The ISU water-ski club went to the national competition and returned with a 10th-place finish out of 20 teams — a finish the club is very happy with, said club president Bob Shuman. The competition took place in Baton Rouge, La., on Oct. 14-16 and consisted of three events.

Iowa State was one of 12 teams able to compete in Division I because it finished third at the regional competition.

Club vice president Christian Noon, junior in mechanical engineering, said he was excited just to qualify for the national competition.

“I have never been more proud to represent ISU in anything,” Noon said.

“We were all smiles for days after we qualified for nationals, not to mention when we were actually there competing against many other professional water-skiers.”

Club treasurer Colby Redler, junior in mechanical engineering, said he was happy with their performance.

“We hoped not to place last in Division I, so placing 10th out of 12 was great,” Redler said.

The slalom event is done on one ski, Shuman said. The skier skis through a course which has six buoys. The course also has a gate of two buoys at each end of the course.

The skier must go through both gates to get credit for the pass.

When a skier successfully completes a pass around all six buoys, the boat speed is increased by 2 mph. Once the boat is at maximum speed, the rope is shortened upon completion of a pass.

Tricks can be done on one or two skis, Shuman said. Use of two skis is worth half the points because it is easier. Skiers get 20 seconds to do as many tricks as possible. Tricks have set point values and are judged on completion. Tricks range from basic surface spins like 180s or 360s to wake spins like wake 540s to flips.

In the jump event, skiers cut at the ramp as hard as they can and try to jump off the top. The ramp is 5 feet high and the boat goes up to 32 mph. Speeds up to 55 mph are reached in collegiate jumping.

“Only seven guys have ever jumped 100 feet in Iowa State history, and, currently, five of them are still skiing here,” Shuman said.

Sara Kumrow, senior in marketing, said she had a great time at nationals.

“Skiing for the Iowa State water-ski team has truly been amazing,” Kumrow said.

The team also did well individually.

For the ISU men, junior Brett Mommer finished 29th in slalom and tied with Shuman in trick for 24th place. Noon finished 27th in jump, with a jump of 105 feet.

Shuman finished as the top Cyclone in 16th place, which was the second-best finish for a skier from the Midwest.

For the women, Kumrow finished 31st in slalom, 48th in trick, 21st in jump and 25th overall. Her overall finish was fourth-best by a skier from the Midwest.

The next event for the ISU water-ski club will be an event it hosts April 16-17.

Although competition season is over until spring, the team will continue to water-ski for fun until November.

“We’ve been serious and trained hard all year,” Shuman said. “It’s time to let loose.”

The club practices five days a week in spring and fall at Dream Lake Estates in Huxley, which includes two man-made lakes for water-skiing.

“We are always trying to do different things in practice to improve,” Shuman said.

“In slalom and jump, we try different techniques and styles. Trick is a little different as far as practice goes. The only way to learn is to try new things. We also like to bring in top skiers from around the Midwest to coach us in specific events whenever possible.”