Mike & Patty Patterson
2022 Hall of Fame Inductees
2022 IWSA Hall of Fame Inductees: Patty and Mike Patterson
Both of our 2022 IWSA Hall of Fame inductees, Patty and Mike Patterson, grew up in Speedway, IN. In fact, Patty’s family was living just 4 blocks from the Patterson home through their elementary and high school years. Always attending different schools, they’d never met one another through their teenage years. One might guess that Mike had his nose buried in Car Craft or MoPar Muscle Car magazines. 1980 was a seminal year. Mike and three other friends, who had been skiing through the late 70’s at area lakes and reservoirs, picked up a copy of WaterSki magazine, saw ads for ski schools in FL and signed up to go to Liz Allen’s water ski school. At the school they were required to join AWSA, and as a result, got a copy of the Midwest Tournament Guide. Late in the 1980 season, Mike and one of those friends went to their first AWSA tournament in another state -which didn’t turn out too well. These events set in motion an eventual rendezvous with Indiana’s organized water ski community. And…. more importantly…. in 1980 Patty and Mike met for the first time while bowling with friends.
When introduced to Mike’s dad, Patty received some advice…“if you don’t bowl or ski you’re wasting your time!” Patty learned to bowl, swim, and ski by the summer of 1981. She even helped Mike and his pals install a slalom course at Glen Flint Lake. Mike, already smitten, watched Patty bobbing in the water, moving anchors and affixing buoys, and decided She Must Be The One! In 1983, Patty and Mike married. That same year they purchased their first Ski Supreme inboard tournament boat from the area dealer, Terry Early. This transaction began a friendship that is still strong today. Terry is responsible for talking Mike and Patty into signing up for the 1983 State Tournament at Fairland….an experience which also began the Patterson’s quest to find a private lake so they could ski all day on calm water. Two years later the Patterson’s, Larry Harris, Julie and Daryl Hobson, and Bob Turner bought a Boone County property with a lake and formed the Sugar Creek Ski Club. In 1986 Sugar Creek sponsored its first ski tournament. It was an unsanctioned, advertised by word of mouth competition that drew 40 public lake skiers, including Brian Detty who distinguished himself by going ashore on his ski at the far end of the slalom course. In 1987 the Sugar Creek Ski Club and all its members joined AWSA and held its first sanctioned event. They also began a club-wide credentialing effort toward becoming tournament officials. Assisted by IWSA stalwarts Randy Sharkey, Denny Boettcher, Don Bucher, and the Millers, Barb and John, by 1990 the Sugar Creek Ski Club had “in house” all officials for Class C tournaments. Patty and Julie tackled the Scorer’s role, and Mike and Daryl that of Driver and Judge. Additional Sugar Creek members joined in subsequent years: Bev and Terry Early, Michelle and Dick Threlkeld, Kim and Lance Black. Ultimately, the property was sold and Sugar Creek skiers dispersed to other sites, including Silent Shores. For 22 years Mike Patterson was part of Mastercraft’s promotional tournament boat program. More than a throttle jockey for Slalom, Trick, and Jump skiers, Mike remains an expert in setting up cameras and towboat speed control systems, finding and fixing problems inherent in technology applied to the waterski tournament environment. Patty, too, has seen technology applied to the Scoring function. Early in her role she filled out paper records by hand and mailed a stack of forms to AWSA headquarters each Monday. Now scoring is done online and records are transmitted by hitting “SUBMIT”…. in a perfect world! Software doesn’t always deliver expectations. Radio communication between starting dock, boat crew, and judges has to be orchestrated and managed by the Scorer along with recording slalom buoys, trick points, and jump distances. No wonder Patty likes to be stationed in a place where she can limit distractions! In the face of skiers’ interest in Record Capability Tournaments and AWSA’s demanding official's requirements, Patty and Mike never missed a beat, raising their respective credentials to AWSA Senior Scorer, Senior Driver, Senior Judge, and IWWF Pan-American Judge. In the 36 years from 1987 to 2022 Patty and Mike have officiated at hundreds of sanctioned tournaments. Together they provided opportunity for at least 3 generations of 3-event skiers of all skill levels to be pulled fairly through Slalom, Trick, and Jump courses by Senior Driver and Judge, Mike, and scored accurately by Senior Scorer and Judge, Patty. At the same time, both can shift from tournament official to tournament participant and enjoy their time on the water with the skiers they serve.
Members of the IWSA and guests, it is an honor to ask Patty and Mike Patterson to step to the front of the room and be introduced as the newest inductees to the Indiana Water Ski Association Hall of Fame! Hall of Fame Committee Chairman, Randy Sharkey, please come forward to present the Indiana Water Ski Association Hall of Fame Plaques.
Both of our 2022 IWSA Hall of Fame inductees, Patty and Mike Patterson, grew up in Speedway, IN. In fact, Patty’s family was living just 4 blocks from the Patterson home through their elementary and high school years. Always attending different schools, they’d never met one another through their teenage years. One might guess that Mike had his nose buried in Car Craft or MoPar Muscle Car magazines. 1980 was a seminal year. Mike and three other friends, who had been skiing through the late 70’s at area lakes and reservoirs, picked up a copy of WaterSki magazine, saw ads for ski schools in FL and signed up to go to Liz Allen’s water ski school. At the school they were required to join AWSA, and as a result, got a copy of the Midwest Tournament Guide. Late in the 1980 season, Mike and one of those friends went to their first AWSA tournament in another state -which didn’t turn out too well. These events set in motion an eventual rendezvous with Indiana’s organized water ski community. And…. more importantly…. in 1980 Patty and Mike met for the first time while bowling with friends.
When introduced to Mike’s dad, Patty received some advice…“if you don’t bowl or ski you’re wasting your time!” Patty learned to bowl, swim, and ski by the summer of 1981. She even helped Mike and his pals install a slalom course at Glen Flint Lake. Mike, already smitten, watched Patty bobbing in the water, moving anchors and affixing buoys, and decided She Must Be The One! In 1983, Patty and Mike married. That same year they purchased their first Ski Supreme inboard tournament boat from the area dealer, Terry Early. This transaction began a friendship that is still strong today. Terry is responsible for talking Mike and Patty into signing up for the 1983 State Tournament at Fairland….an experience which also began the Patterson’s quest to find a private lake so they could ski all day on calm water. Two years later the Patterson’s, Larry Harris, Julie and Daryl Hobson, and Bob Turner bought a Boone County property with a lake and formed the Sugar Creek Ski Club. In 1986 Sugar Creek sponsored its first ski tournament. It was an unsanctioned, advertised by word of mouth competition that drew 40 public lake skiers, including Brian Detty who distinguished himself by going ashore on his ski at the far end of the slalom course. In 1987 the Sugar Creek Ski Club and all its members joined AWSA and held its first sanctioned event. They also began a club-wide credentialing effort toward becoming tournament officials. Assisted by IWSA stalwarts Randy Sharkey, Denny Boettcher, Don Bucher, and the Millers, Barb and John, by 1990 the Sugar Creek Ski Club had “in house” all officials for Class C tournaments. Patty and Julie tackled the Scorer’s role, and Mike and Daryl that of Driver and Judge. Additional Sugar Creek members joined in subsequent years: Bev and Terry Early, Michelle and Dick Threlkeld, Kim and Lance Black. Ultimately, the property was sold and Sugar Creek skiers dispersed to other sites, including Silent Shores. For 22 years Mike Patterson was part of Mastercraft’s promotional tournament boat program. More than a throttle jockey for Slalom, Trick, and Jump skiers, Mike remains an expert in setting up cameras and towboat speed control systems, finding and fixing problems inherent in technology applied to the waterski tournament environment. Patty, too, has seen technology applied to the Scoring function. Early in her role she filled out paper records by hand and mailed a stack of forms to AWSA headquarters each Monday. Now scoring is done online and records are transmitted by hitting “SUBMIT”…. in a perfect world! Software doesn’t always deliver expectations. Radio communication between starting dock, boat crew, and judges has to be orchestrated and managed by the Scorer along with recording slalom buoys, trick points, and jump distances. No wonder Patty likes to be stationed in a place where she can limit distractions! In the face of skiers’ interest in Record Capability Tournaments and AWSA’s demanding official's requirements, Patty and Mike never missed a beat, raising their respective credentials to AWSA Senior Scorer, Senior Driver, Senior Judge, and IWWF Pan-American Judge. In the 36 years from 1987 to 2022 Patty and Mike have officiated at hundreds of sanctioned tournaments. Together they provided opportunity for at least 3 generations of 3-event skiers of all skill levels to be pulled fairly through Slalom, Trick, and Jump courses by Senior Driver and Judge, Mike, and scored accurately by Senior Scorer and Judge, Patty. At the same time, both can shift from tournament official to tournament participant and enjoy their time on the water with the skiers they serve.
Members of the IWSA and guests, it is an honor to ask Patty and Mike Patterson to step to the front of the room and be introduced as the newest inductees to the Indiana Water Ski Association Hall of Fame! Hall of Fame Committee Chairman, Randy Sharkey, please come forward to present the Indiana Water Ski Association Hall of Fame Plaques.
