July 21, 2006

On Saturday, the Panther Lake Ski Club hosted the 2006 Regionals Warm-up slalom water ski tournament at Panther Lake just east of Fuquay-Varina. The event attracted two North Carolina State Champions, Robbie Mitchell and Kaitlyn Ross. In addition, the nine time national champion and current national slalom record holder for both Men 3 and Men 4, Chuck Forrest from Oriental, NC came out of 3 years retirement to ski at Panther Lake.

In slalom skiing, the skiers compete in age and gender divisions. The slalom course consists of 6 buoys which the skier must ski around to complete a 'pass'. Each time the competitor completes all 6 buoys the speed of the boat is increased until a maximum speed is reached, then they start shortening the rope until the skier doesn't complete all 6 buoys. The competitor completing a pass at a higher speed or shorter rope, wins. The top pro skiers will ski at 36 mph with a ski rope which is shorter than the distance from the boat to the buoys, requiring then to lay out to get around the buoy (see photo).

The weather was great for the competitors, with no rain and little wind. The Boy 2 division was won by Bradley Pinkus, Blake Loewengruber 2nd and Daylon Pinkus 3rd. Boys 3 was won by Jake Nathan. Girls 1 was won by Becca Priede, Hope Brummitt 2nd and Brooke Loewengruber 3rd. Girls 2 was won by Kaitlyn Ross, Christine Priede 2nd and Haley Ross 3rd. Men 3 was won by Robbie Mitchell, Troy Priede 2nd and Darryl Robinson 3rd. Men 4 was won by Chuck Forrest, Randy Joyner 2nd and Murry Young 3rd. Men 5 was won by Jaime Diaz, Henik Edeback 2nd and Roger Racster 3rd. Men 6 was won by Tommy Harrington. Women 2 was won by Tammy Thomas, Meredith Pressley 2nd. The remaining winners were: Hana Edeback Women 1, Gina Ross Women 3, Patricia Griffin Women 4, Ben Coppage Men 1, John Thomas Men 2 and Ed Richert Master Men 55k.

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July 18, 2006

PRESS RELEASE

The Panther Lake Ski Club will host the 2006 Panther Lake Slalom water ski tournament on Saturday, July 22nd. The slalom competition is sanctioned by USA WATERSKI and the INTERNATIONAL WATER SKI FEDERATION.

This tournament will feature some of the best slalom skiing from the Raleigh area and across the state. The competition will begin at 8am and finish at about 8pm. Current state champions Robbie Mitchell, Jack Bond and Kaitlyn Ross will be skiing. Everyone is encouraged to attend to watch some great skiing, while learning about competitive water skiing and how easy it is to get involved.

Panther Lake is located at the intersection of Old Stage Rd and Panther Lake Rd, just east of Fuquay-Varina. Admission is free and the public is welcome.

For more information, contact Bob Ross 919-255-8905.