By Kim McDarison

The Southern Wakes United Water Ski Show Team has announced that it was the recipient of several awards last month when it competed in the Wisconsin State Water Ski Show Championship tournament.

The four-day, annual, regional competition, which is in its 57th year, was held July 20 through 23 at Lake Wazeecha in Wisconsin Rapids.

During the event, “thousands” of spectators, information released by the team noted, assembled on Red Sands Beach to watch each of 24 competing teams perform a one-hour show.

Following the competition, the Southern Wakes team emerged with the following recognitions: in Division 3, first place, which, the release noted, moves the team up to Division 2; The Gerald Kaudy Memorial Award, earned for having the highest scoring ballet line, according to the release; also earned was the “Highest Scoring Production Award,” which, the release noted is in memory of Paul Dross; the “Most Original/Unique Act” award; the “Highest Scoring Tow Board Team” recognition; the “Highest Scoring Dock and Equipment Crew” recognition, and recognition for “Best Comedy Act.”

According to its website, the Wisconsin State Water Ski Show Championship is the “world’s largest and longest running show water ski tournament.”

The event has been hosted by the Wisconsin Rapids Aqua Skiers since 1967.

Event tournaments are National Swim School Association (NSSA)/USA Water Ski sanctioned, Class A, with teams in divisions, 1, 2, and 3 competing.

Zach Pressley, who described himself as a lifelong water skier and a show director with the Southern Wakes United Water Ski Team, said he and members of the team were in some cases “shocked” and very excited when they won first-place recognition in Division 3.

Winners at the state championship move on to compete at the National Water Ski Show Championships, the release stated.

There are two national events each year, one for Division 1 teams and another for Division 2 teams, Pressley said.

“The Division 1 national event will be held next weekend. This weekend, the Division 2 national event was held in Rockford, Ill., he noted.

The Southern Wakes team, although eligible, did not compete in the Division 2 national event, he said, because the timing did not fit with the team’s schedule this year.

Performing in the national tournament extends the team’s show season, which clashed this year with some of the team members’ family vacation plans, he noted.

“Because this year we won in our division, we can move up next year to Division 2,” he said, adding that the team is considering extending their show season to include the national event next year.

Divisions are based on team size, Pressley said, noting that teams competing within Division 3 are smaller than those in other divisions.

“We have 85 members on our roster and between 45 and 50 of them are skiers,” Pressley said. 

Among its members, skiers range in age from 5 to in their 50s, he said, noting that the team is very family oriented.

“Parents and kids ski together,” he added. 

Southern Wakes United Water Ski Team, is based in Whitewater and Elkhorn, according to its Facebook page, and is a nonprofit organization developed to perform charitable work and to teach boating safety.

According to the team’s website, it is the only water ski show team in Walworth County.

Within its recent news release, the group noted that in 2018, two Walworth County teams — the Lauderdale Aqua Skiers and the Whitewater Lakes Sports Club, which also had operated as the Minneiska Water Ski Show Team — merged, forming the Southern Wakes team, which began competing in 2019.

Recalling the regional competition, Pressley said: “When they stated to announce the awards at the state tournament we were shocked with some of them, and there were some that we thought we could win, but some were a surprise to us. When we realized we won we were just really excited. This year was the most production we’ve done, and the most complex we’ve done, and we won.”

He noted that the competitors the team faced with its division were “really good.”

Still, he said, the team was proud of its achievement, especially since they had just merged in 2019.

“It’s hard to win a state tournament that quickly, so we were surprised; everyone was excited,” he said. 

During the state tournament, within its one-hour show, the team preformed 14 acts. Two were children’s acts and they were combined into one, Pressley said, adding that technically, they were judged on 13 acts. They included pyramid formation, ballets, and other choreographed moves, each with different costumes.

According to the team’s release, within Division 3, the Southern Wakes competed against teams from Sayner, Tomahawk, Crivitz, Waupaca and LaCrosse.

Teams competing this year in Division 2 hailed from Muskego, Shawano, Wrightstown, Wisconsin Rapids, Eau Claire, Chetek, and Florence.

Division 1 teams arrived to compete from Janesville, Madison, Twin Lakes, Beaver Dam, Crivitz, Nekoosa, Brown Lake and Oconomowoc.

Members of the community who would like to watch a Southern Wakes team performance are encouraged to consult the following schedule:

• Thursday, Aug. 10, Babe Mann Park, Elkhorn Lake, at 6 p.m.

• Saturday, Aug. 19, Scenic Ridge Campground, Whitewater Lake, 6:30 p.m.

• Friday, Aug. 25,  Lauderdale Landing, Lauderdale Lake, 6 p.m.

• Saturday, Sept. 2, Scenic Ridge Campground, Whitewater Lake, 6 p.m.

Performances are free and open to the public.

For more information about the team, its performance schedule, and joining its membership, visit its Facebook page.

Following are photos from the regional championship competition held in July.