A trail of water shoots into the air as a Ball State University student glides along the smooth lake water while effortlessly maneuvering around the buoys.
This student is one of the 15 that make up the Ball State water ski team. As often as possible, members of the team head out to the Muncie Water Bowl to practice skiing for their weekend tournaments or to teach newcomers how to water ski.
Despite putting in many practice hours and traveling to states such as Michigan and Ohio to compete against Big Ten schools, the team does not receive much recognition.
"There are so many different clubs on campus that it's hard for one to stick out," said James Vittetau, senior history major and water ski team president.
Vittetau, along with many other members of the team, have experience water skiing, but that is not the case with every person who joins.
According to Vittetau, this year the team taught two people how to slalom ski, using one ski rather than two.
Sarah Henry, a junior graphic design major, said she had heard about the water ski team at the activity fair her freshman year but did not think she would be able to join because she didn't know how to water ski.
This past summer she said she learned how to kneeboard and from there decided to learn how to water ski.
"I came out to practice with the team once or twice and they showed me how to do everything," she said. "It took quite a few attempts to get used to what I was doing, a few days to learn how to get up and not fall and a few weeks to get comfortable and stable on the water."
According to Henry, everyone on the team was patient and helpful in explaining what she needed to do.
The team spent numerous days at the Water Bowl, a private ski lake north of campus on Highway 3, practicing for its three pre-regional tournaments that took place in September.
Every tournament is hosted by a different school. but, throughout the past few years, it has become normal for Ball State to host the first tournament of the season, known as the Ball State Fling, in Van Wert, Ohio.
This year, the second tournament was hosted by Michigan State University in Gaines, Mich., and the third tournament took place in Hamilton, Ohio and was hosted by Miami University of Ohio.
Tournaments take up the whole weekend and are spent camping out rather than staying in a hotel. The team leaves on Friday and arrives at a campsite that can be located at, or a few minutes away from, the tournament area. Competition begins at 7:30 a.m. and lasts until about 6 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
Camping out gives teams a chance to socialize and make friends with people from other schools.
"My favorite part of being on the team is going to tournaments and meeting hundreds of new kids from all over the place," senior aquatics major Garret Jacobs said. "The tournaments are great. Everybody is fun. You get to ski all weekend and then just hang out with your friends the rest of the time."
According to Vittetau, there is still time this semester for people who want to go out and ski with the team, or even for those who want to learn how to ski.
"It's nice to get away from campus and to get out on the water and not have to worry about school," Vittetau said. "It's something different and you get to make new friends."
Additional information
Fees - $70 for joining the club at the beginning of the year. No fees for people interested in learning from the team for a week.
Equipment - The team is given money by the Sports Club Allocation Board every year that helps to pay for equipment.
Web site, http://bsuwaterski.iweb.bsu.edu or e-mails can be sent to bsuwaterski@bsu.edu.
Tournament basics
The team camps out instead of staying at a hotel.
Saturday competitions
Slalom: ski around a course with six buoys.
Once the speed reaches 36 mph, the line is shortened, the skier with the shortest line scores the most points.
Trick: skiers have 20 seconds to execute different tricks on a wakeboard or single trick ski.
A wakeboard is easier to use than a trick ski so its tricks are only worth half the points.
Sunday competitions
Jump: launch into the air via a ramp
Jumps are scored based on distance traveled: the more the better. Skiers must land the jump and maintain control of the rope.
The top 16 teams in the Great Plains (Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin) and Great Lakes (Indiana, Michigan and Ohio) conferences are the ones that qualify for the regional tournament. After regionals, top teams go to nationals, which will be held in Louisiana this year.
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