Lets Talk About Waterskiing
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One of the first things one must learn in Waterskiing is how to get up. The Aberdeen Aqua Addicts dedicate the time from the beginning of practice until 6 pm during Summer for that sole purpose. Until 6 pm any team member who wants to learn a new type of waterskiing can come and have experts (we call them experts for their self-esteem, Shhh) help teach them the new activity.
For the Aqua Addicts Slalom is a valued skill but is not the focus of the club. Club slalomers can practice their skills on beginners night or on practices not set aside for the sole purpose of show skiing.
Waterskis? Never heard of them. This is the
ultimate goal of most of the Aberdeen Aqua
Addicts. This club has a lot of them.
Our barefooters range in age from about
less than ten years of age to over FORTY!!!
Answering once and for all, yes, you can
teach an old dog new tricks. One barefooting feat the Aqua Addicts are
proud of is its Girl barefooters, yes that's
right. The Addicts have over five Aqua Girls
who have graced the water with their bare
soles. The Aqua Addicts also put up the first
Barefoot Pyramid in South Dakota.
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From Ancient Egypt to South Dakota lakes,
pyramids are always an amazing sight. The
Aqua Addicts were building pyramids on regular
combo sets until '95 when they got their
first sets of double-wides. Double-wides
were a Godsend! Since that fateful day the
Aberdeen Aqua Addicts have put up three tier
pyramids pre-built pyramids, and even an
inverted pyramid or two. In 1998 the Aberdeen
Aqua Addicts put up their first successful
four tier pyramid. The Aqua Addicts currently
preform three side by side three tier pyramids
and a four tier with a two-one on each side.
There are always some people who just can't figure out which way they are supposed to go. These are our trick skiers and kneeboarders. They love to spin around until they get dizzy. These same people have been known to ski on signs, chairs, and other household items.
Kneeboarding like trick skiing is an activity most ski clubbers do for fun, but like trick skiing there are some who take it to extremes. These few love to barrel roll, or at least try to.
Another activity the wild ones like is the
Wake board. Some Aqua Addicts like to jump
the wakes and try tricks. Jeremy, our Wakeboarder
extraordinar and some of his followers have
been doing all sorts of inverted tricks on
the wakeboard. Jeremy took 1st in the Misstates Regional Competition in
1998. Then in 1999 Jeremy took 1st again
and John took 5th. Congrats Jeremy and John!!!
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The Air Chair is my area of sole leadership
on the Aberdeen Aqua Addicts Waterski Team.
I have the height and the rotation to accomplish
a gainer but have not been able to get them
at the same time. The Air Chair is a relatively
new activity to waterskiing only slightly
younger than Wake Boarding. The Air Chair
is quite a thrill to ride. The pilot like
control of the Air Chair demonstrate the
validity of the name bestowed upon it. In
my opinion, after barefooting and jumping,
it is the best activity available.
What can we say about the ballet line? They
are a bunch of girls. This is a very good
thing because nobody wants to see a bunch
of hairy guys in wigs trying to kick gracefully.
I feel sick just thinking about it. If you
have the stomach to hear about "The Guys' Ballet Line" go right ahead and read about it. The Aberdeen
Aqua Addicts Girls' Ballet line has become
very good. They were probably one of the
best at 1997's regionals but their lack of
numbers hampered their score. They did well
in 1998 but some unfortunate falls hurt their
score at regionals. In 1999 fate again struck
a blow against the ballet line when half
the line mysteriously came unhooked from
the leader piece as the ropes began to lead
the dock.
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The swivel skiers are relatively new to the
Addicts.
They have come a long way in just a couple
of years though.
We are proud of them and believe without
a doubt that they are way way better than
Todd. Want to hear about that? Our swivelers have been able to get some
toe turns and one has completed several hand
to hand 360s and Overhead 360s!
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Doubles as the name implies requires two people, a guy and a girl. There are two types of doubles, conventional and strap. Conventional Doubles the girl performs tricks while the guy assists and holds onto the rope. Our conventional doubles like to work with other couples to form a sort of dance. The strap double couples like to work alone. In strap doubles the guy is strapped to the rope and this leaves his hands free to assist the girl more effectively. This is probably one of the more dangerous stunts in waterskiing because the skier is strapped to the rope. I would like to repeat that the stunts on these pages should not be attempted except under professional supervision and then at the skier's own risk. To decrease the level of danger a devise called a quick pin is used that allows a spotter to detach the skier from the boat. Strap Doubles are considered by many as the most beautiful stunt on the water. The Aqua Addicts have several teams of Strap Doubles each improving with great strides.
Trios like strap doubles require the guys to be strapped to the rope. This makes them as dangerous as Strap Doubles and should not be attempted at home. Two guys and one girl work together to perform stunts much like Strap Doubles but also some stunts that would be impossible for a Strap Doubles team to perform. It is a wonderful stunt that is not to be missed. The Aqua Addicts have two teams of Trios.
The shows that the Aberdeen Aqua Addicts put on for the public would not be possible without the boat drivers. We would like to thank them for all their hard work, and then tease them a little, ha ha! Our boat drivers are nice guys at the beginning of the day but by the end of our 5 to air days they are crabby. They have been know to say "Not on MY boat" or "Not as long as I'M driving," and often with good cause considering the level of insanity some of our skiers possess. We would like to thank them for putting up with us and driving the boat.
The Aberdeen Aqua addicts picked up their first hydrodyne Feb., 1998 at Think Tank. It was a treat for the team to have a boat with some More power! In the Spring of 1999 the Aberdeen Aqua Addicts picked up its first inboard. The Addicts enjoyed their new toy "The Malibu"
The Aberdeen Aqua Addicts purchased their first jump in the Spring of 1999. A precious few of the Addicts had been fortunate enough to have received previous jump experience, myself included, before the jump arrived. The experience was limited but they were able to do a double hellie and up to a five man ride over followed by a 4 man ride over with a cut under.