shawano ski sharks

National water-ski tournament coming to Shawano

Published by admin on Tue, 07/30/2024 - 12:09pm

The Shawano Ski Sharks will host the BankFirst Division 2 National Water-ski Tournament presented by Visit Central Florida on Aug. 2-4.

Individual and team competitions will be held, with events kicking off at 7 a.m. Aug. 2.

“Friday is a full day of individual competitors from swivel skiing, strap doubles, jump, etc.,” said Dave Passehl, Ski Sharks president. “At Division 2, there are more individual disciplines than they run at a D1 tournament. So at this time, we have a full competition of 81 individuals for Friday.”

Road closures, other parking rules in effect during water-ski tournament

Published by admin on Tue, 07/30/2024 - 12:05pm

Parking will be at a premium during the BankFirst Division 2 National Water-ski Tournament presented by Visit Central Florida on Aug. 2-4, and residents need to aware of road closures and other changes.

Parking will be available in the courthouse parking lot at North Washington and West Third streets, Kersten Accounting and Tax Professionals at 610 W. Green Bay St. and a city lot at North Washington and West Fifth streets.

There are several road closures as well.

Ski Sharks place second at state tournament

Published by admin on Mon, 07/29/2024 - 1:02pm

The Shawano Ski Sharks earned a second-place finish at the Wisconsin State Tournament held July 18-21 on Lake Wazeecha at Red Sand Beach at South Wood County Park near Wisconsin Rapids.

Hosted by the Wisconsin Rapids Aqua Skiers, the competition featured more than two dozen teams.

The Ski Sharks are a Division 2 team.

“The team skied an amazing show, and our production was so fun,” said Dave Passehl, Ski Sharks president. “We put our best foot forward at the tournament and fell just short by 60 points.”

Ski Sharks to host national competition in August

Published by admin on Tue, 07/02/2024 - 12:50pm

One would think that with all the time invested by the Shawano Ski Sharks in putting on weekly water-ski shows for more than two months, there wouldn’t be a lot of time left to volunteer for something else.

One would be wrong.

The four-day Wisconsin State Tournament will be held July 18-21 on Lake Wazeecha at Red Sand Beach at South Wood County Park near Wisconsin Rapids.

Hosted by the Wisconsin Rapids Aqua Skiers, the championship is the largest ski show tournament in the world, with 28 teams being judged to find the best of the best.

Ski Sharks spending summer at Camp Onawahs

Published by admin on Fri, 06/28/2024 - 4:52pm

A slight breeze, lots of sunshine and the aroma of grilled food welcome the throngs of people to Smalley Park for the weekly Shawano Ski Sharks waterski show.

“This year, we are simply working on getting bigger,” said Dave Passehl, Ski Sharks president. “Our pyramids are big like last year, and our prebuilt pyramid is the largest we’ve ever done with intentions of going bigger.

“We also have a large amount of skiers that jump, including those the flip and spin, and even our adaptive skier pulls a jumper over the ramp. Our jump act has been solid all year long.”

Council OKs water shows continuing at Smalley

Published by admin on Thu, 04/11/2024 - 2:37pm

The Shawano Common Council signed off on a five-year use agreement with the Shawano Ski Sharks on April 10 to allow their summer water skiing shows to continue at Smalley Park.

Council members received appreciation from Ski Sharks leader Dave Passehl, who also indicated a solution to the equipment storage situation could be coming next month. This revelation came weeks after a contentious meeting of the Shawano Parks and Recreation Commission where longtime Shawano residents criticized the view from their homes of the equipment the Ski Sharks use to put on their shows.

Ski Sharks equipment eyesore for neighbors

Published by admin on Thu, 03/28/2024 - 11:19am

The city of Shawano is working out a way to reduce the amount of Shawano Ski Sharks equipment being stored at Smalley Park in order to appease frustrated neighbors.

A Shawano Park and Recreation Commission meeting on March 27 was, at times, contentious, as a former city administrator, his wife and a retired dentist spoke about how the equipment at the park spoils their view and puts area children at risk if they play on it, and representatives of the Ski Sharks took some of the comments as an attack on an organization that has utilized the area for 40 years.

Ski Sharks take second place at state tourney

Published by admin on Tue, 07/25/2023 - 8:46am

The Shawano Ski Sharks saved the circus, and in the process, they finished in second place in Division 2 at the National Show Ski Association (NSSA) state tournament in Wisconsin Rapids on July 18-21.

All told, the team racked up more than a dozen awards as a team and individually.

Ski Sharks perform first summer show

Published by admin on Thu, 06/08/2023 - 11:37am

The Shawano Ski Sharks performed their first show of the summer on June 7 at Smalley Park on the Wolf River, debuting their new theme “Ski Sharks Save the Circus.”

A solid crowd was on hand to watch the team’s first show, which was put together by Jack, Ryan and Sam Strachan.

The brothers’ show is all about taking a circus and putting it on the water. As the theme implies, the skiers are doing their best to keep the circus going by entertaining and getting more fans in the seats.

Ski Sharks members part of new world records

Published by admin on Mon, 10/03/2022 - 11:30am

Even though the final Shawano Ski Sharks show was on Aug. 17, the team has been busy over the past few weeks.

Several Ski Sharks members have been part of world record attempts, and the team has began to plan for the 2023 season.

Keuschel part of new world record

Ski Sharks member Brad Keuschel was one of the skiers that formed a 93-person human pyramid on Sept. 10 on Rock River in Janesville.

Recently, the accomplishment was officially named a Guinness World Record for the largest human water skiing pyramid formation.