Advanced Water Ski Clinic, Saturday, June 19th

Man-o-man we sure had a lot of fun thanks to the folks at Metroplex Adaptive Water Sports!  These guys are true professionals.  They provided a beautiful private lake with pristine waters and one incredible boat to pull skiers.  RISE volunteers gained valuable experience by doing that morning.  We learned the proper way to fit participants with the different sizes of baskets and water skis.  We learned the difference between the sizes of skis in relation to skill levels and participant functionality.  We learned new ways to hold the rope, where to hold the rope and where to position the knots.  We learned that we had been skiing with our basket backwards for the past few weeks. While not completely wrong, it's much easier when the basket is facing such a way that your legs are brought together and your body is hunched forward.  Our volunteers learned new ways to position participants in the water.  We learned techniques for getting in and out of the basket while in the water.  We all earned one heck-of-a-tan!

RISE provided a BBQ lunch in the early afternoon from a local BBQ joint.  We sat in the shade, enjoyed new friends and traded ski stories.  The day was a huge success and I look forward to carrying over the knowledge learned into our own water ski program.

I want to thank Blaine and his crew of drivers and jumpers along with RISE volunteers Peter and David. You guys made the day fun and enjoyable with your patience and skill.  Thank you!