The South Central Region successfully kicked off the 2005 barefoot season with a clinic and a tournament in Beaumont, Texas. The Blue Mile Ski Club held a judging and scoring clinic on Friday night. Jan and Dan Cummings were the instructors. About 10 or 12 people attended the clinic, myself included. Jan and Dan had a great setup for the clinic. They had laptops so everybody could learn how the scoring system worked. They also had videos so we could practice judging skiers. The clinic lasted till 11:30 that night. So it was decided that tomorrow’s tournament would start later around 9 A.M. or so.

The same people who went to the clinic showed up for the tournament the next morning.  When I arrived at the site Saturday morning it was windy and chilly.  It wasn’t at all the kind of weather that had been forecasted.  We decided to delay the skiing for a little bit to see if the wind would calm down.  Everybody crowded into the Lough’s small shed or stood by the fire to try and stay warm.

The wind whistled around the tiny shed as I shivered slightly in my sweat pants and sweatshirt.  It wasn’t exactly the kind of weather I was looking for but the ten-hour drive from Wichita, Kansas to Beaumont, Texas was definitely worth it in the end.  The Wichita group that drove to Beaumont included, my dad (William), a local barefooter (Gary Flint), my little sister (Abbie), and, of course, me.  And okay, so I’ll admit, it wasn’t that bad of a drive; we did have a DVD player and lots of snack food to keep us happy.

After an hour or so of restlessness we decided to start skiing.  Those that just went through the clinic took turns as the boat crew so everyone could have a chance to judge.  Some skiers suited right up and started skiing, while others took their time hoping it would warm up.  And yet others, *cough* Keith St. Onge *cough* opted for the glass smooth water to come another day.  The Wichita group initially put on their dry suits, but after my first run, my dry suit came off, and my Eagle barefootsuit went on.  The water was much warmer than in Kansas and the air was starting to warm up.  The north side of the lake wasn’t too choppy and everybody was able to get a couple of good runs.  The mile-long lake was sweet for toe ups and tumble ups.  The laid back and relaxed style of the pick and choose tournament was a perfect way to start the season off.  And the weekend ended in a great success. 

Nolan and I goof off doing a little double skiing at the end of the day Saturday.	The Lough’s newly purchased Malibu Barefoot LXI.
The lake is a mile long and crystal clear all the way to the bottom.	Nolan Lough, Keith St. Onge, and I show off our sponsored gear compliments of BarefootCentral.com, Eagle, and US Gear.

Next stop for South Central is Houston, Texas: the Ultimate Barefoot Challenge Tournament.  Hope to see y’all there!

Tumble ‘round,
Haley Thomas
Haley@barefootcentral.com

Thanks so very much to my sponsors: Barefoot Central, Eagles Sports, and US Gear!