Water Ski Club heads to nationals

The Water Ski Club at Grand Valley will compete against Division I schools in the Collegiate Water Ski National Championship October 17-19 in El Centro, California.

The team, which formed in 2006, is ranked 12th in the country and includes a group of 45 students who make up a junior varsity and varsity team. Last year the group took part in the national competition for the first time against teams from Division II schools. This year the team will compete against teams from Division I schools, including Arizona State University, Michigan State University and University of Alabama.

The championship includes three events: slalom, trick and jump. Slalom requires a skier to weave between buoys on one ski, a trick involves a skier to perform an impressive trick in 20 seconds, and a jump requires a skier to jump the farthest off a five-foot ramp.

In September, the group took 4th place at the Great Lakes Conference and 5th place at the National Collegiate Water Ski Association Midwest Regional Tournament.

The championship will be broadcast online at www.waterskibroadcasting.com.

Follow updates on Twitter at @GVSUWaterSki.