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"(Che 0amccod; With the crash of a wave Do the words tantrum or elephant mean anything to you? Do you wish you were a better skier? _ A growing number of USC students love to water ski. It all started a few years ago when my family, who grew up Iteosmn ",at" skli°8 is a guest columnist Murray, met Will and she can be Busbee, who loved the reached at lake as much as ,we did. gamecockspotlight will went tQ ©hotmail.com. , USC at the time and was an avid wakeboarder, which involves skiing on a short board with foot bindings. Skiing and wakeboarding together was more fun, and we improved more together than we did by ourselves. This made us curious as to whether USC had such a club. I found out USC didn’t, but Clemson did. As soon as I registered at USC, I began working to bring a water ski club to the school. The club was easy to start, but tough to continue, despite the fact that student interest is almost overwhelming. Water skiing, which started with two wooden boards being dragged behind a boat, has developed into a competitive sport. People now slalom (ski on one ski instead of two), wakeboard (ski on a fiberglass board similar to a snowboard), trick ski (ski on one or two small skis with no fins), shoe ski (ski on skis the size of a shoe with no fins), barefoot, air chair (ski sitting down on a seat riding on a board), and many other things. The Water Ski Club is open to all USC students and will be more active in the fall. The club, about 50 members strong, has raised funds to achieve awareness and to work toward the club’s goal - to buy a boat that all active members can use. A large number of schools, especially in the Southeast, have large water ski clubs that compete in tournaments. The USC club hopes to eventually compete with other clubs on a collegiate level. Many members frequently ski together on Lake Murray as friends. Next year, the Water Ski Club hopes to officially ski together as a club at least once a week. Members currently use their own equipment and boats, but hopefully the Water Ski Club will be able to purchase its own equipment and boat. Whether you want to improve your tantrum or learn to slalom, the Water Ski Club would love to help you improve. “We encourage any and all USC students to join our club, even if you are a beginner or expert,” said Stan Smith, club president. TTie Water Ski Club will be active this summer, so please contact us if you’re interested for this summer or next year at www.uscwaterski.com or e-mail us at waterskiclub@hotmail.com. Aaron Hark/The Gamecock Members of the Water Ski Club show off their talents at Lake Murray. Clockwise from top: President Stan Smith riding an air chair; Billy McNair, club human resource chair, slaloming; David Wertz, club tournament chair, riding a wakeboard; and Brantley Busbee, club treasurer, riding a wakeboard. Come in and Shop our 28th Annual Summer Blow out Sale! Selected items 20-40% Off! THE^ norths! FACE III Trail Runners - Outerwear Patagonia Baggies • Polo Shirts Stand up Shorts SPORT GJLHnAI g Seven styles for men & women including new flip-flop colors Gianticd Shorts • T-Shirts VASQUE Hiking boots for Men & Women I www. backpackerqualitygear. com Travel luggage • Day Packs • Camping Equipment & More! 1215 Wayne St., in the Vista. 799-7571 ^-B 11 IT— " X ' . .. : 1 _ THf Most EXCITING, LiVf E N TfRTaiNM fNT VfNUf COLUMBIA HAS TO OFFfC! AN OUTRAGfOUS* CONTAGIOUS MUSlCAL EXRfRifNCf ©aOU Us i?®y Vaa? KlassO PtfaDaymSD^ ©i? §®?®?31>^ [PacKf-^9 ™ liiJUlAriMkiaJI W 'DUELING^ PIANOS 1