U of A Water Ski Club Places 18th in Nation; Sixth in Division 2

Seth LaForge

The U of A Water Ski Club at the Water Ski Nationals 2022 and coach Roger Buskus.

The U of A Water Ski Club has once again improved its national collegiate standing by ranking 18th in the Syndicate Waterskis 43rd Collegiate Water Ski National Championships, rising from 52nd in 2020 and 28th in 2021. The team also finished sixth in Division 2 of the championships, with the women's team finishing first in the trick event competition.

The national championships were held at San Marcos, Texas, Oct. 13-15, fall break at the U of A. The competition is a three-event water-skiing contest, which is a combination of slalom, trick and jump. The skill levels of the ski team's members range from competing their entire lives to learning how to slalom in the last year or just learning what a waterski jump is.

The Water Ski Club officially ranked sixth in Division 2. The following students and their overall rankings contributed to this success.

Women Standings

• Claire Meara – First overall; medaled for Jump, Trick and Slalom

• Chloe Dean – Fifth overall; fourth in Jump

• Emaline Peeler – Seventh overall

• Ashley Reiter – 10th overall

Men Standings

• Seth LaForge – 18th overall

• Todd Bailey – 20th overall

• Chad Litgen – 27th overall

The club has only qualified for nationals three times in its 30-year history of competing. The national competition is a unique experience with teams from all over the country coming together with team spirit, having themes for each of the three days, individual chants, signs and more. There is even a team spirit award for the most exuberant team.

"Waterskiing is an amazing sport that combines friendly competition, team spirit, exercise and being outdoors and on a lake all into one," said Claire Meara, president of the Water Ski Club. "The club at Arkansas is lucky enough to practice on a private lake off campus and is coached by Roger Boskus, an Arkansas alumnus and phenomenal skier."

Students who have any experience in waterskiing and are interested in joining a team with a fun dynamic that travels to tournaments all over the country to compete against other colleges can contact the captain of the team, Claire Meara, at cmmeara@uark.edu or the Water Ski Club's general email address at waterski@uark.edu. Check out the club's Instagram @uark_waterski.

Congratulations to all of the members of the Water Ski Club and a special shout out to those members contributing to the improvement in the national rankings.