UCLA club water ski members find niche at Ironwood Lake

With the sun reflecting off the calm lake and a cool breeze in the blue skies, laughter can be heard in the distance from the smiling faces scattered around the shore. A boat zooms past, rocking up and down on the water of Ironwood Lake with an individual in tow gliding across the top of the water.

This is the scene that the UCLA club water ski team welcomes every weekend, a place that they have come to call their own, which offers an escape from their lives at school. The team members travel to Arvin, which is nearly two hours away, to a private lake that they rent from a UCLA alumnus and camp on the shore, practicing their technique on the water.

“We’re actually on the lake pretty much every weekend,” said Megyn Rugh, a fourth-year biology student. “It’s pretty fun to camp out here and just get out of the Los Angeles bubble.”

While waiting for their turns to get out on the water, the team members sprawl out on their chairs and beach towels on the shore, cracking jokes, telling stories, enjoying nature and soaking up the sun. Smoke floats up from a barbecue nearby as the skiers gather around to take a break from the water and reenergize.

The team’s skiers said they find peace when they are skiing together on the water, hanging out on the shore and forgetting about their everyday stress and worries, at least for a short period of time.

The sport of water skiing is relatively underrepresented in a large city like Los Angeles, but the members – both new and old – keep the club moving forward and progressing in hopes of attracting others to witness, experience and ultimately become a part of their club.

Gina Phillipi, a third-year political science student, has taken on the role of team captain to try and bring in new faces to see what the club and sport are all about.

“I would love it if people could get more exposed to this atmosphere,” Phillipi said. “I can’t imagine anything more fun than just hanging out with friends at the lake all weekend.”

With the laid-back nature of the club, those that have never skied before often try it out with encouragement from the current members. Phillipi said that she is most proud of the team’s ability to attract individuals that have never skied before and to just get them on the water and have fun with everyone on the team.

Nicole Jewell, a first-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student, said she is thankful that the team was so welcoming to her and even convinced her to join it.

“People should just try it out. It’s really fun to do water sports in general, whether you can ski or wakeboard or not,” Jewell said. “Plus, if you don’t know how, they are going to teach you.”

Newcomers have the option of competing for the club at the tournaments, or they can come out to get a good workout or simply even do it to accomplish something for themselves. Rugh said she appreciates the laid-back college setting of the club but also respects that a certain amount of physical effort must be put toward being successful and remaining competitive at events.

“You wouldn’t think it, but you actually need to be in good cardio shape,” Rugh said. “Typically, a practice run is when you go through the course six times, so after one pass you are exhausted because you kind of almost hold your breath because you are so focused on getting around all the buoys.”

Fourth-year physics student Ryan Marakas has to hone his mental focus and physical ability as well as utilize his overall experience in water skiing to hit the ramps that float on the water. Marakas credits his ability to focus before he hits the jump, which helps him block out the feeling of sailing through the air.

“It’s a weird feeling, because you just feel kind of weightless. In the air, time just slows down, so you can think about what you are doing. I can’t describe it – it’s unlike anything else,” Marakas said.

With practices and competitions on the weekends throughout the school year, the team will spend most of them on the lake, which makes it difficult for the members to get work done while on the shore.

“It is a little bit hard, but since practice is just on the weekends, it’s really easy to leave school at school and just come out here to ski and camp,” Rugh said.

The team hopes to branch out its recruiting efforts in hopes of attracting new people who may not be regularly exposed to water skiing and the fun times that it can bring along. The team hopes that its secret getaway at Ironwood Lake will someday be revealed, and the team is ready to welcome that moment. Until then, the team members be out there on the lake, enjoying the sun and practicing for their next competition, the Chico Fall Opening Tournament at the end of the month.

“I was doing a slalom set, and I was looking around at the blue sky and all my friends hanging out on the shore – it’s just really peaceful and fun,” Phillipi said. “It’s so many weekends like that that make up my experience with this team. It’s like our own little world.”