• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Ski team trains year round to stay top shape

Photo Gallery

Rock Aqua Jays celebrate 50 years

Janesville's Rock Aqua Jays water ski team has been performing on the Rock River for 50 years.

View Gallery

Photo

JANESVILLE — Maintaining a world class show ski team takes work.

A lot of work.

Members of the Rock Aqua Jays train all year to make sure they are able to perform the jumps, barefoot skiing, slaloms and pyramids their fans have come to expect in the summer.

Show Director Dave Rezin said skiers use a variety of workouts to prepare for the show season including Zumba, spinning classes, P90 X and Insanity.

The team’s lead skiers have to be ready before the season starts, Rezin said, or they will be sore for the first month after skiing starts.

Training in the off-season can be difficult, however, because water skiing uses muscles in unusual ways.

“Even a recreational skier knows you’re going to be using muscles that you have never used before,” Rezin said.

Rezin said they send out an email to members in January reminding them to keep in shape and to maintain a healthy diet.

Even with the reminders, a member sometimes needs an extra push to stay in show shape.

“Not everyone comes in shape, and just talking about the guys, here, there is some good-natured jesting if someone comes in a couple of pounds heavier than last year,” Rezin said. “They will get on that guy a little a bit.”

There is no break for the skiers once the show season starts after Memorial Day. The Aqua Jays perform on Sundays and Wednesdays at Traxler Park. The lead team practices on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the alternative team practices on Thursdays and Fridays.

The team skis even more in the weeks leading up to big tournaments.

“Our club basically skis six out of seven days a week,” Rezin said.

All that time on the water can take its toll on the skiers, but the Aqua Jays have Rezin, who is the director of rehabilitation with Rockford Orthopedic Associates.

Rezin said he helps members when knee, shoulder and other injuries pop up.

As the summer moves along, the Aqua Jays make sure to give their veteran skiers a rest.

“What ends up happening after nationals—in the second week of August—is the veteran skiers who perform in multiple acts step back, and we have the younger skies step forward into a bigger role,” Rezin said.

This helps the younger skiers gain experience and confidence leading into the off-season, which is sure to include plenty of trips to the gym for all the Aqua Jays.