University of Texas Hosts 2019 SCR Winter Conference

Teams from the South Central Region gathered in Austin on the weekend of February 23, 2019 to hold their annual Winter Conference to discuss rule changes, elect a new regional board and enjoy the city with friends.

The University of Texas at Austin Water Ski Team hosted Winter Conference this year. They put together a fun-packed weekend complete with two meetings, a soccer game, and social outings around downtown Austin.

SCR Officer Meeting

Team representatives and SCR board members met Saturday morning at the University of Texas campus to recap the previous year and plan for coming events.

Mini Ramp!

Announced at the meeting, the region now has access to a mini ramp that will be available to all teams in the region to use for several months at a time. This is great news for skiers wanting to learn how to jump.

Region Color!

The region also voted on an official team color, which will be Hawaiian blue.

Rules, Rules, Rules

Jackson Driggs (UT) explained new rule changes for the coming season, as well as changes to the nationals running order for next year. There was a lengthy discussion about whether or not Nationals should become a record tournament or remain as a Class-C event. The discussion is still ongoing.

At the end of the meeting, new officers were elected for the South Central Region Board. Madison Hayden (ARK) and Aaron Sander (TAMU) were re-elected as regional secretary and treasurer, respectively. Jackson Driggs (UT), who served as vice chair last year, was elected as chair for this year.

Changes Ahead

Grace Kelm retired from being chair of the region. We will miss her leadership, and we are thankful for all that she has done for the region during her time as chair.

SCR Chair: Jackson Driggs (University of Texas)

SCR Vice Chair: Danny LeBourgeois

SCR Secretary: Madison Hayden (University of Arkansas)

SCR Treasurer: Aaron Sander (Texas A&M University)

SCR Spring Tournament Schedule

Polar Bear

Texas A&M University will be hosting the 42^nd annual Polar Bear tournament at Stevenson’s Ski Ranch on March 30-31 in Conroe, Texas.

Fleur de Ski

University of Louisiana at Lafayette will be hosting Fleur de Ski at Airport Lake on April 13-14 in Lafayette, Louisiana.

All-Stars

The SCR All-Star team will be competing against the rest of the nation at Swerve Watersports on May 18-19 in Hillsboro, Tennessee.

Skier Meeting

While team representatives and board members held their meeting, the rest of the South Central Region skiers in attendance had their second-annual skier meeting. Emily Nash (TAMU), Tom Poole (ULM), and Patrik Ohman (ULL) led discussions on ski equipment, tournament scoring, dock etiquette and how to volunteer at tournaments.

The discussion was geared towards helping new skiers run their teams and tournaments efficiently, as well as basic 3-event skills.  

Region Fun – Soccer or Fútbol

Following the conference and skier meetings, teams met for lunch at Cabo Bob’s before heading to the intramural fields for a laid-back soccer game. Let’s just say a majority of water skiers should stick to water skiing.

Banquet to Finish Things Off

New for winter conference, the University of Texas Water Ski Team hosted a banquet at Downtown Chinatown in Austin to finish off the weekend. The servers at the restaurant were very impressed with how much fried rice skiers can put down.

Thank You UT

The South Central Region would like to extend a huge “thank you” to the University of Texas Water Ski Team for hosting a very memorable winter conference.