Dear RHI Sports, Indiana Water Ski Association and USA Water Ski Friends,
This past
weekend Raquel Roney traveled to Evansville, IN and competed in the 2004 Indiana
Water Ski Association State Tournament held at Timberlake Ski
Club's beautiful site. Some of you may recall that Raquel first
learned to ski under Joe Ray's tutelage at RHI Sports' Disabled Ski Clinic in
2003 and attended RHI Sports' Advanced Water Ski Clinic at the Fairland
Ski Club this past June.
To the
cheers and shouts of encouragement from those on shore
Raquel completed a perfect 16 mph pass and scored 2 buoys at 18
mph. She fell on a second-chance 18 mph pass, but not
until she wowed the crowd with a couple of huge turns! While the tow boat
prepared to pick her up the tournament director came onto the radio and
inquired if the boat crew would ask her to get back into her ski and
take a ride past the shore-bound spectators. Raquel agreed and as
she skied by the crowd honored her with a linear stadium "wave"
and rousing cheer. Goose Bump City! Announced at Saturday
evening's banquet as the 2004 Women's Slalom Champion and Record Holder in the
new Disabled Division, Raquel accepted her first water ski trophy.
Timberlake
Ski Club members Dan Custer, State Tournament Director, and Chief Judge
Sam Schmitt opened the 2004 IWSA meet to Disabled skiers. For
the first time in Indiana Water Ski Association history an athlete competed in
a disabled division in a sanctioned event! In the days before the
tournament IWSA president and RHI Sports ski volunteer Bill Roach offered Raquel and other RHI Sports skiers
opportunity to practice at his Fairland Ski Club site and assisted Raquel
through the State Tournament rigors. Bill is to be commended for his
dedication to skiing and love for sport.
Mount Vernon's Timberlake Water Ski Club hosted
the event and made Raquel and her brother feel right
at home. On Sunday, long after Raquel and her brother had gone home, I
finally noticed that the host club had arranged for a wheelchair accessible
port-o-let. I am so proud
of my Timberlake friends - they didn't miss one detail!
The future
for Disabled water ski competition in Indiana is bright. The purchase of
some high performance skis for use by RHI Sports athletes is anticipated and
I expect spirited competition from Indiana's new Disabled ski division in the
future. On behalf of athletes who look forward to carving up the water in
sanctioned competition I thank Timberlake Ski Club, the Indiana Water Ski
Association, USA Water Ski, and RHI Sports for letting us have a chance to compete.