Aaron Schoelzel made his mark as the man to beat, displacing the aging legend, Chris "AC/DC" Barnhart. Schoelzel, 26 from Brown’s Lake, WI, slid through the winners bracket, and outlasted all challengers to take home the $2,000 grand prize, and the prestige of knowing there was not a man on the beach that could have barefooted farther than him this year. In the finals, Chris Van Zeeland, a proud new father, put up the fight of his life, but after two and one half grueling laps, conceded and motioned for Aaron to ski across the wakes and join him in a raised arm salute to the victor. From the far side of the lake, the unprecedented surrender led to some momentary confusion, as the crowd anxiously awaited the results. As it was announced that Aaron was the 2002 Footstock Champion, both skiers "deeped" up and skied to the beach with a tribute to Chris Barnhart, as both skiers went in to what will go down in history as the "Barnhart stance".

Chris Barnhart has won more Footstock Titles than any other man in the history of the event. His barefoot stance is both solid, and requires unbelievable strength. His forearms are essentially tucked inside his thighs, handle held vertically, and he holds that position for multiple Figure-8 laps. I’ve tried the stance myself and I’m good for about 20 seconds max. Chris gambled on one of his matches in the quarterfinals and threw the handle after one Figure 8. His logic was that he would let everyone else beat themselves up trying to take out Schoelzel, and he would sneak through the consolation bracket. It was a good strategy, but unfortunately for Chris, it didn’t work out, as he ended up in a respectable 5^th place.

Chad Mahnke (age 12) claimed his third Juniors title (16 and under) in as many years he has entered the tournament. The Juniors usually manage to shame the Open Division with remarkably long runs and this year was no exception. Chad and Josh Bruns had a couple of long runs, the first ending in a tie. Chad outlasted Josh in the rerun for the opportunity to challenge Bradley Bretyl for first place. Bradley claims some bloodlines to the Seipel family, but Mahnke managed to take him out in two consecutive runs for the title. Mahnke won his first Footstock title at the age of 9 and then again last year. Younger brother Alex (age 10), lost to Bradley in the second round, yet managed to work his way back through the consolation bracket to a fourth place finish. Showing how good some of these juniors are, it should be noted that Josh Bruns also skied into a 6^th place finish in the Open division.

Bob Mahnke sat out this year’s event due to a blown knee sustained at a wakeboard park. ACL reconstruction surgery is scheduled for October. That left the senior’s title (40 and over) up for grabs, and 53-year-old Dan Cardinal, managed to overcome some strong skiing by Mike Metzer. Dan had to come from the consolation bracket and win two straight matches over Mike. The beauty of the double elimination format is that you get that second chance, and those that can come back and win two straight matches over the guy that has coasted through the winners bracket is quite an accomplishment. Big Jack Schuller skied better than we’ve seen in several years and managed to overpower a strong seniors field for 3^rd place.

The author getting a little support from Aaron Schoelzel and Chris Van Zealand – 1st and 2nd place finishers. Bob will have ACL surgery this fall and be back next summer.

1st place, Dan Cardinal, 2nd place, Mike Metzer, Jack Schueller 3rd

Sandy Tiltges put on a strong showing this year and was clearly the best in the Women’s division. Alli Uphill and Angie Clothier rounded out the top 3.

This is a call out to all you women barefooters. Sharon Remy has seemingly retired and that has left the field wide open. Sharon has shown that not only could she dominate the women’s division, but could hang with most of the guys in the open division. We need more women in the sport. Guys like girls that can barefoot. So gals, lock down that swivel binding and step off that big plank and join the fun. There is money to be won! When was the last time they had a cash prize for a swivel tournament?

The organizers of Footstock agreed to move next years tournament date to the weekend after Show Ski Nationals, so no more excuses to all those show skiers out there. Footstock 2003 will be held August 16^th and 17^th. If you’ve never been to Footstock, start making plans for next year. Bucky Daly and the Crandon Ski Club have worked hard to make this a fun event, and Dave Mueller’s announcing alone is worth the price of admission ($2 if you’re not skiing). If you’ve been to Footstock before, you need to come back. It is a new atmosphere, with a focus on fun and family. I’ve been to just about every type of waterski tournament there is, and can’t find one that you can actually watch for 2 days without being bored to tears. Footstock is that event. Lots of good barefoot people; and next year; lots of girls!

Upcoming events in the Endurance Barefoot circuit include FacePlant Fest September 14 in Minneapolis and the SoleBurner Team Endurance Race on Lake Winnebago, September 21. Please see the calendar for other events yet this year, and links for registration information.