Imagine yourself with some fellow Oregon students on a jet boat in the middle of a serene lake in Texas. The sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, and you’re flying over the sparkling water with a smile on your face and a wakeboard beneath your feet.
Is this a premonition to the easy afternoons of summer, or a daydream during your mid-lecture nap? Neither, it turns out.
It is reality for the Oregon waterski and wakeboard club, whose idea of hard work is daylight spent in board shorts and bikinis. This isn’t to say the team doesn’t take itself seriously in practice and competition. In fact, the squad set a new standard this past weekend by competing in nationals for the first time in history.
Oregon qualified for the tournament after performing well at the Western Collegiate Qualifier in San Diego, Calif., earlier this year. As a result, the team sent eight riders to Austin, Texas, for nationals last week. Although they lost their first round matchup in the tournament, the team performed well considering their opponent was perennial powerhouse Chico State University.
“We knew there was a possibility of us getting blown out coming into the match,” junior Laura McNary said. “But we stayed with them and it ended up being closer than anyone expected.”
While the team was eliminated by a slim margin, their performance was still admirable considering Oregon’s geographic and environmental disadvantages. Historically, pastimes like waterskiing and wakeboarding are popular in areas of good weather with easy access to water.
As evidence, one must look no further than the leaderboard last weekend in Austin: a first place finish for the University of Texas, with Central Florida and Texas A&M narrowly behind in second and third.
This region gets its fair share of rain and chills, as any Eugene resident can tell you. As a result, the team is more limited in its ability to practice and gain valuable riding time. Despite the nuisance of the weather, the team remains upbeat about its circumstances.
“We know we’re hindered by the climate, but we deal with it as best we can,” sophomore Morgan Ostrander said. “Of course, students at schools like Texas and Florida have an advantage. But we feel like we make the best of the time we do have to ride here.”
Competitions for waterskiing and wakeboarding are decided by judges in a number of different divisions, ranging from ski racing to kneeboarding. Depending on the division, participants can be evaluated based on their style, how much air they get, or their technical skill as a rider.
While Oregon took its best shot at nationals, the team also enjoyed itself. As is commonplace at competitions, they chatted and rode with competitors from a range of schools and locales during the weekend. Sports like waterskiing and wakeboarding demand competitive spirit, just not in the same way most mainstream sports do.
“Our competitions are definitely serious, but it’s hard not to relax and have fun considering the people you’re with and what you’re doing,” Ostrander said. “Sure, we want to represent Oregon and do well. But at the same time, this is a sport that is purely fun at its core, and you never neglect that element, even while competing.”
The team gave full effort at nationals, and as a result no one is bothered with their time spent kicking back in Texas. After a season of catching rays, scaling waves and representing Eugene with pride, the waterski and wakeboard club definitely earned its share of rest and relaxation.
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