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Jays won't host national meet

JANESVILLE — The Rock River flooding continues to make waves in Janesville.

The latest news to wash ashore is that the Rock Aqua Jays won’t be able to host the 2008 Division I National Water Ski Show Tournament on Aug. 8-10 at Traxler Park, which remains under water.

“It appears the Rock River will not be at an acceptable level until the week of the tournament, and that’s assuming there will be a relatively dry weather pattern from now until then,” said Joel Shapiro, club president.

After the water recedes comes a massive clean-up.

The August competition would have have been the 22nd time in 34 years the Aqua Jays hosted the national tournament.

The amateur water ski show club’s board of directors in a special meeting Tuesday night also decided to indefinitely cancel the Aqua Jays’ semiweekly evening shows.

That saddens Tom Presny, city parks director.

“The Aqua Jays provide Janesville with high-quality, family entertainment, and their performances will be greatly missed by the community this summer,’’ he said.

Cancellation of the Wednesday and Sunday shows leaves a hole in city leisure services providing recreational opportunities, Presny said.

“We will look at ways we can try to provide some alternatives, even though we’re limited in doing that because of the parks affected by the flood,’’ he said.

Christine Rebout, executive director of the Janesville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, estimated that losing the national tournament will cost the area a $2 million economic impact. The three-day tournament each day attracts 8,000 to 10,000 people who spend about $80 a day, Rebout said.

Hotels, restaurants, retailers and gas stations will be the hardest hit by the loss of ski show, Rebout said.

Also impacted are leisure travelers who arrive in motor coaches and go to the ski show as part of their itinerary. The announcement leaves the convention and visitors bureau scrambling to find alternatives to fill the evening hole for more than two-dozen bus trips coming to Janesville, Rebout said.

The National Show Ski Association in November of 2006 awarded the competitive bid to host this year’s nationals to the Aqua Jays. The 2009 bid was awarded to Ski Broncs of Loves Park, Ill. The Aqua Jays later this year will have the opportunity to bid to host the 2010 national tournament.

Fourteen teams from throughout the country are eligible to compete in the tournament that also features vendors, officials and water-ski dignitaries.

The ski association now must decide on an alternative site for this year’s national tournament, Shapiro said.

This spring’s flooding is the fourth flood event in 10 months to affect the team’s performance schedule and operations. The team has not completely recovered from the flooding of 2004 that kept skiers off the water for almost seven weeks, Shapiro said.

Meanwhile, the Aqua Jays plan to compete at the Wisconsin State Water Ski Show Tournament, July 17-21, in Wisconsin Rapids.

“We’re in survival mode,” Shapiro said, “but our organization will continue to exist and provide free, family entertainment in our community for years to come thanks to the generous support of many area businesses and individuals.”