The dedication and enthusiasm ISU student Jayna Trotzig put into the ISU Water Ski Club will not be forgotten — and neither will she.

The Jayna Trotzig Memorial Tournament will be held this weekend in memory of the freshman from Sioux City who died Dec. 4, 2003, in a car accident on her way home.

Last spring, the club hosted the first ISU tournament and planned to keep it as an annual event. After Trotzig’s death, the team elected to name the competition in her honor.

“Jayna was a big part of the team last fall, and everyone who knew her was hit hard by the tragedy. It only seemed fit to name the tournament after her,” said Joe Weiser, president of the club and junior in mechanical engineering.

The tournament will take place at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at Dream Lake Estates in Huxley. Expected to compete are teams from Iowa, Kansas State, Kansas, Southwest Missouri State, Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Wisconsin-Stout.

Each competitor has to pay a tournament fee of $25, which will be partially used to cover the expenses of the tournament. The remaining money goes to the ISU club. After the tournament, the club has opted to buy something in Trotzig’s name for the club.

The top five men and women skiers in each event will make up the “A” team for each school, while the remaining skiers will form the “B” team.

Slalom and trick events will start the day off, and jump will be featured at the end.

“Men’s jump is usually considered to be the most exciting with people going a long ways, plus some wild crashes,” said Bob Shuman, vice president and junior in mechanical engineering.

A Jump-a-Thon will be held Sunday, and the team plans to collectively jump 10,000 feet. Donations are being accepted and will be split between the club and the Children’s Cancer Center in Des Moines.

Awards will be given out to first through third-place winners in each event for men and women. The team champion will be awarded a traveling trophy, which features a picture of Trotzig. The ISU club won its inaugural tournament last year.

“The traveling trophy is really nice, and the winning team will take it home each year and bring it back the next,” Weiser said. “We hope to keep the trophy here in Ames.”

The club consists of approximately 30 members. After a seventh-place finish at regionals last year, Iowa State missed the trip to nationals by one place.

The men’s team is currently ranked first in the Midwest and is the defending Midwest Regional Champion, as well as the Great Plains Conference Champion.

“Next year will be our best chance ever to go to nationals. We didn’t graduate any seniors, and we already have a few talented freshman that will be joining the team next fall,” Weiser said.

In the meantime, team members continue to reminisce about Trotzig and the impact she had on the team, as well as anyone who knew her.

As a freshman, Trotzig had just joined the team and was excited to participate.

“She was pumped. Jayna was the hardest working woman on the team,” said Colby Redler, junior in mechanical engineering and treasurer of the club. “She was an average skier, but she pushed herself to be the best.”

Trotzig always cheered everyone else on and could bring a smile to anyone’s face, club members said.

“It has been tough not having her around, but her loss is really being felt with the start of the ski season. She is greatly missed by all of us,” Shuman said.

A favorite story of teammates was when Trotzig overcame her fear of jumps in the most crucial moment: on her last jump of regionals.

“She was so excited and was making all these plans for the next fall,” Redler said. “She talked about how much better she was going to be and how excited she was.”

Trotzig also created a video for the club, which she showed to them the day before she died. Her teammates raved about how great it was and were thankful to have it as a memory of her. They are also grateful for the time they spent with her.

“When thinking about Jayna, I am always reminded of why I ski,” Weiser said. “Not to win or compete against other schools, but to be with my friends and participate in the sport I love at the same time.”