Remember when you first got into watersports? Maybe you used garbage can lids as wakeboards,
or the tow rope was pulled by Dad in a birch bark canoe. Humble beginnings. But today, there are
literally dozens of schools, camps, leagues, and all-comers tournaments that are ready and willing
to help you introduce your kids to the joys of watersports.
Enrolling a child in one of these programs can be a nice complement to parents teaching the
young'uns how to get up on skis or a wakeboard. A school or a camp guarantees safe, empty, smooth
water for students of any skill level. And the coaches have the training and experience, not to
mention the inexhaustible patience, required for teaching everyone from first-timers to pros.
Some people use
the terms "schools" and "camps" interchangeably when they're talking about places that teach
watersports, but there's a difference. School is where you go for lessons on a day-to-day basis.
You may go there five times a week, but you only go for your lessons. Camp, on the other hand, is
where you go for a total watersports training immersion. Camps usually run for about a week (there
are, for example, also three-day camps and multiweek camps), and you eat and sleep on campus.
Not so long ago, Florida had a virtual monopoly on watersports schools and camps. Now,
though, you can find schools and camps all over the map. So instead of having really no choice but
to opt for a Florida camp if you live in Seattle, you can now stay closer to home and choose
between schooling and camping.
Schooling or camping is a big decision, and one that's dependent upon the child. Some kids do
better when they can sleep in their own beds; others thrive when they're on their own. That's why
Christine Bialick, director of marketing at Texas Ski Ranch (
www.texasskiranch.com
), tells parents, "Let your child help decide on the camp. Visit in advance, if possible, so
that the day you leave him or her, it won't be a strange place. Let your child take something
special with them to make them feel at home." Perhaps most importantly, send mail.
"Campers love to get packages, letters and e-mails from home," Bialick says. "Packages may
include something as simple as cookies or a deck of cards, but the package itself makes the child
stand out and feel special."
Bialick also says parents should ask the director of any camp under consideration a few
pointed questions. "Ask what kind of experience the staff has, the staffers' ages and how well
supervised the campers are at night," she advises. "What kind of meals will be served? Will the
camp and the staff pay attention to needs like hydration and sunscreen? What's the procedure if a
child is injured or becomes ill?"
There's one more very
important subject, Bialick says. "Does the camp do background checks on its employees?" she asks
emphatically. "Do not send your child to a camp that doesn't. Even though a background check isn't
foolproof, it will help reduce the chances that a predator could be working at the camp.
Finances are another story. Camps cost a lot more than schools. For example, at O'Town Watersports in Orlando ( www.otownwatersports.com ), a single lesson costs $65, a day package (including trampoline training and video review) runs $250, and a weeklong camp session costs $1,350. There are discounts for multiple lessons, and the camp rate may drop in the off-season.
Texas Ski Ranch, located in New Braunfels, offers campers an extreme sports immersion. A week
at TSR costs $895 and includes room and board, and in addition to watersports, campers get access
to TSR's skateboard park for an even more extreme sports experience. For only a few dollars more,
TSR campers can get the Learn2Ride MotoX Add-On (total price: $1,290), which brings campers to the
Five Magic's Motocross School for two group sessions.
Although the brochures can make it seem as if watersports schools and camps are where the
elite go to improve, that's not the case at all. Virtually all schools and camps offer instruction
for all skill levels, even for kids who've never been up on skis or a wakeboard in their lives. In
fact, many coaches will tell you that they prefer working with beginners and novices because the
learning curve is steeper and progress is much easier to see for both student and coach.
Of course, there's more to matching kid with camp than price and location. Bialick, of Texas
Ski Ranch, offers this advice: "The ratio of counselors and coaches to kids should be small. This
type of training is pretty intense, and if the ratio is higher than five to one, your child may not
be well supervised and will spend a lot of time waiting for his turn behind the boat." Also, ask
the camp director what other activities are available to the campers.
Competition is also a great way for families to get involved in watersports. Leagues and
tournaments aren't really where you go to learn how to ski or wakeboard; they're where you go to
have fun with fellow enthusiasts and participate with others of your skill level. Even though
competitive watersports are purely individual (you're all alone at the end of that rope), the
camaraderie offered by all-comers leagues and tournaments can forge a lifetime love of watersports,
as well as lifelong friendships.
Depending on how you look at it, there are either two or four major amateur, or all-comer, leagues: The INT League ( www.intleague.com ) and the USA Water Ski's Grassroots Programs ( www.usawaterski.org ) - the National Ski League (NSL), National Wakeboard League (NWL), and National Barefoot League (NBL).
The goal of all the
amateur leagues is to give watersports enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels the opportunity to
participate and compete with their fellow waterheads. In all leagues, the emphasis is more on
having fun in a family-friendly environment than on cutthroat competition.
Between the INT League and Grassroots Programs, there are hundreds of tournaments and events across the United States that are open to anyone. You have to pay a modest entry fee to join the organization, but it's money well spent, as these events are conducted as professionally as those you see on television. There are announcers, music, food, and freebies ranging from hats and T-shirts to gear doled out by sponsors.
Most participants will tell you that the amateur leagues' biggest draw is the fact that the
competitors aren't grouped by age, but by skill level. This can result in some odd matchups - a
42-year-old man might be competing head-to-head with his 14-year-old son or daughter - but it truly
levels the playing field.
One bit of advice: Competition can be addictive. Especially when it's set up so everyone in
the family can participate, the way the amateur leagues and tournaments are. Before you know it,
instead of looking forward to the release of the next Grand Theft Auto game for the PlayStation,
the kids - and Mom and Dad - are looking forward to next month's wakeboard camp, next month's
amateur tournament weekend, or just next weekend's family trip to the local lake or river. And
someday, when those kids are old enough for their own trip down memory lane, they'll have those
misty, water-colored memories of how they fell in love with watersports, just like you do.