PROFILE:  The Stacy Brothers 
Paul Jurbala

You'd be searching a long time to find two more solid guys than Jim and
Tom Stacy. Jim's a lawyer; Tom's an accountant. Both are married (to
Louise and Marie, respectively); both have young families. But, of
course, Jim and Tom are water skiers. Not only have they been skiing
for nearly 30 years, and competing for 20, but both have gone on to
contribute countless hours as volunteers - as officials and as
committee members. Neither shows any sign of lessening his commitment,
either - from Jim's habit of signing up not only his immediate family
but most of his cousins and friends as OWSA members each year (Don't
tell my wife) to Tom's promise to return to jump competition when he
enters Men's 3 division (Don't tell my wife).

Here's a look at Jim (past president of both OWSA and Water Ski Canada)
and Tom (current OWSA president) Stacy.

OWS: How did you get into skiing?

TOM:  I started at the family cottage at Farlane Lake.  My mother's
rule was I had to tread water for 5 minutes- when I was 9 years old I
passed the test.  There were lots of skiers and I thought it was neat.

JIM: We bugged our parents until they bought a boat- it was a 17'
runabout with a 65 hp Mercury. We got a pair of trick skis from
Margesson's - we used them a lot because our boat was pretty slow.

OWS: And when did you start competing?

TOM: Around 14 years old.  1976 at Davis Lake.  I remember doing 240
points in tricks and 1 buoy @ 24 mph in slalom.

JIM: Greg Whilsmith was on the lake, he was a big skier. He had a
J-Craft and a slalom course,  and he was an OWSA member, of course.
(Editor:  He still is - Greg helps out annually at the Toronto Boat
Show). Greg also brought the OWSA Travelling Clinic up to the lake - he
really got us going.

TOM: I did my first Nationals in '71, at Welland. We were mostly based
at the cottage until '77 when we started skiing at Puslinch. We also
got George Athans and Clint Ward's book on water skiing in 1973, that
really opened our eyes. We jumped, too: but Jim stopped when he hurt
his knees, and I stopped because my wife didn't like it.

OWS: And when did you start judging and volunteering?

TOM: I started at 16 years old, because people need help and always ask
you to help out at a tournament. I've done higher level judging in the
last 6 years. It just happened. I got a good mark on the exam, and away
I went.

Jim had been on the OWSA board for some years (he was president in
'86/7).  I joined the OWSA board around 1989.

JIM: It was John Pepper who asked me to join the OWSA board. Then,
because the OWSA past president represents Ontario at Water Ski Canada,
I became involved with WSC. Clint Ward persuaded me to run for Water
Ski Canada president in 1991. I wanted to give something back to the
sport, so I volunteered.

OWS: What kind of changes have you seen in the sport since you
started?

TOM: There was so much activity - novice circuit, courses on the lakes,
clubs, Davis Lake, Peterborough, etc.  They all had events.  That's how
we got started.

There was more of a club environment then, now we have private sites
and individuals with own boats.  We've developed a lot of really elite
skiers now, but the grassroots is smaller.

JIM: Sports ebb and flow. Water skiing is still evolving, with events
like wakeboard and kneeboard. It's a great family sport, the family can
do it together. Anybody can experience the exhilaration, whether you're
a beginner or running the course 38' off. It's the same lake and the
same boat, but there's something for everyone.

OWS: How do you feel about new events like wakeboarding?

TOM: It's more than a fad, but I don't think it will take off like
water skiing did in the '70's.  It  reflects people wanting to do
something challenging and exciting, but not having facilities like
slalom courses and snowboarding has played a big role.  JIM: People are
having fun. That's what it's all about.

OWS: What are some of your most exciting moments?

JIM: For me, Joel (McClintock's) win at the 1979 Worlds; and winning
the '92 Nats at Sherbrooke, that was a personal goal of mine; and
seeing the Canadian team win in Austria. (The 1991 World
Championships.)

TOM: I remember skipping some school to go to the '79 Worlds - skiing
with international skiers at Puslinch when they were training there.

OWS: What's your expectation for the next few years? How do you think
Water Ski Canada and  the OWSA will hold up if grant funding is cut?

TOM: Private sites will proliferate.  I hope that clubs will form in
those place to give skiers an  opportunity, because access to public
water is likely to be limited.  We're very short of facilities.  Once
anybody could ski a course, now you need to know where one is.

We need the club environment to bring people up from grassroots to get
more volunteers. We depend on programs like Canada Games to get people
together- we  could lose that collective strength. People spend too
much time training on their own now.

JIM: It would be foolish and shortsighted for the government to cut
funding. They put in such a pittance compared to the return they get.
The associations cost very little, but are a focus for the activity of
the volunteers.

Still, I'm optimistic. Things may be more difficult, but we're doing a
lot of good things now, like the bingo and the Pro Clinics - we'll just
have to do more. We'll go on.

OWS: And your own future directions?

JIM: I think I'll be more focussed on Ontario now. (In addition to
being one of Ontario's few Record Capability chiefs of competition, Jim
recently agreed to be Ontario's officials coordinator- ed) Like Judy
Messer says, I can't ever see myself not skiing. It's really a
lifestyle.

TOM: I'm going to jump again when I get to Men's 3. But don't tell
Marie.