Collegiate Times

Brian Benjamin, a member of the Waterski and WakeboardClub, completes a double back roll at a practice earlier this semester.

While many clubs and student organizations on campus focus on academics and future job opportunities, there is one that harbors on something fun and aquatic.

The Virginia Tech Waterski and Wakeboard Club, which competed in the Collegiate Wakeboarding Eastern Regional Qualifier last weekend in Pennsylvania, placed third and earning a bid to the Collegiate Wakeboarding Finals in San Diego next spring.

Now the club free rides all through out the fall, which many say is the best part. There are no try-outs as of now, and membership is offered at any time.

"You can join anytime you want to join or you can come out riding for $10 up to two times," said Jeff Goldblum, president of Tech's Waterski and Wakeboard club.

The club holds practices at Claytor Lake, which is about 20 minutes outside Blacksburg. There are no set practices, but there is usually always someone out on the lake or groups of members who get together and go. The club is open to all students, and experience out on the water is not necessary.

"No one on the team is pro-level or anything, a lot of us are inexperienced," said Amanda Hamilton, secretary of Tech Waterski and Wakeboard club.

The club members offer a variety of options out on the water such as wakeboarding, waterskiing, wakeskating and wakesurfing. No one is limited to just one aspect, and there are both wakeboarding and water-skiing competitions available.

"I came into the club only wakeboarding, because I hadn't really been exposed to competitive water skiing," said Adam Ficke, the club's treasurer.  "Now I do both, as well as surf and wake skate from time to time,"

The first couple weeks of classes, the club placed a new B-52 model boat on the Drillfield to recruit new members. The idea was successful; the team now has 10 to12 new members.

"It's definitely our best publicity to put the boat on the Drillfield. I tell people all the time I'm on the waterski and wakeboard team, and they have no idea that we even exist," Hamilton said.  

As an official Tech club, they are able to receive funding from the school, but each member also pays $275 in dues annually.  The club is trying to get sponsors to fund them as well.

"We're trying to get sponsors through local companies, local board shops and boat dealerships who are looking to help us out," Goldblum said. "We'll help them by advertising for them and giving them business. We have Glass and Powder Board shop and Southern Ski boats right now."