On a blustery April afternoon with temperatures struggling to
stay above 50, the glacial waters of Lake Monona seem the last
place to look for students burning time between classes. Yet with
spring competition looming, that’s where the most devoted members
of the UW Ski and Wakeboard team spend much of the day.

The spring roster looks a little thin, just 40, half
the number that ski for the club in the fall. But for the members
willing to brave the icy depths, the earlier, the better to catch a
few runs.

Like all club sports, the team is entirely managed by
students, from financial affairs to team selection. The club
regularly selects a crew of five men and five women to represent
Wisconsin in tournament competition.

Rather than formal tryouts, selection for the premier
squad depends primarily on performance in the weeks leading up to
the event.

“Whoever happens to be skiing the best is who skis,”
club president Jimmy Hackbarth explained. “We have a guy with a
private lake up near the Dells. So we bring people who look good in
practice up there to see how they trick and jump.”

In addition to trick wakeboarding, which constitutes a
separate area of competition, the ski team fields athletes in three
events: trick ski, slalom and jump.

On the unruffled waters of man-made tournament lakes,
UW skiers break from the jagged cuts surrounding Madison to test
their skills against representatives from other club teams.

“There are some varsity teams in the country but none
of them in the Midwest,” junior trick skier Katie Buchanan said.
“We have three major tournaments in the fall. One is regionals;
from there the top five teams from the Midwest qualify for
nationals. We’re gunning hard for it this year. Last year we missed
it by a miniscule amount.”

Members not selected but interested in skiing
competitively often get a chance to perform in tournaments anyway.
An alternate squad allows skiers with less experience to develop
their skills in a competitive atmosphere.

Redline Watersports in McFarland sponsors the team,
providing coaching by owner Paul Vitucci and equipment discounts
for members. Every year, Redline leases the team a new MasterCraft
inboard ski boat for the season as well as offering nightly
storage.

While the weather in Madison can easily be described as
hell and the summer tragically short, the skiers and wakeboarders
are just glad to be out on the lake whenever possible. The
competitive aspect of the team remains important but most
participants join purely for good times and crisp wakes to jump
on.

“I wouldn’t want to be at any other school to ski
because our team is really awesome,” Hackbarth remarked. “We’re
like a family. Everyone hangs out together; it’s a really good
time.”