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What team had the biggest improvement, the largest growth, or posted massive scores? Nominate a team below, and let us know why you think they deserve the award!
I would like to nominate Southern Illinois University for the Team of the Year Award. I have had the privilege to watch this team grow over the past two years that I’ve been a college student, and I have to say this team was great to watch this season! The improvement in all the athletes showed NUMBERS this year especially since they were able to make it nationals for the first time in club history this past season. Not only were they a great team on the water, but they were great people as well. They were a very humble, and fun group to be round this season at every single tournament. Vote SIU for team of the year because they are MOST deserving of it.
I truly believe that SIU (Southern Illinois University) deserves to be Team Of The Year. When I joined the team my sophomore year we barely made it to regionals, only qualifying because the team above us had failed to get all of their paperwork in. Just three years later we qualified for nationals, taking 8th at regionals, and placing 5th at D2 nationals!! This was our team’s #1 goal and it finally came to life, making university history on top of it because SIU had never qualified for nationals in the 40+ years of being a team. SIU also hosted it’s first tournament in 15 years last spring! We had to completely rebuild a site that had been abandoned for over a decade, including new courses and restoring our jump!
We have had to overcome more obstacles and hurdles than any other team: just four years ago we had three active members, no team boat, no trailer for travel, no ski lake to practice at, and some of the furthest drives to tournaments with our average drive being about 6hrs – but we always showed up. We’ve received amazing help (shout-out Dean Chappell-IL, Bob Harris-KY, Jeff Meyers-IL, and Dave Adams-IL), but for the most part SIU has been the underdog in just about every aspect of the game, and we’ve fought our way to the top becoming one of the strongest and healthiest teams in the Midwest. Go DawgsI think the University of Wisconsin Madison deserves to be the Midwest team of the year. Our team this year has welcomed 17 freshman members onto our team, and a total of 28 new members in the fall semester! On and off the water, we are a very active team with consistent social activities that include everyone. During the fall season we pull an average of 30 hours of practice sets per week, guaranteeing every member 2 sets per week although many take more. These are all driven voluntarily by members of our team that have put the time in to get certified. This is enough time to see some real improvement across the season, our members regularly pick up new tricks, slalom passes, and build consistency on jump. Outside of the fall season, we also run a spring break trip to Pickos and this year we ended up with a group of 21. Whether it’s practice sets, social events, or putting the dock in Madison shows up and shows out. The positivity and growth mindset of the team makes it something I’m proud to be a part of.
I believe that Iowa State University should be selected as the MCWSA team of the year. Despite being unable to compete, Iowa State continues to grow as a team, improve as skiers, and stay active in the ski community year after year. After a couple down years in membership due to difficulty recruiting because of the loss of support from our university, this year we added 15 new members! Come march, our team of now nearly 30, will be on the water every day working hard to be the best skiers we can be. Not for pride, trophies, or individual and team recognition, but simply because we love to ski. We now have a full men’s and women’s team who can stomp jumps from bumps to double cuts, rip buoys up to 32 off, and land a wide variety of tricks. Not to mention, we stay active through leadership and support roles with multiple certified judges and boat drivers as well as strong current member representation on both the Great Plains and Midwest boards. We also continue to host Great Plains Conference every year. A little over two years ago, this team lost their sport club status with the university and was ripped from the ranks of the competitive teams. Membership dwindled, support was lost, and the future looked bleak for a team that has been around nearly 40 years. Now, thanks to the dedication and perseverance of everyone on the team, we are a strong team with a bright future, competitive or not. That is why I strongly believe Iowa State is deserving of MCWSA team of the year.
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