Ski Club looking for mutually-beneficial rules

By Board Members,
Canyon Lake Ski Club

The Canyon Lake Ski Club board feels it is time that we made an official statement on its position and recommendations regarding the North Ski Area and its use.

Being on the boat with family and friends, whether you are just learning to ride behind the boat or have been training for 50 years, has a strong emotional component. It is rooted in fun and ends up giving us life-long memories.

This connection to water sports is something our club proactively promotes and continues to share with others in our community and beyond. In no way is our ski club actively attempting to banish or criminalize people who enjoy wakesurfing and wakeboarding.

To be clear, our goal as the Canyon Lake Ski Club Board is to continue to coexist with the other towed-watersports clubs in harmony. We want to nurture a relationship where we can continue to co-organize an event calendar for the community, develop and maintain amenities and provide world-class on-the-water opportunities for beginners and advanced enthusiasts alike.

Bojan Schipner skis the slalom course in the North Ski Area of Canyon Lake recently. The Canyon Lake Ski Club Board issued an official statement from the club clarifying its stand on the recently-enacted Canyon Lake POA rule that prohibits wakesurfing in the North Ski Area. The club’s board is attempting to work with others to create mutually-beneficial rules there. Photo by Krista Schipner

There are two distinct areas in the North Area: the “Back Water” and the “North Ski Course” amenity. The Back Water has been used by wakeboarders for decades and more recently, wakesurfers, as their priority area. The Ski Club board’s position is to collaborate with the Canyon Lake Wakeboard Club and find a solution for these established areas.

Prioritizing the sport for which the amenity was created is no different than the tennis courts being used for tennis, golf course for golf, equestrian center for horses, baseball fields for baseball, etc. However, what is different and unique, is that even the North Ski Course area is utilized by wakeboarders, kneeboarders, speedskiers, barefooters, fisherman, paddleboarders, and many more. Additionally, the club has worked directly with the Wakeboard Club to share time to accommodate each respective clubs’ events.

Skiers prep at the docks in the North Ski Area of Canyon Lake before making runs on the slalom course there. A new POA rule prohibits wakesurfing in the area. Photo provided by canyon lake ski club

Surf boats, which are often significantly heavier than ski or cruising boats, produce large waves specifically made for surfing. The Main Lake residents are concerned, and we are too, with the impact their wakes have on the ski course area, the shorelines, the docks, tied up boats, and the overall area. We are particularly concerned when there are multiple large vessels circling in such a confined area that is designed for one boat at a time.

With these concerns in mind (and the proposed wakesurfing restriction) the Ski Club board met with the Wakeboard Club to discuss a mutually-agreed-upon framework to protect existing amenities and maximize utilization of the entire area.

This meeting led to a productive discussion and brought forth common rules to accommodate all users and create an optimal environment for all watersports. However, given the rushed timing with the impending new Canyon Lake POA rule, there was concern a consensus could not be reached within the short timeframe. Regardless, the Ski Club board’s support for a solution has not wavered.

In 1969, the 158-member Canyon Lake Ski Club was one of the very first clubs to form in Canyon Lake. It has continued to thrive while remaining deeply involved within our community as a whole.

Our club members regularly host and participate in Fiesta Days, Polar Bear Day, Learn to Ski days, Breakfast with Santa, blood drives, lake clean up days and other community events. The members of the club proactively and positively add to the greater community and help attract like-minded members to move to Canyon Lake from around the world.