The 52nd Masters Water Ski and Wakeboard Tournament at Callaway Gardens has gone through a transformation.
At the core is still the very exclusive invitational tournament from which skiers from around the world wait near their mailboxes for the letter allowing them to ski on Robin Lake.
What organizers have done is to make the whole weekend a festive family event.
“Our goal is to encourage our guests to spend a great day and evening on the beach,” said Tim Chason, the Gardens’ executive vice president of operations. “We’re bringing more entertainment.”
Friday is when the Junior Masters semifinal and final rounds take place. In the afternoon, the Gardens’ Farmers’ Market will kick off the weekend.
There will be different types of music and food offered every evening.
Who made the changes
The organizers from Callaway Gardens, led by Chason, met with tournament director Jennifer Abel frequently. They may not have met face-to-face very often, but corresponded almost daily by telephone and emails.
“This is my ninth Masters, but this is my first year as tournament director,” Abel said. Her job includes everything from sending out invitations to the skiers to finding sponsorships.
She knew before taking on the job that it would take a lot of time and effort.
“I’m not doing this on my own,” Abel said. “It takes 92 staff people to run the event.”
The electric boat
The fully-electric boat will be used during the Head-to-Head Slalom exhibition Saturday and Sunday.
“It’s not a small event at all,” said Greg Meloon, vice president of marketing and product development for Nautique boats. His great-grandfather started the company, which was called CorrectCraft, in 1925.
“The project started a little while ago,” he said. “It comes down to see if you can get enough power to move the boat and store enough power to continue to pull skiers for a period of time.”
Right now, the boat’s top speed is 40 miles per hour, enough for slalom skiing, which requires the boat to travel at 36 miles per hour. The boat can take four competitors on a slalom course before having to plug in to go back out.
So at this point, with almost 100 competitors, the electric boat is not feasible.
But for exhibition purposes, it’s great, Meloon said.
Going Head-to-Head
In 2010, Andy Mapple skied against Bob LaPoint in the first Head-to-Head Slalom exhibition on Robin Lake.
“I get one brother and then the other one,” Mapple said. He will ski against Kris LaPoint this year.
“I’ve worked together with Kris for a lot of years,” Mapple said. “We’ve been close for a long time. He’s a legend in his sport. It’s amazing he’s still doing it. He’s remarkable. He’s been through a lot of surgery and has a passion for the sport.
“He kept getting beat up and kept getting back up. I was pretty fortunate I didn’t have any major injuries.”
Mapple, 48, is a legend himself. Between the two men, they own 21 Masters titles.
LaPoint, who first skied on Robin Lake in 1967 when he was 14, was the youngest winner ever. This was before the Junior Masters was established.
He said he doesn’t see any 14-year-olds winning the Masters any time soon. He cites better equipment and tougher skills to learn.
While Mapple skied on Robin Lake last year, it’s been 15 years for LaPoint.
“I’m looking forward to it, but I’m nervous,” he said. “It can be a difficult place to ski. It can get a little roily (turbulent), so it’s a great test for a skier. But it’s the same for everyone.”
As for trash talking, that won’t happen, both men say.
“We have too much respect for each other for that,” LaPoint said.
When asked how he liked his retirement, LaPoint said they’re really not retired.
“It’s a sport that’s a little bit like tennis,” he said.
“You can participate in it your whole life.”
