In 2007, “Jamie” Bloemsma was crowned the Dutch National Water Ski Slalom Champion. In 2009, Jamie can be found during the summer months offering his advice and instruction through his ski and wakeboard school at Ellingham Waterski Park, nr Ringwood, Hampshire. SkiFunJamie offers water skiing, wakeboarding, ski tricks, kneeboarding, barefoot skiing and ski jumping lessons and classes for anyone who wants to learn. This really is inclusive in the broadest sense, as evidenced by the large number of disabled participants whose stories are told through the walls of the clubhouse. Jamie believes that everyone is capable and that it is his job to make sure that everyone strives to improve and enjoy these exciting activities.
The facilities at Ellingham are good. The clubhouse, while a bit rustic and in need of some upgrading, has a functional character. They have two high-spec competition standard boats, a dumpster full of rental gear, and a man-made lake that offers the only full slalom water ski course in 80 miles. The setting is idyllic and peaceful, where you can enjoy a barbecue on the terrace while watching the activities on the lake. There is a real sense of community about the center and the club. From member-donated furniture in the clubhouse and donated equipment in the playground to the committee that cares for the club and its strong base of 125 members. We met Jo, one of the committee members, who showed us around and explained how the club worked, how the 4 slot system works (1 slot out of four during club sessions is for non-club members ) and the challenges that a club like this faces.
After a stop-and-go tour, Jo puts on her wetsuit and before you know it, she’s flying up and down the lake on a slalom monoski, with giant rooster tails sticking out behind her. Once she was done, she quickly changed into her dry clothes and went back to the computer to do the paperwork necessary to keep the club running. Funding is clearly a challenge, but thankfully not all aspects of the club’s financial burden rests with its membership base. The lottery funded a newly constructed slipway and jetty, crucial for boat launches and allowing safe access to and from the lake.
We participated in a beginner wakeboarding lesson with SkiFunJamie. None of us had wakeboarded or water skied or, frankly, anything that involved more than being pulled by a powerboat, since we were banana boating kids. This was really going to test Jamie’s instructor skills, as well as our courage. Equipped with wetsuits, life jackets and wakeboards and bindings rented from the school, we were ready to rock and roll.
I’d be lying if I said we weren’t a little apprehensive. We didn’t want to look silly, be washed away like a Police Academy movie. We’re also a bit competitive, so I’m sure I was secretly hoping the other would seem at least a degree stupider. After a brief safety briefing, it was time for a pep talk and some words of wisdom from Jamie. The latter easily delivers the shortest but most effective advice I’ve ever received when engaging in a new activity for the first time. “Rotate your hip.” That is all? Nothing more? Surely I have to harness my upper body strength, manage my weight transition, control my edges… Nope. Just stay relaxed, bend your knees, and let the boat, board, and water do the work. A well-timed hip twist will straighten it out and it will move steadily with the bounce. And he did. wow. The rigid static bar used for newbies was a blast, all thanks to this little gem of advice.
Fear not, the relative ease of the static bar is soon replaced by the intimidating sight of a rope falling off the back of the boat. Joining the rope, swinging like an apple on the back of the boat, was a whole different ball game now.
As the boat moves away, the pressure builds against the board and begins to pull it out of the water. Compared to the barbell, the forces exerted on the upper body are huge and a bit surprising. Little did I remember, the first time, that I held the key to handling this effectively. “Rotate the hip.” With the wrong time and you leave it too late, you feel like you are carrying the entire load of the ship and you have a lot of horses in your cold and numb hands. Needless to say, you will let it go. With the right timing, you relieve pressure, increase stability, and rock the boat with the biggest, cheesiest smile you can imagine.
Anyone who has snowboarded before, like me, really gets a feel for how you can use your edges to control your position, direction, and speed on the board. We started traversing the ship’s wake, negotiating the changes in height of the wake and using the bow of the rope to move from one side to the other. We got in a few runs around the lake before pulling up to the jetty, huffing and puffing and totally excited.
We made pretty good progress and under instruction moved at a pace dictated by us, but also enhanced through Jamie’s understanding of the sport, our abilities and our potential. The session lasted 15 minutes, in which we did half a dozen runs on the lake. The cost for this is just over £20.00, which while not cheap is great value for the education, equipment and sheer thrill of the trip.
Jamie teaches classes Monday through Friday from 9am to 1pm and is also available in the evenings and weekends to accommodate club sessions that have priority during these times.
