Endless stories of joy as the River City Waterski Team brings joy to people with special challenges

Twice a summer, the River City Waterski Team takes a day to bring what they do on the water to those who would likely never get a chance.

Friday at 9 a.m. at Lake Neshonoc in West Salem, and again in August, the team will host an adaptive ski clinic for approximately 55-60 people of all ages, using specialized equipment for standing on skis.

“The joy these people show when they get out on the water and go skiing is just something you have to see to appreciate,” the ski team’s Jody Lyon told WIZM, before listing several success stories that probably made her feel just as much deliver. joy.

One story was about an amputee as a result of a military incident.

“We started him with a sit ski, and then we were able to actually train him to stand up skiing,” Lyon said. “So that was just fantastic. His enthusiasm and joy in being able to do that was again something that you have to see to appreciate.”

Another was of an autistic boy, who likes to ride in the convertible with Dad, and gets an even bigger thrill from standing behind the boat on skis.

“Just having that feeling of that wind,” Lyon said. “Just pure joy on his face.”

Not everyone is excited about overcoming the challenges of getting on skis. But Lyon says they’ll find a way.

Perhaps her best story is about the little girl who needed Barbie for a ride.

“She was scared, but she kept holding her little Barbie doll,” Lyon said. “So we figured out a way to attach her doll directly to the sit ski, and then she was fine. And she was excited to go skiing. As long as she had her Barbie with her.”

Of course there are also the waterfalls. Some self-imposed, others accidentally. Almost always laughing afterwards.

Lyon said a skier tried to jump out of his sit ski and tackle one of the team’s balancing skiers. Another example is that a little girl has crashed a few times to her mother’s horror, but each time she comes out smiling.

“Everyone is just still having a good time,” Lyon said. “I would say there aren’t many falls. But when it does happen, everyone is usually in the water laughing and just having a great time.”

They’ve been doing these clinics for almost a decade.

Someone came up with the idea of ​​another ski team and asked if River City would do it. They wasted no time figuring out how.

“We jumped on it right away,” Lyon said. “One of our skiers used to ski in the Dells with Tommy Bartlett, so she reached out to some contacts she had there – people who had experience. So they came here and taught us how to do it.”

The group sizes were initially small, as they first borrowed equipment and then had little money to buy their own skis.

It then got help from the North American Squirrel Association (NASA) of Holmen to purchase special equipment such as a sit-down ski and a triple edge bar, and since then they have been treating larger and larger groups.