Hit It!

Hit It!

Everyone in the boat was shouting at me. “Get your tips up. Bring your knees to your chest. Like you’re sitting in a chair. Arms straight. Lean back.”

They were wasting their collective breath. There was no way I would ever get my tips up.

I was hanging on for dear life. My life jacket was up around my ears. Skis crisscrossed and somehow behind me with the bottoms pointing to the sky.

The harder I tried, the more unready I became. I never felt so helpless and clumsy in all my life.

This can’t be as hard as I’m making it look, I thought. Afterall, I’ve seen squirrels do it!

Through sheer determination, I finally turned face forward and upright. Tips were now up. Rope handle in both hands. Knees to chest.

“I got this,” I sheepishly said out loud.

“Hit it!”

In an instant, I heard the motor uproariously come to life. Even though I was expecting it, the rope jerked me forward almost ripping the handle from my grip. Able to hang on, I leaned back against the pull. Despite the awkwardness, somehow, I rose up out of the water.

 Suddenly, and just like that, I was flying!

Getting cocky, I rose my fist in celebration. And before I could even realize the mistake I just made, I was somersaulting in the water. My bathing suit exposing a little more than it should. One ski over there. The other over there. And everyone in the boat having a good laugh at my expense as they turned to retrieve me.

“Wanna go again?”

Sound familiar? That scenario is all too familiar to anybody who has ever tried water skiing. Some never do get up. Some of us, eventually get good enough to enjoy skiing a couple times a year when we’re “at the lake.”

And some take it to a whole other level where water skiing becomes an obsession. A way of life.

And thank goodness it does. Because it’s these people. These gotta-be-on-the-water-every-waking-minute people, that bring us the ever-popular ski shows like the one found right here in central Wisconsin – The Shermalot Water Ski Show.

Since 1982, Shermalot, as the locals call it, has performed weekly summer shows on Lake Arrowhead in Rome, Wisconsin. Every Saturday, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, these incredible athletes do things on water that you have to see to believe - especially their signature barefoot pyramid. Five skiers stacked on top of each other being pulled by a single boat. And not a ski in sight! That’s right. They’re skiing without skis. They’re barefoot!

The team, ages 3 to 63, holds five Wisconsin State Division II Championship titles and is regularly ranked among the top amateur teams in the country. And though they pride themselves on being a team, many members have received individual recognition with State, National, and even World Championship Titles – even election into the Water Skiing Hall of Fame. Many have gone on to perform around the world.

With a show like that and all that success, they must make a lot of money, right?

Well, not really. In fact, the Shermalot Water Ski Team is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization composed exclusively of volunteers.  Operating on a razor thin budget, they rely on support from the local community, businesses, and partnerships. Additionally, their members donate time, pay dues, and work hard twelve months a year to raise funds, to ensure one more summer of some of the best entertainment you’ll find anywhere.

From the first ever-to-be-performed doubles/swivel hot pickup to the shoe ski gainer, Shermalot will amaze.

So come see the show. And as you laugh and applaud in astonishment, some of you will, no doubt, be reminded of that day. That first time. When you wrestled into on a pair of skis, slid off the back of the idling boat into the lake, and thought to yourself, there’s no way I’m ever gonna be able to do this. 

To learn more about The Shermalot Ski Team, including how you can become a member, visit their website here and their Facebook page here.

Written by: Lydell Capritta