Water woes 'a real bummer' for Mad-City Ski Team
The Mad-City Ski Team has a national title to defend, but it's kind of hard to do that from dry land.
The 100-member water ski club has had one of its Sunday night shows at Law Park canceled because of rain, another for high water, and won't be on the lake again this Sunday because of the slow, no-wake order on Lake Monona. The group doesn't know when it will be back on its home practice and performance site.
"It's been terrible," said Kristen Block, one of the show's directors. "It's a real bummer."
The water ski team is just one recreational activity that has hit a snare because of the high waters in southern Wisconsin. The Mendota Yacht Club has canceled its races. The Department of Natural Resources warns canoeists and kayakers of debris and toxic materials in high waters. The pontoon boats run by Madison School & Community Recreation are sidelined. The Elroy-Sparta and "400" state bike trails are closed, while portions of the Military Ridge and Glacial Drumlin trails are closed. The Betty Lou Cruises are running because those boats don't create a wake at slow speeds.
The water ski team was to have competed in a tournament this weekend at Traxler Park on the Rock River in Janesville. That has been canceled because of flooding, which has also grounded the Rock Aqua Jays Ski Team that is based there.
"We're all kind of in the same boat, no pun intended," Block said.
Instead, the teams will get three hours each of practice on Lake Wazeecha in Wisconsin Rapids. Block said her team might be able to practice on Lake Wisconsin in the next couple of weeks.
"Water skiers are people who love the water and want to be on it," Block said. "Everybody has been pretty sad the last few weeks."
The club has been practicing its land routines and tries to make the workouts more fun by turning them into cookouts.
"We have a lot of new families this year, a lot of little kids," Block said. "They were really eager to get out there on the water when we could."
The team had the same situation last year, when a wet late summer also grounded their Law Park shows. The skiers usually perform until Labor Day, but a no-wake order ended their performance season early. They won a national championship on Aug. 12 last year, but were never able to perform again that season.
The team was able to perform its season-opener, but in cold and windy conditions. It got in one more show, was rained out on June 8, and the no-wake order went into effect on June 9.
"It's affected us financially because we take donations at the shows and raise a lot of money that way," Block said. "But we're not spending gas money, either."
The State Water Ski Show Tournament is scheduled for July 17-20 at Lake Wazeecha in Wisconsin Rapids. The national tournament is scheduled for Aug. 8-10 at Traxler Park in Janesville. The status of that event is unknown, Block said.
The MSCR pontoon boats are grounded because the Yahara River is high enough that the boats can't get under bridges at Sherman Avenue and Williamson Street to access lakes Mendota and Monona. The pontoons have specialty trips for youth and adults and are available as charters. Passengers got the option of a refund or to wait to see if their trip would be rescheduled.
"It's a great loss, but there's no damage to property or no lives lost so in many ways it's not that big of a deal," said Steve Dold, who captains the pontoons and Betty Lou Cruises. "Right now there are dead carp floating in the boat yard, it's pretty unsightly."
For more information on the status of state trails and parks, go to www.dnr.wi.gov.
File photo
The Mad-City Ski Team has had its shows at Law Park canceled because of rain and high water and won't be on the lake again Sunday.
