PARENT'S VIEW
[photo]
Colin Ellis - above the treeline at 
Georgia College's site.
WATER SKIING AND 
EDUCATION
By Pat and Dave Ellis

Trying to combine waterskiing at an 
elite level with education was a 
challenge throughout our son, Colin 
Ellis' high school years.  Now, how-
ever, the situation has changed, as 
he entered university last fall.  Along 
with all the other incentives to con-
tinue skiing, education has become 
an unexpected plus.

	It's important that skiers not let 
their education slide, as skiing will 
end, but life keeps going.  As par-
ents of a skier, we wanted share 
what we learned, letting the younger 
skiers and their parents know how 
they can continue to train while 
pursuing educational goals.

	As our son was nearing university 
age, we began looking at the alter-
native that were available to him.  He 
could stay in Canada and attend a 
Canadian university.  This would 
mean that he would probably have to 
do a repeat performance of what he 
did in high school - attend school 
during the fall semester and take a 
leave of absence after Christmas to 
train in Florida.  While this has some 
advantages in that he could devote 
his full attention either to education 
or skiing, it also has some 
disadvantages.  Depending on what 
university he selected, he might not 
have received the support he would 
need as the school might not allow 
students to take time off.  

Dave Ellis and son Colin.


	This plan would also affect his 
social life, because his absence 
would interfere with the feeling of 
belonging that students need.  There 
would also be the possibility of not 
getting the right classes as some are 
only offered in one semester.  From 
our perspective as parents, this 
would probably be more costly 
because we would have to pay for 
his training, as well as pay for his 
education over an extended period 
of time.

	With all this in mind, we began 
looking at the possibility of sending 
Colin to school in the States at a 
school that had a water ski team so 
he could combine the two activities.  
Our first thought was the cost.  We 
were pleasantly surprised that many 
schools offer incentives to qualified 
skiers, such as waiving out of state 
tuition fees, providing room and/or 
board, and providing excellent ski 
facilities at either no cost or a nom-
inal one.  When comparing this to 
what it would cost at a Canadian 
university, there was very little dif-
ference.  If anything, this is going to 
be more and more the case as 
tuition at Canadian universities will 
very likely have to rise. 

	Once we realized that an educa-
tion in the States was feasible, we 
began looking at various schools.   
We looked at the educational pro-
grams they offered, the quality of 
their skiing facilities, their nearness 
to other ski schools if Colin needed 
some expert help with his skiing, the 
other skiers attending the school and 
the financial packages being offered.  
Of course, the final decision was left 
to Colin.  He had to be happy with 
the school he chose since he would 
be the one attending  it and living so 
far from home.

	We then began contacting the 
schools that offered the package that 
Colin wanted.  This brought some 
surprising and pleasant results.  In 
three out of the four schools we 
approached, they began to actively 
recruit Colin, making him


con't next page


PARENT'S VIEW con't






feel welcomed.  This had its downs-
ide as well.  When it came to choo-
sing one school, Colin had difficulty 
because of the personal involvement 
of the recruiter.  But because the 
recruiters were usually coaches or 
managers of the ski team and were 
also, in many instances, involved in 
education,  we were able to get a lot 
of detailed information on both the 
skiing and educational programs and 
requirements.  Visits to the schools 
meant tours of the campus and ski 
sites, and sometimes a chance to 
interact with some of the team 
members.

	Colin chose Georgia College in 
Milledgeville, Georgia, where he is 
now finishing his freshman year.  His 
team mates include Kyle Peterson, 
the Junior World Champion, and 
Ron Williams, the World Disabled 
Champion.  He has been through his 
first set of collegiate tournaments.  
Although the Georgia College men's 
team placed first in their region, the 
team did not finish in the top two of 
the region as the women's results 
were poor.  (For those Ontario 
female skiers looking for a place on 
a collegiate ski team, George Col-
lege would be very interested in 
talking to you!).  They ended up in 
third place behind Alabama and 
Clemson and thus did not go to the 
collegiate nationals held in 
Sacramento, California.  Despite the 
disappointment, Colin experienced 
not only challenging skiing, but he 
also had a great time.  He is really 
looking forward to more collegiate 
tournaments.  He and his team 
mates ski at the Georgia College 
site, Lake Walmead, which is an 
excellent, privately owned site.  He 
can now concentrate on his studies 
but can also keep up his skiing.  He 
even has access to a trainer who will 
help him develop a fitness program 
suited to his individual needs.

	Colin is not alone in discovering 
skiing at the collegiate level. Cur-
rently, we are aware of the following 
skiers attending school in the States:  
Kevin Marcelllissen (Southwest 
Louisiana State), Danny and Matt 
Rini and Doug Ross (University of 
Central Florida), and Tom Muir 
(Northeast Louisiana State).   By the 
way, Tom Muir won slalom at the 
Collegiate Nationals and lead his 
team to a first place victory.  Andrew 
Ross, we believe has graduated 
from Rollins College.  If we have left 
anyone out, it is unintentional.

	This is one of the avenues skiing 
may open for you.  If you would like 
to talk to us about our experience 
thus far, give us a call.  We believe 
it's worth looking into and based on 
our experience with costs, it so far 
seems financially reasonable.  We'll 
keep you posted as  we become 
more involved.