The Upper Chesapeake Ski Club (UCSC), formed in 1961 by competition skiers who congregated nightly for practice, is still going strong after more than half a century.
Scott Traver, a member of one of the families that began the club, says, “They were just a group of skiers interested in waterskiing together. Then in 1963 they purchased a piece of waterfront property located in the Locust Point neighborhood of Elkton, MD, up at the head of the Bay, just about as far up the Chesapeake as you can go.”
Traver, who has served several terms as president of the club, says, “From the 1970s until the early 2000s, our club’s competitors excelled at a high level in competitions and shows. Many of our skiers became state, regional, and even world record holders, and from the 1980s to the early 2000s, we performed in water ski festivals and shows, including the opening of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.”
Today UCSC is a family-oriented club dedicated to promoting the sport of waterskiing. Club members enjoy getting out on the water to improve their skills, and they also run summer clinics for skiers of all ages and abilities. Membership is about 35 skiers from 15 families. They continue to maintain the original waterfront property, which includes a two-bedroom cottage, picnic area, and screened-in porch, as well as the dock and boat slips. Just offshore are the club’s competition slalom course and ski jump on the Elk River.
“Most of the competitive waterskiing has moved to private lakes now,” says Traver, “but we still like to get out and ski together. We also offer three or four family-oriented, boating-safety ski clinics each summer. Skiers of all ages and abilities are welcome. We’ve taught skiers from age two to 72.” Many come as part of a group, such as scout troops. Several come back each year, including a club from Drexel University. In addition to basic water skiing, UCSC clinics focus on wakeboard, slalom, tricks, and jumps.
“We’ve been doing this for many, many years,” says Traver. “We can get almost anyone up on skis. We have special equipment to teach beginners, including barefoot booms that allow the skier to hold a pole near the boat driver, instead of a tow rope behind the boat. This gives the beginner a solid point to hold onto and allows him to talk easily to the boat driver. For more advanced skiers we focus on tricks and technique. The club also supplies the correct ski ropes and PFDs for all shapes and body sizes.” The cost is $30 per skier for a three-hour clinic. The next clinic will be held on Saturday, August 25.
More information can be found at ucskiclub.org.