On a blustery April afternoon with temperatures struggling to stay above 50, the glacial waters of Lake Monona seem the last place to look for students burning time between classes. Yet with spring competition looming, that’s where the most devoted members of the UW Ski and Wakeboard team spend much of the day.

The spring roster looks a little thin, just 40, half the number that ski for the club in the fall. But for the members willing to brave the icy depths, the earlier, the better to catch a few runs.

Like all club sports, the team is entirely managed by students, from financial affairs to team selection. The club regularly selects a crew of five men and five women to represent Wisconsin in tournament competition.

Rather than formal tryouts, selection for the premier squad depends primarily on performance in the weeks leading up to the event.

“Whoever happens to be skiing the best is who skis,” club president Jimmy Hackbarth explained. “We have a guy with a private lake up near the Dells. So we bring people who look good in practice up there to see how they trick and jump.”

In addition to trick wakeboarding, which constitutes a separate area of competition, the ski team fields athletes in three events: trick ski, slalom and jump.

On the unruffled waters of man-made tournament lakes, UW skiers break from the jagged cuts surrounding Madison to test their skills against representatives from other club teams.

“There are some varsity teams in the country but none of them in the Midwest,” junior trick skier Katie Buchanan said. “We have three major tournaments in the fall. One is regionals; from there the top five teams from the Midwest qualify for nationals. We’re gunning hard for it this year. Last year we missed it by a miniscule amount.”

Members not selected but interested in skiing competitively often get a chance to perform in tournaments anyway. An alternate squad allows skiers with less experience to develop their skills in a competitive atmosphere.

Redline Watersports in McFarland sponsors the team, providing coaching by owner Paul Vitucci and equipment discounts for members. Every year, Redline leases the team a new MasterCraft inboard ski boat for the season as well as offering nightly storage.

While the weather in Madison can easily be described as hell and the summer tragically short, the skiers and wakeboarders are just glad to be out on the lake whenever possible. The competitive aspect of the team remains important but most participants join purely for good times and crisp wakes to jump on.

“I wouldn’t want to be at any other school to ski because our team is really awesome,” Hackbarth remarked. “We’re like a family. Everyone hangs out together; it’s a really good time.”