Senate
helps team stay afloat
Photos
courtesy of water ski and wakeboard team
By
Emily Campoy
On-line Forty-Niner
After
almost two months of dealing with what seemed
to be an irreparable boat, the Cal State
Long Beach water ski and wakeboard team
finally received funding for a new one.
The
team's captain, senior Ryan Anderson, has
been trying to raise money for the team
since the boat died from a computer blow-out
during a morning practice at Marine Stadium.
After
a meeting in early December with the A.S.
Senate and the Board of Control, Anderson,
accompanied by supportive team members,
managed to implement a rule forcing the
team to sell the boat and buy a new one
every 18 months to prevent future teams
from enduring the problems the team is currently
experiencing.
At
almost 40 members, the team currently practices
twice a week and competes in tournaments
throughout California, Arizona and Washington.
In addition to competing, the team also
periodically takes trips to the Colorado
River and Lake Nacimiento.
The
team incurs a multitude of expenses, ranging
from competition fees to gas for the boat.
The boat, owned by the Associated Students
Inc., is a 2001 Calabria Pro Comp, and is
in non-operating condition. The team's mechanic
looked at the boat and determined the computer
was at fault for the breakdown, but the
team had no idea what they were in for.
The depreciation of the boat has put the
funding for a new one in a slump. Had the
boat been sold a year ago without mechanical
problems, and a new one bought, the team
may not have been in its current situation.
Typically,
each year the boat is supposed to be turned
over for a new one to prevent maintenance
costs and to keep the boat from depreciating
in value. This didn't happen last year.
"It's a combination of things, I think
there are two really important factors,
whoever ran the team last year didn't emphasize
the importance of selling the boat to prevent
problems that we are having now," said
Anderson in regards to the teams situation.
"Secondly, there was never any team
policy to mandate that the boat be turned
over every year."
The
Senate also granted the team $3,500 to put
toward a new boat.
"The
boat is going to have to be fixed in order
to sell it, and then we can start working
on getting a new boat." Anderson said.
When
asked about the current boat situation,
freshman Dusty Rasnick replied, "It's
no fun because I can't do the thing I love,
so it hurts my feelings and aggravates me
to the point that I almost go insane."
In
an attempt to maintain the team's comradery,
events such as attending a Mighty Ducks
hockey game and pool parties have been organized
to help keep the team together while the
boat is not running.
Throughout
the season the water ski and wakeboard team
joins together with the ski and snowboard
team for other gatherings. A major fundraiser
for both teams is the annual BoardFest,
which took place in October.
"It's
a fun, epic dance party that helps the teams
to interact with each other while making
a few extra dollars," said Anderson,
who is also a co-captain for the ski and
snowboard team.
The water ski team currently competes with
schools such as UCLA and many others, so
practicing is essential to the team's success.
The team practices at the Long Beach Marine
Stadium, unless another more efficient practice
site is available, such as a lake with a
course.
Tournaments
are typically weekend long events and require
members to camp out at the tournament site
and arrange for transportation. However,
some tournaments do require hotel accommodations.
Although sometimes the hosting school will
provide some sort of meal for the teams,
most have to bring their own. The tournaments
consist of slalom, trick, and jump competitions
for water skiers.
Although
there are several wakeboarders on the team,
the competition is limited to surface tricks
during the ski tournaments. There is however,
such a high demand for wakeboard competition
that a separate league is starting to develop.
The
new boat that the team is looking to purchase
is the Cal Air by Calabria. It accommodates
water skiers as well as wakeboarders, and
depending on the specific model may hold
more people. Calabria is offering the boat
at a discounted price because of the working
relationship and sponsorship the team currently
has with them.
The
team is also sponsored by "Water Ski"
and "Wakeboard Magazine."
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