The Chico State Waterski Club is full of youth and excitement this spring. New members are still being added to the club, as they approach roughly 40 members.
This year’s club has many new members with many having little experience skiing. Most are freshman and expect to be the future of Chico State Waterski.
“I grew up skiing and started when I was 8-years-old. I hated it and it wasn’t until I was 13 that I decided I want to do this in college,” said Sydney Maybee, a junior on the waterski club.
Chico State’s waterski team has been around since 1978. The club participates in competition in both fall and spring semesters. The fall semester contains more team based competitions while the spring semester is more about individual competitions.
The club competes in the USA Waterski West Region where the team currently ranks No. 7 in the conference. The top five teams in the conference get the opportunity to compete for nationals.
The overall ranking in the conference is judged based on three events each team competes in: slalom, trick and jump.
Slalom is an event in which the skier must go around buoys in an obstacle format while getting a fast time. In the trick event, the skier is given two 20-second runs to perform a variety of tricks. The jump event is all about distance. The skier must go off a five-foot ramp trying to get the furthest distance possible.
At the competitions, there is officially rated boat drivers provided to the team so that there is no competitive advantage for any team. Competitions for the West Region usually comprise of nine teams.
The first competition for the spring semester takes place on March 23. The club has been practicing five times a week in preparation. Competitions take place rain or shine in waterski.
Practice goes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The club practices on an alumni’s own personal lake located off Dayton Road. Each skier goes whenever they are available during these times throughout the week.
There is no experience required to join the waterski club. In joining the club, there are required fees that pay for boat gas and other items to support the club.
For more information on the Chico State Waterski Club, including how to join, contact them through their page on Facebook.
Noah Enns can be reached at [email protected] or @NoahEnns21 on Twitter.
