The ASU club water ski team's plan to continue a record breaking 2022 season was halted when it lost access to its home lake.
After almost 20 years of practicing at Firebird Lake in Chandler, Arizona, the Sun Devils were told to remove their equipment by February 2023 due to plans to drain the lake. That development forced the Sun Devils to search for a new home.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Alabama, Florida Southern College, University of Louisiana at Monroe and Rollins College are considered water skiing powerhouse schools. ASU briefly added its name to the list with a top five finish at nationals in 2022 and is battling through setbacks to bounce back.
"Everything was set up for us to grow and push even further, try to do even better than (fifth) maybe the next year, or even recruit more people to join our team, because we had a dialed setup with this lake," said former club president Aaron Foerster. "When we heard this news, it just ruined everything. It basically knocked us completely off balance."
Water skiing involves an athlete being towed behind a boat while using their skis to glide on the water. The sport requires water skis, a tow rope, a boat and a personal floatation device. Slalom is one of the most popular competitions and requires skiers to navigate a course with buoys.
To secure lake access, a team must navigate homeowners association regulations and legal processes across various communities, making it difficult to find a permanent home. The Sun Devils have experimented with a variety of lakes in Arizona, including private lakes in Buckeye, and now have a temporarily slip at Canyon Lake.
Water ski alum and former vice president Kelly Hill saw firsthand how inconsistency impacted recruitment. Hill said athletes know ASU doesn't have a permanent site, a fact that makes recruitment even more difficult.
"ASU is a great school, a fun team, but if there's no lake and no skiing, it's hard for really good skiers who are in high school right now to want to go to ASU versus a school that might give them a scholarship or might have a lake right on campus," Hill said.
Since collegiate water skiing is such a small community, most of the Sun Devils' recruitment is through childhood peers or current ASU students. Current president Johnny Maitland, a junior studying business, relies on team culture and functions to drum up interest.
"We're giving them a tour, we host them for a weekend, show them around, show them what we are as a team, and as a school," Maitland said.
Water ski club treasurer Will Chafoulias, a junior studying business data analytics, said the team's goal is to provide as much skiing as possible. With access to Canyon Lake, Chafoulias believes the site should help ASU jump back and keep garnering players.
"We just want to stay where we're at, we want to keep getting skiers to come here," Chafoulias said. "We've had four or five years now where we've been able to consistently attract skiers in each class, and we're a complete anomaly for a club team to do that."
Edited by Jack Barron, Sophia Ramirez and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at cjoneil6@asu.edu and follow @charcharo27 on X.
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Char is a sophomore studying sports journalism. This is her first semester with The State Press. She has also reported for AZPreps365, Blaze Radio and Phoenix College Basketball.
