The
Kentucky Waterski Federation is an organization of waterskiers
and their families, dedicated to the growth and development
of the sport of Slalom, Trick and Jump Waterskiing
Please go to the "Official's
Corner" for new info. Check this page regularly
for updates for officials and skiers.
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Notes from the President
"I hope everyone had a
good Holiday season. The best part of this time of
year is the preparation for the upcoming season. Time
to get in good shape and get our equipment ready to
go. We had a good Fall meeting in Elizabethtown. It
should be an outstanding year for Kentucky with the
tournaments that are planned and because the Regionals
will again be held by the Ski Nuts.
I have several things I want members to work on this
year.
- I would like to have everyone
who can to help out the Ski Nuts with the Regionals.
It is a large undertaking and I would like for all
the competitors to be happy they traveled to Kentucky
to ski. There are many jobs available. Please talk
to Joe Burkhead, Pat Coomes, Erol Bryant and ask
them what you could do to help.
- I would like for all of us
to try to ensure that we get new blood into tournament
water skiing. Most all of us started on public waters
and that is where the future is. We all need to
support slalom courses on our public waters. We
also need to mentor others in our area who are interested
in tournament type skiing. If you think about it
I bet you know several people in the area who are
on the fringe of skiing in tournaments. Give them
a call this week and tell them that they ought to
make it a goal to ski in a tournament this year.
They will be hooked as all of us are. This past
year I went in a prominent marine sales store and
asked about gloves for Joshua and I was told, "we
don't even stock those, wakeboarders don't need
them with their new handles, you are a dying breed."
I think he is wrong, but we need to all work to
prove him wrong. Start working on this now. Bring
a new competitor to the 2009 State Championships."
Take the time to give back to the sport.
The 2009 schedule is listed
make your plans now. If anyone has any ideas or issues
please contact me @ eric.kelley@insightbb.com.
It is time to submit nominations for our yearly awards
to be handed out at the State tournaments. We would
like to have them at the end of January.
I ask anyone who wants to give
me any information, funny stories, or anything interesting
to post on the web site to please contact me and I'll
see that it is passed along.
Eric S. Kelley, D.M.D., 831
Old Scottsville Road, Bowling Green, KY 42103, (270)991-3139,
eric.kelley@insightbb.com
Regards, Eric Kelley
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2009 Southern Region Championships Bid
Awarded
The bid presented by the Ski Nuts has been accepted and
the 2009 Southern Regional Championships will be held at
Twin Oaks Lakes in Paducah. Congratulations are in order
for the Ski Nuts and good news for all Kentucky Skiers.
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WEEKLY NEWS
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The Annual Fall meeting of the KWSF was held November
8th. Tournament schedules for 2009 were set, an amendment
to the bylaws concern State Championships format was
adopted, and officers and councilpersons were elected.
The officers for 2009 are as follows:
President -- Eric Kelley
VP -- Joy Coomes
Secretary -- Kathy Kesheimer
Treasurer -- Ann Catlett
The three Southern Region councilpersons will remain
the same, with Bob Archambeau, Tim McKune and Pat
Coomes holding these positions.
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Official's
Advisory Group Formed
An
advisory group has been formed to keep Kentucky Scorers,
Judges and Drivers updated on rules changes, scoring
software updates, new speed control issues and nuances.
We want all our state officials to be good at what
they do, and we hope this will help. The following
individuals have graciously accepted responsibility
in their area of expertise:
Tim McKune will be the Kentucky Driver Advisor, Cathy
Burkhead will be the Scorer Advisor and Carl Marquess
will serve as Judge Advisor. Each of these officials
are Senior level in their respective disciplines and
are continously striving to keep abreast of changes
and to be the best that they can be.
They are willing and able to share this knowledge
with you in order to make all our Kentucky officials
more proficient. They will share any changes that
are pertinent with you via e-mail and/or postings
to this website. They will also be available to answer
individual questions that you may have.
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Kentucky Juniors
3-Day Ski Camp
On June 18-21st, the Kentucky Lake Ski Nuts, assisted by
several other members of the Kentucky Water Ski Federation,
once again hosted the annual Kentucky Juniors 3-day ski
camp. The camp preceded the 35th Kentucky Lake Open ski
tournament.
A total of 14 skiers participated, including 7 tournament
skiers and 7 beginner level skiers. The tournament skiers
all practiced 3 events. One beginner skied for the first
time at camp. Each skier had the opportunity to ski 4-5
sets per day.
The all-volunteer crew of instructors was headed by Joe
Burkhead, former director of Mid-America Ski School. Other
instructors/drivers included Tim McKune, Bob Harris, Pat
Coomes, Greg Kever, Bobby Hill, Corey Hawes, Pam & John
Harris, John Fowler, and Carly Marquess. The trickers learned
many new tricks thanks to their persistent practice and
the constant prodding of Burkhead and the other instructors.
Joe, Tim, and Corey taught jump. Lauren Harris and Elizabeth
Fowler landed their first jumps this year!
Thanks to Keith and Amanda Williams of Outback Steakhouse
for providing a dinner of steak and chicken. Thanks to Cathy
and Joe Burkhead as well as the other Ski Nuts who helped
make the camp possible. We would also like to thank Tim
Mckune, the Harris family, and Sam Schmidt for providing
boats for the camp.
Finally, a huge thanks to the newly established Kentucky
Water Sports Federation for substantial financial support
of this year's ski school. The KWSF, founded as a non-profit
501(c)3 corporation to assist in the development of water
skiing and ski sites in our state, provided all fuel and
on-site meals and snacks for the camp. Combined with the
all-volunteer staff, the clinic was totally free for all
attendees for the first time ever.
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