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5 great/water-ski shows

On summer evenings, watch 'em fly.

Watch a water-ski show, and you'll want to climb into your Thunderbird and go get a chocolate malted.

There's something deliciously retro about spending a balmy summer evening listening to '50s party music and the roar of marine engines as spangled, sun-bleached teen-agers fly by. A corny comedy routine is part of the show, but it's the tricks that keep the crowd enthralled: double flips, dance lines and pyramids that can go up to five tiers.

Show skiing is most popular in the Upper Midwest. Ralph Samuelson, who invented water-skiing on Lake Pepin in 1922, was a showman, and Tommy Bartlett began putting on shows in the Wisconsin Dells in 1952. Wisconsin has more show clubs than any other state, and the Janesville Rock Aqua Jays organized the first national championships in 1975.

The Madison club won that first championship and is the current champion, winning titles in 2008, 2007 and 2006. It performs Sundays on Lake Monona. In Minnesota, the Little Crow Water Ski Team in New London is a perennial contender and placed fifth in 2008; it performs Fridays on Neer Lake.

But every team puts on a fun show. Many resort towns have one, but here are five  to start. Check schedules to make sure a team isn't away at a tournament, such as the Wisconsin State Water Ski Show Tournament the third weekend of July and National Water Ski Show Tournament the second week of August.

Little Crow Water Ski Team in New London, Minn. In west-central Minnesota, this is the little team that could; it didn't form until 1979 but won national championships in 1994 and 1998. It performs Friday-evening shows on Neer Lake, $5, 320-354-5772, www.littlecrow.com.

Mad-City Ski Team in Madison. The team, which has won four of the last five titles, performs on Lake Monona at 6 p.m. Sundays at Law Park, next to Monona Terrace, free. 608-663-8326, www.madcityskiteam.com. 

Twin Cities River Rats in Minneapolis.  The River Rats perform on the Mississippi River just north of downtown Minneapolis, between the Broadway and Plymouth bridges, at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays, free, www.tcriverrats.com.

Rock Aqua Jays in Janesville, Wis. They've won the national title 15 times, finishing second in 2008, and they perform at 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays, 6:30 p.m. in August, on the Rock River in Traxler Park, free, www.rockaquajays.com.

Wonder Lake Ski Team in Wonder Lake, Ill. This team won the national championship in 2001, 2000 and 1996 and finished third in 2008. It performs at 7 p.m. Fridays on Wonder Lake, just across the border from Lake Geneva, Wis., where it also performs during Venetian Festival the third Sunday of August, www.wonderlakeskiteam.org.

Last updated on August 18, 2008