Two big water ski competitions happening in Maize with lots of tricks, jumps and races

In Wichita’s backyard, a world-class water ski facility will be filled with some of the top U.S. water ski competitors next week.

The 76th annual GOODE Water Ski National Championships will start Tuesday and run through Saturday, Aug.11, at Mystic Lakes in Maize. About 600 athletes from across the United States are expected to compete for national titles in slalom, tricks, jumping and overall events in boys, girls, men’s and women’s age divisions, along with two open divisions. According to USA Water Ski and American Water Ski Association, this is the world’s largest three-event water ski tournament.

Mystic Lakes is also the site for the inaugural America’s Cup Invitational, with a total cash purse of $40,000. It happens the evening of Aug. 10.

The open division of the national championship tournament will be a qualifying event for the invitational, which will feature about 100 water skiers considered to be the best of the best, said organizers. Several professional water skiers are also expected to compete in the invitational.

Mystic Lakes has been on the radar of water ski athletes for some time now. About a decade ago, the facility hosted a regional championship.

“I thought that was an honor,” said Dennis Downes, who’s co-organizing this year’s tournament. “I never thought we’d get to host nationals.”

The American Water Ski Association approved the Mystic Lake Ski Club’s bid to host the tournament back in January 2017, and this marks the first time a Kansas facility is hosting the national event, which started in 1939.

Downes, a professional engineer and competitive water skier, was one of three partners who created the Mystic Lakes development of competitive water ski lakes and homes 18 years ago.

“We thought, ‘What if we have a lake in our backyard?’” he said.

“Orlando, Florida, is considered the water ski capital but it doesn’t hold a candle to Wichita,” said Cole Kalkbrenner, a professional water skier and coach who has lived and traveled internationally to be on the water. Currently making his home in Australia with fellow skier and wife, Erin, Kalkbrenner said the couple is planning to relocate to Wichita, where they have been coaching youth competitors in the summertime for the past several years.

“Within five miles, you have three different slalom courses, and that’s unheard of,” he said of the Mystic Lakes facility.

Kalkbrenner attributes the desirable water skiing conditions in the Wichita area to sand pits.

“You can have only one boat on the water at one time,” he said.

In a water ski slalom course, a boat travels a straight path between six buoys – three on each side – while the skier zigzags across the boat’s wake to get around each buoy. The skier repeats the course, and each time, the rope is pulled shorter and shorter until the skier misses a buoy, explained Downes, who plans to compete in all three events during next week’s tournament.

“There’s more pressure in this event since if you screw up, there’s no second chance,” Downes said.

There are second and even third chances in the other two events.

For the tricks event, competitors get two 30-second passes to do as many different tricks as possible. For the jumping event, the skiers get three chances at completing jumps off a ramp that is adjusted according to age categories.

The national championships are free for the public to watch, with concessions and a kids zone of family friendly activities, but organizers say the top event is the America’s Cup Invitational on Friday, Aug. 10. Admission for the invitational is $10 per carload.

“You’re going to have world-record holders. These are people who are at the highest level of the sport,” said Kalkbrenner, listing names like slalom skier Nate Smith and jumper Freddy Krueger.

The Mystic Lakes Ski Club, which has about 40 members ages 6-74, has previously hosted the Midwest Regional, Junior U.S. Open and Barefoot National water ski championships.

2018 GOODE Water Ski National Championships

When: Tuesday-Aug. 11; start times are 8:30 a.m. for Lake 1 and 8 a.m. for Lakes 2 & 3

Where: Mystic Lakes water ski facility, near West 53rd Street North and Ridge Road, Maize

What: The 76th annual event will feature about 600 top water ski athletes from the country competing for national titles and to qualify for the America’s Cup Invitational. Concessions and kids zone with family-friendly activities available.

Admission: Free for viewing public

America’ Cup Invitational

When: 7-10:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10

Where: Lake 1 of the Mystic Lakes water ski facility, near West 53rd Street North and Ridge Road, Maize

What: An inaugural invitational where the best of the best water ski competitors vie for a total cash purse of $40,000.

Admission: $10 per carload

Parking for both events: Parking lot off West 53rd Street North, between Ridge and Tyler roads, within walking distance

More information for both events: Visit usawaterski.org and click on the 2018 GOODE championship logo

This story was originally published August 1, 2018 at 10:49 AM.