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By eric, July 15, 2010 9:42 pm

The Mad-City Ski Team will compete in the Wisconsin State Water Ski Show Tournament near Wisconsin Rapids on Thursday, July 15 through Sunday, July 18. The team skis third on Saturday will perform our show at approximately 930am on Lake Wazecha. With 25 teams competing at the tournament, the tournament is the largest water ski tournament in the world. For more information about the tournament, please visit the Wisconsin Water Ski Federation Website.

On Thursday, two members of the ski team competed in the individual competitions. In the swivel competition, Sara Tubbs placed 3rd and Brea Imse placed 5th. Both will likely compete at Nationals in August.

Because the team will be out of town, the free weekly ski show at Law Park will not take place on Sunday, July 18. The team will return to the shores of Lake Monona for a show on Sunday, June 25, starting with the juniors’ team at 5:30pm and the full team at 6:00pm.

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By eric, July 25, 2009 9:43 am

Over the weekend of July 16 thru the 19th the Mad-City Ski Team competed at the Wisconsin State Water Ski Show Tournament on Lake Wazecha just outside of Wisconsin Rapids, WI.  23 show ski teams from throughout Wisconsin competed at the tournament, making it the largest water ski tournament of any kind anywhere in the world.

The tournament starts with individual competitions on Thursday where we had several people competing.  The weather on Thursday was not very friendly for water skiing.  It was cool and very windy, with the wind right out of the west which produced a very rare situation on Lake Wazecha… white caps.

Carly Cates and Paul O’Conner competed in the doubles competition and took 6th place.

Paul & Carly

Ann Tieman competed in the swivel competition and put on an excelent performance and took 2nd.  A video of her performance is below.

Mad-City’s Ann Tieman at the
2009 Wisconsin State Individual Swivel Competition [link]

Our jump team competed in the Team Jump competition where they performed flawlessly and ended up taking 2nd place.  A video of their performance is below.

Mad-City Ski Team’s Jump Team in the Team Jump Competition Video [link]

Paul O’Conner also competed in the Free Style Jump Competition and took 2nd place overall.

On Friday morning, the division 2 teams began skiing in the cool, cloudy, sometimes raining weather.  With a high only in the 60s, it was one of the coldest state tournaments in my memory.  On Saturday morning Mad-City finally took to the water to perform our show.  A short highlight video of our performance is below.

Mad-City 2009 Wisconsin State Tournament Highlight Video [link]

On Sunday afternoon the results were announced and Mad-City took home several awards.  The team was recognized for the Best Ballet Line, Best Jump Act, Best Dock & Equipment, Best Pickup Boat Drivers and Best Audio Presentation.  When the team results were announced, the Mad-City Ski Team took 1st place overall.  Here is a link to the full results (2009 Wisconsin State Tournament Results).

Mad-City Ski Team - 2009 Wisconsin State Champions

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By eric, July 17, 2009 10:36 am

Mad-City is on the road this weekend (July 17th) and competing at the Wisconsin State Water Ski Show Tournament in Wisconsin, Rapids.  There will be no home show at Law Park on Sunday, July 19th.

The tournament is the largest water ski in the world, featuring 1000+ competitors competing on 23 show ski teams.  Starting on Friday, you can view the tournament online at the WWSF website.  Details to view the tournament are here and you can click on this link to view the webcast.

On Thursday, some of skiers competed in the individual events portion of the tournament.  Paul O’Connor and Carly Cates took 5th in the Doubles Competition, Ann Tieman took 2nd in  Swivel, our jump team took 2nd inTeam Jump and Paul O’Connor to 2nd in the Freestyle Jump Competiton.

Mad-City will start skiing our show about 930/10am on Saturday morning.  Come watch us defend our 2008 State Title.  Directions to the ski site are here.  If you can’t make the trip, be sure to tune in to the webcast.

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By eric, August 8, 2007 9:41 am

One of the greatest aspects of the show ski community is the friends and relationships you make with other ski teams. The Badgerland ski team, located just outside of Milwaukee, is a perfect example of what makes our sport so great.

We received this card in the mail from the Badgerland ski team congratulating us on our title. Thank you Badgerland, you guys are fantastic!

For the full resolution version, please click here

Also, please take a minute and visit Badgerland’s website and if you are in the area check out their show.

Links:
Badgerland Website

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By eric, July 30, 2007 9:04 pm

It wasn’t long after Mad-City won the 2007 Wisconsin State Show Ski Tournament that the focus was shifted from celebration to preparation for the 2007 National Show Ski Tournament, which is August 10-12 in Loves Park, IL.

But now the dust has settled and we can look back a bit at the State Tournament while at the same time spinning around the telescope and peering ahead to the national tournament.

To that end, we asked our show director, Chris Coupland his thoughts and feelings regarding the State Tournament and where Mad-City is and where we need to go to caputre our second straight National Championship.

1) What are your feelings about winning the 2007 state tournament?

Obviously it feels great to win again. I don’t think that will ever get old. I wish we could have skied cleaner though.

2) Comment on the work going into the show and how everything came together

It’s been a long Season. It took us longer to put the show together this off season due to the possibilities that we had to work with. I was very concerned about us pulling all of the pieces together until everybody stepped up the last two weeks and committed to putting in the extra effort. Hopefully we continue to do that and we achieve the holy grail and have “The Perfect” Show in 2 weeks!

3) Thoughts about competition during the tournament and upcoming for nationals?

It’s always tough to compete against Janesville. I’m sure they’re going to fix the problems they had and bring their A game to Nationals. In addition, you’ve got Wonder Lake and Little Crow that are ready to win again as well.

4) Sum up entire experience so far.

It’s been a crazy summer. Getting married on June 1st and then coming back to the thick of things. Fortunately for myself and the team that we have a lot of veteran skiers and support personnel that don’t need to be micro-managed. I just hope that we can stay focused and push strong through Rockford.

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By eric, July 25, 2007 11:20 am

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6418177765762841909&hl=en]

Competing in the Wisconsin State Show Ski Tournament, the Mad-City Ski Team edged out the Janesville Rock Aqua Jays to lay claim to their second straight Wisconsin State Championship!

The ski show, entitled “A Tale of 2 Ski Shows”, featured two stand-out announcers in longtime favorite Adam Schaller and new comer Matt Baumler facing off on stage to determine once and for all which is better, Mad-City Style or Traditional Show Ski Style.

During the course of their epic battle, Mad-City had some incredible performances.

Highlights include: Highest Scoring Ballet Line, Highest Scoring Jump Act, Best Tow Boat Crew, Best Sound Crew, Best Comedy, Best Overall Female Skier in Kristen Heilman, First ever four-tier One-Act Show and Mad-City’s first ever Triple Four-Tier Pyramid!!

Mad-City Dream Girls! – Highest Scoring Ballet Line

Mad-City Jump Team – Highest Scoring Jump Act

Mad-City Comedy Team – Best Comedy

Kristen Heilman – Best Overall Female Skier 

Mad-City Sound Crew – Best Sound Crew 

Mad-City Drive Team – Best Tow Boat Crew 

The Wisconsin State Show Ski Tournament is the largest such tournament in the world and is a four-day long event that celebrates everything that is good in the show ski world, Competition, Camaraderie and of course some fantastic skiing.

There was 26 teams total from three different divisions that compete in this event, held on Lake Wazeecha near Wisconsin Rapids. While only one team competed in Division 3, the Aqua Devils from Three Lakes, WI, there were 25 teams combined competing in both Division 1 and Division 2.

Our neighbors to the south, the Janesville Rock Aqua Jays, came in second for the second year in a row with a steller show of their own. They layed claim to a couple impressive feats of their own as they claimed the highest scoring individual act with their barefoot pyramid act, best dock and equipment and best pick-up boat crew.

However, it was not enough as Mad-City scored a total of 2008 points to Janesville’s 1983.

Coming in third were the Webfooters from Freemont, WI.

In Division 2, the Beaver-Land Must-Skis notched their second consecutive championship as well knocking off the Browns Lake Aquaducks, 1704 to 1644.

With the win, the Beaver-Land Must-Skis, from Beaver Dam, will now join Division 1.

Links:

Complete Scores and Team Placements

Complete Photo Gallery from Jims Photos

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By eric, July 16, 2007 11:35 am

One year ago at the Wisconsin State Show Ski Tournament, the largest show ski tournament in the world, Mad-City skied a nearly flawless show and took home the title of State Champions.

In less then a week, we are heading back to the red sand of Lake Wazeecha in Wisconsin Rapids to defend our title.

The weekend is setting up to be an incredible display of skiing from not only Mad-City, but from our biggest competitors as well.

Last year we knocked off the powerhouse Janesville Rock-Aqua Jays, and you can bet they are chomping at the bit for a little payback.

Here is the full running order for the shows on Saturday and Sunday.

1 Mississippi Blackhawks (Division II) 7:00 AM
2 Waupaca Chain Skiers (Division II) 8:30 AM
3 Aquaducks (Division II) 10:00 AM
4 Mad-City Ski Team (Division I) 11:30 AM
5 Aquanuts (Division I) 1:00 PM
6 Muskego Waterbugs (Division I) 2:30 PM
7 Aqua Skiers (Division I) 4:00 PM
8 Badgerland (Division I) 5:30 PM
9 Shermalot (Division I) 7:00PM

Sunday, July 22

1 Webfooters (Division I) 7:00 AM
2 Rock Aqua Jays (Division I) 8:30 AM
3 Chetek Hydroflites (Division I) 10:00 AM
4 Lauderdale Aqua Skiers (Division I) 11:30 AM
5 Waterboard Warriors (Division I) 1:00 PM
6 Minneiska (Division I) 3:30 PM
7 Ski Sprites (Division I) 5:00 PM

The competition begins each day at 6:40 AM, with each team using about an hour and a half per show. Approximate times are next to each team.

The award ceremony will follow the final show and about 6:45 – 7:00.

Directions to Lake Wazeecha

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By eric, July 22, 2006 8:51 pm

Competing in the biggest show-ski tournament in the world, the Mad-City Ski Team picked the perfect time to ski one of the best shows in club history.

Taking part in the 40th annual State Wisconsin Show Ski Tournament at Lake Wazeecha’s Red Sand Beach, Mad-City pulled out all the stops and claimed the Division 1 State Championship for the second time in three years.

“It’s an amazing feeling to be back on top,” co-show director Matt Heilman said. “All the hard work we put in really paid off. It was one of the best shows Mad-City has ever performed.”

Dan Wang, the other co-show director, concurred with Matt: “Standing on stage as a leader of the team was a great feeling Sunday,” Wang said. “It was great to see everyone celebrating and enjoying the win, all the time and effort that had gone into the show really paid off.”

Mad-City scored 2155 points to knock off last years champions, the Janesville Rock Aqua Jays, who came in second with a strong 2092. Last years surprise team, the Webfooters from Freemont, WI, rounded out the top three with 1985.

Along with claiming top show honors, the Mad-City crew also claimed numerous individual and team awards.

Heading up the list was Ann Wittenberg, skiing on Thursday to the soothing sounds of Phil Collins, successfully defended her individual state swivel ski title. With a score of 16.56, Ann edged out Heather Addie who came in second with a 16.26. Ellie Pesek rounded out the top three with a score of 16.02.

The Mad-City jump team also competed on Thursday and performed a no-fall jump routine, scoring 398 points, to edge out the Badwater Ski-Ters from Iron Mountain with 390. The Plum Ski-Ters from Sayner nipped close at Badwater’s heels to round out the top three with 387.

To top it all off, Mad-City also had the highest scoring individual act in the tournament, which was the scored comedy. This included announcer Adam Schaller and his side-kick Cory Gessler, and Adam’s show stopping number, the “Show-Ski Evolution of Dance”.

“The skiing at state was outstanding, the Rock Aqua Jays had a great show,” Heilman said. “They are always tough to beat because they do so many things well. The Webfooters skied a great show as well, they are creative and really produce a great show that’s fun to watch.”

However, the work doesn’t end here, in a few short weeks the national competition will be held at Janesville’s home site and there will be even more strong competition looking to knock Mad-City off its perch.

“There are a lot of great teams this year at nationals, so we have our work cut out for us,” Wang said. “We can win, but we need to work hard and ski our show. With the talent we have on this team, bigger and better things are possible in the next few weeks.”

Team scores: 1. Mad City 2,155; 2. Rock Aqua Jays 2,092; 3. Webfooters 1,985; 4. Aquanuts 1,620; 5. Badgerland 1,583; 6. Water Bugs 1,477; 7. Aqua Skiers 1,475; 8. Hydroflites 1,465; 9. Shermalot 1,410; 10. Lauderdale 1,387; 11. Waterboard Warriors 1,354; 12. Ski Sprites 1,238; 13. Minnieska 1,177.

Box scores (top 3)-Dock and equipment: 1. Mad City 114; 2. Rock Aqua Jays 100; 3. Webfoorters 101. Pick-up boats: 1. Mad City 321; 2. Rock Aqua Jays 305; 3. Webfooters 290. Tow boat driving: 1. Mad City 868; 2. Rock Aqua Jays 848; 3. Web footers 807. Sound crew: 1. Mad City 1,133; 2. Rock Aqua Jays 1,074; 3. Webfooters 1,072.