USA Water Ski Show Team Wins IWWF World Water Ski Show Tournament

The USA Water Ski Show Team's seven-man front flip on Saturday. Photography by Scott N. Atkinson

The USA Water Ski Show Team won the team title at the 5th IWWF World Water Ski Show Tournament, presented by Nautique, Oct. 21-23, at Lake Silver in Winter Haven, Fla. The tournament featured all-star show ski teams from the United States, Belgium, Canada, Germany and Sweden.

The USA Water Ski Show Team scored a grand total 2,099.2 points in winning its fifth consecutive world team title. Germany finished runner-up with 1,555.6 points, followed by Belgium (1,542.2 points), Canada (1,523.8 points) and Sweden (960 points). Each team performed two shows over the two days, with the highest-scoring performance determining the champion. The final scores from each team came from the second day of competition this year.

In competitive show skiing, each club has one hour to present a theatrical performance on water skis. Judges score acts by awarding points based on originality, presentation and execution. Elaborate costumes and staging intermix with music and fast action on the water as an announcer leads the audience through the show. The team rosters in the Show Ski World Championships were limited to 35 total members, including skiers, boat drivers, announcers and show directors.

Matt Heilman (Verona, Wis.) and David Rezin (Janesville, Wis.) were the show directors for the 2022 USA Water Ski Show Team.

Members of the 2022 USA Water Ski Show Team were: Dave Anderson (Bettendorf, Iowa), Garrett Bouley (Bradenton, Fla.), Travis Bouley (Bradenton, Fla.), Cody Coffey (Medinah, Ill.), Kaila Coffey (Medinah, Ill.), Caroline Grubs (White Bear Lake, Minn.), Pete Hegarty (Winter Haven, Fla.), Brea Imse (Wheeling, Ill.), Kevin Jack (Winter Haven, Fla.), Dan Jaworski (Monona, Wis.), Anne Judd (Lake Elmo, Wis.), Liam Klotzbach (Monona, Wis.), Bob Koehler (Lake Geneva, Wis.), Kailey Koehler (Lake Geneva, Wis.), Kendall Krieger (Lake Bluff, Ill.), Noah Leach (Aberdeen, S.D.), Darian LeBlanc (Winter Haven, Fla.), Arik Lebda (Buffalo Grove, Ill.), Ginny McGinnis (Edgerton, Wis.), Whitney Messenger (Holly, Mich.), Grace Petzold (Mequon, Wis.), Craig Planton (Waterford, Mich.), Jayson Rishling (Lake Geneva, Wis.), Joe Sawaska (Winter Haven, Fla.), Katrina Sardenga (Clearwater, Fla.), Adam Schaller (Mount Horeb, Wis.), Ethan Shulda (Twin Lakes, Wis.), Keith St. Onge (Winter Haven, Fla.), Michael Thornton (Wonder Lake, Ill.), Austin Walstad (Zumbrota, Minn.), Angela Yauchler (Winter Haven, Fla.), Geno Yauchler (Winter Haven, Fla.) and Rachael Zenk (Vadnais Heights, Minn.). Alternates were: Caleb Ross (Sarasota, Fla.), Derek Buchman (Chetek, Wis.), Paige Peshina (Malvern, Ohio) and Allie Krumrai (Muskego, Wis.). The management team consisted of: Dan Wang (Verona, Wis.), Brad Satterlee (Sarasota, Fla.), Shauna Pasanen (Winter Haven, Fla.) and Nick Dries (Brookfield, Wis.).

The IWWF World Water Ski Show Tournament also included an individual acts competition for the first time in 2022. Athletes competed in swivel, adagio doubles and freestyle jumping.

Alisha Stewart (Australia) won swivel, scoring 17.68 points. Madi Hagemann (Janesville, Wis.) finished second (17.62 points) and Brea Imse (Wheeling, Ill.) placed third (17.44 points).

U.S. athletes Cory Krivitz (Hartland, Wis.) and Kim Stoner (Hartland, Wis.) won doubles, tallying 17.46 points. Ryan Hoops (St. Paul, Minn.) and Sarah Yost (Scandia, Minn.) finished second (17.10 points) and Garry and Lindsey Geer (Hustisford, Wis.) placed third (15.04 points).

U.S. athlete Garrett Bouley (Bradenton, Fla.) won freestyle jumping, scoring 886.60 points. Liam Klotzbach (Monona, Wis.) finished second (707.85 points) and Jakob Horton (Australia) placed third (487.00 points).

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