CANADIAN BAREFOOT COMPETITION 
By Mike Spence

The Canadian barefoot championships were held on July 12, 13, 14 in
Cambridge, Ontario.  The competition consisted of the Ontario and
National championships and the Canadian Slalom Challenge.  Over 40
competitors were present, representing Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and
BC, with several of the open men vying for remaining positions on the
Canadian team going to the world championships in Minnesota in August.
The fantastic site of River Bluffs Park was provided by the City of
Cambridge and boasts great water conditions and excellent sight lines
for spectators.

The events were launched a week before with a news conference and
demonstration  Although the conditions were less than ideal, junior
footer Colin Mitchell and veteran Ken Harper put on a great display of
barefooting, which looked fantastic on the 6 and 11 news.

ONTARIO PROVINCIALS The tournament opened on Friday morning with wake
slalom for the junior skiers, progressing to the open men.  This was
followed by tricks.  Strong performances were put in my many of the
competitors.

Overall winners were:  CANADIAN NATIONALS The Ontarios were a warm up
to the Nationals on Saturday.  A brief thunderstorm delayed the start,
but clear weather finally prevailed, making way for ideal conditions
and fantastic performances for many of the competitors.  Wake slalom
was up first, followed by everyone's favourite, jumping.  Tricks was
the last event.

Again competition was fierce, with Paul MacDonald edging out Michel
Cartier in Mens 1 and Pierre Parent just getting by Jeff Moulton in
Mens 3.  Open Mens was a hotly contested division with 12 skiers.  When
the spray had cleared, Ken Harper was the overall winner ahead of Ryan
Andrew.  Ken had a strong tournament, slaloming 16.5, tricking 1880
with a fall and jumping 15.8m.

Overall winners were:  The BBQ Extroirdinaire was held on Saturday
night.  After dinner, there were awards presentations and a raffle for
prizes donated by the Barefoot Company, Ron Scarpa Water Sports and
John Tripp Barefooting.

CANADIAN SLALOM CHALLENGE The Canadian Slalom Challenge was put
together by Jim Harper so the competitors could have some fun in a
heads-up format to combine some trick expertise with slalom skill in
order to win.  Cash prizes were awarded to the junior division (under
16) and in the men's and women's divisions.  All the skiers involved
really enjoyed the competition.

The competitors were pulled by a Mercury-powered Malibu Flightcraft
Barefooter, provided by Martin and Cassandra Ford of Sun and Ski in
Bala.  Ropes and handles were provided courtesy of Ron Scarpa Water
Sports.  The safety boat used was a Polaris personal water craft,
provided by Watt Marine in Coldwater.

Any tournament cannot be successful without the hard work and
dedication of many people.  Tournament chairman, Brock Cromwell, was
the driving force behind the entire event and kept things on track all
weekend.  Geoff Mitchell co-ordinated sponsorship, printing and
tournament equipment, among many other details.  Mike Spence was the
competitor co-ordinator.  Jim Harper took on the daunting task of
running the tournament on time and keeping things rolling.  In spite of
a couple of hurdles, he more than met this challenge.  Thanks also go
out to the following people for helping out:  drivers Gordie Crouteau,
Sean Nedohin, Frank Valle and Pierre Parent;  scorers Mike Torry, Frank
Valle and Bruce Lonneberg;  chief judge Bruce Lonneberg;  assistant
chief judge Jim Harper;  judge Rose-Mary Russell, and announcers Rob
(the Comic) Doherty, Kim (I like it up here) Hall and ELVIS.  Site
preparations and tear down were handled by John Hannah's parks and
recreation staff from the City of Cambridge, Rob Doherty, Geoff
Mitchell, Sean Nedohin and Ken Thompson.  Debbie Yantzi, of the
Visitors and Convention Bureau of the City of Cambridge, handled
publicity and promotion.  The assistance of many other competitors and
their families was also greatly appreciated by the tournament
organizers.

The video of the Canadian National Barefoot Championships is being
edited and will be available in the near future.  Competitors will be
notified by mail and an announcement in the Ontario Water Skier
magazine.  The Ontario Barefoot Committee is continuing tto work to
promote barefooting in Ontario and cultivate junior skiers and new
competitors.  We'll be meeting over the fall and winter to review this
year's activities and prepare for future events.  All skiers are
welcome to join us.  To find out more about barefooting, watch for
updates in the Ontario Water Skier or call Brock Cromwell at (705)
489-3305 or Mike Spence at (905) 727-6838.