Paul Stokes and I packed our bags and headed to the Wisconsin Dells to participate in the 2002 Midwest Regionals.  Our mission was to show our appreciation for the overwhelming support the Midwest Region showed us between July 1, 2001 and July 1, 2002.  The Midwest Region signed up more than 40 new members to Team BarefootCentral and demonstrated their commitment to helping us promote the sport of barefoot waterskiing by purchasing their new gear from our on-line pro shop.  It's because of that support we were able to give away $1,000.00 worth of gift certificates at the Midwest Region Raffle, and organize a great party for Nationals.  Our goal was to give back and help them raise money for their region by pumping up the raffle as much as we could.

Below is a list of the winners of each of the prizes we gave away.  An on-line account will be established for each winner, and the winnings will be credited against that account.  Winners will be able to purchase any product sold on BarefootCentral.com.  That means each winner gets the size, color, and brand they most desire.

$50 Winner
Becky Beatty  
Two Rivers, WI

$75 Winner
Joe Knapp  
Rockford, MN

$125 Winner
Tony Smith  
Crystal Lake, IL

$200 Winner
Sharon Carlson
Naples, FL

Now for Paul's Thoughts

The air was crisp, there were smiles everywhere, and the water, nothing but glass. We drove down the long dusty drive way into Ski Decorah. Ski Decorah is a world-class site set in South Central Wisconsin, 20 minutes outside of the Wisconsin Dells. Keri Tolzman has three private lakes that nestle between a Wisconsin state forest and his cranberry bogs. Keri is a ski coach slash cranberry farmer slash horse rancher. You may recognize the Tolzman name. He and his brothers were some of the most famous show skiers and freestyle jumpers in the world. Now Keri is famous in the barefoot world for his 45+ feet to feet barefoot jumps and his generous hospitality. He is the defending National and Regional Barefoot Jump Champion going into this year’s Nationals.

This region really knows how to put on an event. There was a definite positive aura around the weekend. Like our home in the south central, the mid west region is like a great big family. The Upper Midwest Barefoot Club was the host of the event, and Joe Knapp was the chief judge. Joe ran a smooth event with the skiers in mind. Joe involved the skiers in decisions on the tournament schedule. Joe also made a genuine effort to be available to answer any questions from skiers, judges, and organizers. As always, it was a great team effort to pull off a great event.

The most notable performances were from the women of the mid west. Chuck and I were impressed with the amount of women participating in the event. I believe there were 17 girls and women all together competing in the event. Many other women participated on shore by watching kids, scoring, organizing, and cheering. In my experience, women who choose this sport or "married this sport" are inherently cool. They usually have fun personalities, intelligent minds, and great bodies. I’m not stupid, I married one of these babes. The support these women gave each other on the dock was inspiring. Chuck and I talked about making these fine ambassadors of the sport the "Footer of the Month", but we couldn’t figure a way to enter them into the "Footer of the Year" contest. So, we salute these women here, and hope to see more and more women participating in the future.

Gals, thank you and keep on coming!!!

And guys, keep the faith, there is a barefoot babe out there for you somewhere!!!

The banquet was very nice at a local dive. Everyone showed up, which I think is really cool and makes a difference. Appreciation was shown for everyone who helped in the past, present, and future. Awards were given and cheers were made. As the barefooter’s prayer says,

"there are winners, those who do not meet their expectations, but there are no loser’s"

For Midwest Regional RESULTS Click Here

Thanks mid west region for making our trip memorable,

Stokeman OUT!!!

Now for the good stuff.
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