Our Crowdfunding Groups
The University of Arkansas Water Ski Club was founded over 30 years ago. We have qualified for nationals four times in that history, with three of those times being in the past three years. In the D2 category, we have placed 11th, then 9th, then 6th, then most recently 4th, improving each year. This improvement resulted from significant team growth and an increase in dedication from our members. Most members are out at the lake practicing slalom, trick, and jump many times per week, putting in 20+ hours a week of skiing, boat driving, and site maintenance. We started out practicing on Beaver Lake when the team was founded and are now fortunate enough to practice on a private 3-event lake, owned by former U of A skier, Roger Boskus, paying dues to use the property, boat, and gas tanks.
We compete in the South Central region against teams like the University of Louisiana Lafayette and Monroe, the University of Texas, Texas State, Texas A&M, and Baylor. Three of these teams consistently qualify for D1 Nationals, and two hold many National Titles. This intense competition has caused us to grow in our abilities, but also tends to result in many expenses from a lot of traveling to Texas and Louisiana. This past year we were able to use our funds raised from FundRazor to support our team through the season. We hope to do the same this upcoming year!
Like many other sports at the University of Arkansas, the Water Ski Club is loved by Razorback fans and consistently competes in nationals. However, as a club team, we do not receive the funding that other programs do and we must rely on payments from our members.
Most of our team gear is 15 or more years old and nearly every piece has a rip, crack, or some age-related damage. This did affect our performance at some tournaments when the equipment would break during or just prior to a member competing. Water ski gear is very expensive, we pay our own site fees, and each tournament has entrance fees. This past year we were able to use funds raised via FundRazor to buy a new trick ski and pay for every member to attend the National Waterski Tournament! We have decided to relaunch this campaign in hopes that generous donors like yourself will help continue to keep our season funded and take some financial strain off of our skiers. With your support, our team will have access to more resources and achieve even greater success. We get to compete in the sport we love because of these donations and anything is appreciated!
There are many ways that you can help us prepare for our season and reach our goal of raising $5,500 by August 30th. The biggest one is by donating to one of the levels listed on this page or making a custom gift of any size. Another way that you can help is by sharing our campaign on social media or emailing it to your friends and family to spread the word. The last way that you can help is by following us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook and supporting Razorback Water Ski at tournaments near you. Thank you for considering helping us out. From all of us in the organization, we appreciate you more than you will ever know for letting us live our dream!
"The Waterski Club at the University of Arkansas was one of the greatest opportunities I had throughout my college experience. Not only was our team a family but the entire waterski community was a family, including the teams we competed against. Serving as President, I learned so much about myself as a leader and how to be a part of a team. I want to give a big thank you to the Boskus family for opening their home for us to ski at and a second family to rely on. The lessons I have learned through my time with the ski club are those like no other, and I hope more young athletes get to have the experiences I had.
- Seth LaForge '23
Example of miscellaneous items we need as a club are chairs, ez up tents, ice chests, and other tournament essentials to keep us healthy and ready to ski.
This donation will help cover the average cost of entry fees for a member. Typically, the club covers these fees for members, which can add up quickly. Your donation will reduce that burden on the club.
Our team bindings are either torn, zip tied, or straight unusable, and we need to purchase new boots to replace the unusable ones. Your donation will help cover costs such as this and ensure our team has what we need to compete!
As with any private ski lake, it is expensive to get lake time, pay for gas, and maintain the boat. We can’t be successful without regular practice and your donation helps fund that!
Skis are our second most expensive cost. New jump skis can cost $3,400, slaloms around $1,500+, and trick skis $1,000. Your donation will help us cover some of the costs associated with purchasing new equipment.
When we compete at tournaments, our skiers need vests, gloves, and club jerseys. We want to show our team spirit while we’re on the water, and your donation will help us represent the U of A!
Our biggest expenses associated with travel are gas and hotel costs due to the significant distance most tournaments are from Fayetteville. With your donation, we will be able to fund our essential expenses and defend the Razorback name.
This past year, we left NCWSA nationals as the 16th ranked team. Our athletes took home four individual national medals! With your help, we hope to raise our team ranking, along with bringing home more individual medals!
