTORY:

The Illini Waterski & Wakeboard Club at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was founded in 1997 by a small group of skiers wishing to compete at the collegiate level. Since then, Illinois students have constantly strived to make the club better by assuring ski sites, purchasing equipment and building a huge sense of team unity. The club skied at its first Nationals tournament in 2003.

WATERSKI SITUATION:

We do not have our own boat yet, but PITS Waterski club in Decatur lets us ski behind their Malibu at their private 3-event lake. Their lake is 45 minutes away and has a regulation ramp and slalom course which they also allow us to use. Additionally, this year, we will have a team member's boat on campus for frequent trips to closer-by Lake Clinton or Mattoon before/after class during the week and weekends.

TOURNAMENTS:

Anybody is welcome to participate in the collegiate tournaments. There are a few in April and May, but the main ones are in Sept, followed by Regionals and Nationals. Midwest collegiate tourneys are catered to both beginners and experienced skiers. You can compete in slalom, trick, and or jump. You will find many other students from other schools attempting the slalom course or jump ramp for their first time at a tournament. 5 men and 5 women compete in each of the 3 events. If you can round a single slalom buoy, stand up on a wakeboard or trick ski(s), and have the courage to go over the ramp, you can help the club!

SOCIAL:

Though we don't ski year-round, the club is active throughout the off-season. Ski team get-togethers, parties, intramural sports, and road trips help make this club a tight-knit group of friends that return year after year (even as alum's). Last year, 16 members went to Bennett's Ski School in Louisiana for spring break instruction and partying, this year we will be going to Cory Pickos' in Florida!

USA WATERSKI/AWSA MEMBERSHIP:

For liability purposes, you must be a member of USA Waterski to practice at PITS or compete. We will provide all forms necessary to join AWSA to ski team members, but if you are so inclined to get your membership to AWSA all by yourself, call 1-800-533-AWSA. We are eligible for a team discount that makes membership only $25 per person per calendar year. It includes insurance (million dollar club liability and secondary personal insurance) and some other minor benefits.

MEMBERSHIP:

A mass meeting will be held in the Student Union concerning membership information and signup. Current members will also be at a table during Quad Day when school starts. Look for us there, or send an email to exec@illiniwaterski.com to be sure to get on our mailing list and be invited to the mass meeting.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

As the former webmaster for this club, I'm delighted to find you've stumbled upon our website. In this page you will find answers to the many questions you may have about joining the club. I encourage you to email the club exec@illiniwaterski.com or myself baurhyte@uiuc.edu to subcribe to a new member e-mail list to stay up-to-date with special information concerning new membership. Also, please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any other questions; we're glad to talk with you!

Thanks-Glen Baurhyte, Recruitment/Publicity/Sponsorship

When are tryouts and why do you have them?

Normally, we host tryouts the first Sunday of September (unless it's Labor Day) to determine who will ski in the tournaments for the fall season (our main competition season). We do tryouts to help decide who will ski on the 'A' team, and who will start on the 'B' team. The tryouts are a way for us to determine the running order for the top 5 skiers for each event in the Men's and Women's division. At the conventional tournaments, there are 3 events: slalom, trick and jump. So, potentially the club can take 30 skiers for the A team, 15 guys and 15 girls. Of course, there are some skiers that qualify for two or all three events.

Learn more information from some of our members' interviews! Thanks Abby, Kerri, Jessica, Jeff, Adam, Jeremy, and Matt!

The following videos can be downloaded/streamed with newest version of Microsoft Media Player.