Excutive Director Report
April 02, 2008

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Dear USA Water Ski board of directors, board members of the sport disciplines, principals of the sport, and the USA Water Ski staff:

This past weekend was an interesting learning experience for me as I was introduced to more of the details of the various sport disciplines under the USA Water Ski umbrella. On Saturday, I traveled to West Palm Beach’s Okeeheelee County Park – site of this year’s GOODE Water Ski National Championships – and visited with Charlotte Melchers, Becky Lathrop and Dale Stevens. Becky is the president of The Ski Club of the Palm Beaches, and Charlotte and Dale are principals on the event planning committee. In a past life, I came from a professional park background having worked within the Indiana Department of Natural Resources for 20 years. We used to say that parks couldn’t be all things to all people. Okeeheelee seems to be the rare exception. Literally thousands of people were doing all things imaginable in a park setting (hiking, boating, running, cycling, picnicking, birding, skiing, boarding, baseball, soccer and basketball playing, horseback riding, kayaking, sailing, rowing, fishing and probably some other stuff I didn’t notice). What a dynamic 900-acre plot of ground Okeeheelee has become.

A major anchor of activity is the skiing venue. It has been developed over the years through a wonderful partnership between The Ski Club of the Palm Beaches and Palm Beach county government. It is also expensive to run. Charlotte, Dale and Becky provided a tour of their clubhouse, which included a vast assemblage of technical equipment as well as a nice gathering area and workplaces for event officials. The tour also provided a look at the five lakes and the various on-site pieces of equipment provided by the club, such as judges’ stands, towers for camera and timing equipment, and bleachers. Underwater coax and cabling systems also were abundant. The logistical equipment support and its constant updating were impressive…and, did
I mention expensive?

Charlotte and her group are hoping for an excess of 900 competitors for this year’s AWSA Nationals. She already has the scheduling in place anticipating that number. Additionally, she has negotiated hotel arrangements, the proper watering and feeding of officials, that the weather be perfect, and every other detail revolving around an event of this magnitude. Charlotte is a planning machine, and her committee, filled with people of great capacity, will provide a wonderful, fun-filled multi-day event. I was just so impressed.

But while at lunch, I asked Charlotte, Becky and Dale what happens in 10 years time? We all seem to be around the same vintage. I am 61; Charlotte looks younger, but professes to be the same, as do Becky and Dale. Who is following along behind to fill the slots of the planners and event organizers as us older folks fall away from those responsibilities? That seems to be the
commonly expressed issue within this sport in all areas. Participation by youngsters as skiers and then as officials and event organizers seems to be at a lull. Interestingly enough, earlier in the morning while we were gathered at one of the lakesides, there were around 40 or 50 people skiing. Most were kids…teenagers or maybe even college age…I can’t tell anymore…plus their
parents. So it seems to me that there is still quite a bit of interest from younger kids to be around
water sports.

All sport is cyclic. All everything is cyclic. Mountain biking was hot at one time, and it is now in decline. BMX is hot now. Triathlon was hot in the ‘80s, went into decline in the early ‘90s, and resurrected itself in the early part of this century.

Snow skiing went into decline in the ‘90s, snowboarding became the deal, and now snowboarding’s popularity has flattened, and snow skiing is making a comeback. What about water skiing and its associated disciplines? Nothing is forever, and nothing stays the same, so stay tuned. In the meantime, this summer’s AWSA Nationals is going to be the bomb (that
means a good thing), and I hope to see all 900-plus of you there.

Steve Locke
Executive Director
USA Water Ski