The Ski Sprites Water Ski Shows was founded in 1960 by a group of six young skiers.
These original Ski Sprites foresaw the need for organized water skiing in the Chippewa
Valley of western Wisconsin.
It wasn't until 1972 that the Ski Sprites first performed in the Wisconsin State
Ski Tournament. That first exposure to show ski competition was quite a learning
experience for the skiers as none of the members had ever seen a tournament before.From
that novice team in 1972, the 1973 team came back to the State Tournament as the
first show ski team to put individual songs and music to the individual acts being
performed. They came from near last place in their first year to third place in
1973.
The 2006 season marked the end of an era for the Ski Sprites as they said farewell
to their home of 46 years, Half Moon Lake. Beginning in 2007, the Ski Sprites will
be performing on their new home on Lake Altoona.
The current Ski Sprites team consists of approximately 100 members made up of skiers
and a host of adult volunteers. Equipment includes two Malibu ski boats, two Mercury
powered tow boats, two safety boats poised for immediate water rescue, and two 26
foot pontoon boats used as floating docks for many of the exciting acts round out
the Ski Sprites fleet.
The 1998 show season consisted of 33 public performances at the Half Moon show site
with the all time record attendance of over 49,000 people. Special presentations
on July 4th and Labor Day brought many visitors to the Chippewa Valley. In addition
to entertaining residents and visitors to the Chippewa Valley, the Ski Sprites competed
in two major show ski tournaments. Those competitions include the "Jewel of
June" tournament in Janesville, WI, and the Wisconsin State Show Ski tournament.
Getting a show ready to go on the water takes a coordinated team effort involving
nearly eight months of planning and practice. The show is born with the selection
of a show theme or story line. This story line is simply an entertaining story that
is told to thread together the skiing acts to entertain the audience. From there,
nearly 250 different costumes are designed, sewn, and fitted together by volunteers.
Set designs, equipment needed for each act, choreography, music, and script are
then woven together into an integrated show. In addition, we begin our land-based
practices in January. The practices include physical training, climbing pyramids
and learning new doubles routines.
The original purpose of the Ski Sprites has never been lost: serving the youth of
western Wisconsin. Today the Ski Sprites Water Ski Shows continues as an enthusiastic
ambassador for the Chippewa Valley in western Wisconsin.
The Mission of the
Ski Sprites Water Ski Show Team is:
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To promote the education of the techniques, rules, regulations, and safety in the
sports of waterskiing and boating.
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To promote fellowship and goodwill in a safe, lawful, and conscientious manner both
for the members and the surrounding communities withrespect to waterskiing and boating.
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To disseminate news and information in a manner to educate the membership and general
public about waterskiing and boating.
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To provide alternative activities to area youth providing positive role models,
and to foster teamwork, cooperation and leadership.