SAN MARCOS RIVER RANCH
Home of the 2014 Water Ski Nationals!
Location:
Martindale, TX. Take I-35 south to Exit 205, in San Marcos. Travel East on Hwy 80, 5.6 miles to Martindale. WATCH YOUR SPEED ON HWY 80 as it’s heavily patrolled. Pass the blinking yellow light, then turn right at the stop light at Hwy 142/Lockhart St. (Texaco on your right). Travel 0.3 miles to the end of Lockhart St., then turn right onto NW River Rd. Travel 1.0 miles on NW River Rd and then turn left onto Scull Rd. Cross the San Marcos River and travel ¼ mile to the main entry for San Marcos River Ranch, on your left.
Address for Nav systems: 3801 Scull Rd., Martindale, TX 78655
The Site:
San Marcos River Ranch is the newest private ski lake community from the partners at LSF Development Corporation. Several years of planning and design have been invested to make sure that this is their best project to date. SMRR boasts 4 private ski runs designed to accommodate a wide variety of water sports activities. Specifically, the site has 4 slalom courses, 1 jump, 2 boat ramps, several courtesy docks and several parks and common areas for use by residents, guests and spectators. Plus, there’s a large private park on the beautiful San Marcos River for kayaking and river recreation.
Whether you’re a hard core 3-eventer, a weekend warrior, or just looking for a safe place to pull the kids (or grandkids), San Marcos River Ranch is the premier place to do it.
Spectators:
San Marcos River Ranch has been designed to be very spectator-friendly. Each ski area has its own private park and spectator areas. With large parks, green areas and a foot bridge for pedestrians to access the island on the Mid-Lakes, you’re sure to find the spot that’s right for you.
Tournament History:
San Marcos River Ranch was constructed in 2008/9. The first water ski tournament was held in the summer of 2009. In 2014, SMRR had the honor of hosting the US Water Ski National competition and the Big Dawg competition!!
For additional information please visit: http://www.sanmarcosriverranch.com/.
FRAMESWITCH SKI LAKES
Location:
Frame Switch Ski Lakes are located NE of Austin, between Hutto and Taylor, via Toll Road 130 or IH 35. Travel east on Hwy 79 through Hutto. Go about 8 miles, then turn left on CR101. The lakes are 1 mile north, on the right, located in a quiet, wide open pasture.
Address for Nav systems: 5701 County Road 101, Taylor, TX 76574.
The Site:
Frame Switch Ski Lakes were designed and built in the mid 1980’s, by the owners, Bob Prasatik, the engineer, and Jeran Hooten, the dreamer. Built on a 160 acre site, the water level is maintained by run-off from the Little Mustang Creek watershed. After years of skiing on Lake Austin, Bob and Jeran had a dream: to develop a private lake for water ski training and competition. In 1983, Jeran joined Bob in purchasing farm land near the community of Frame Switch. Bob and Becky Prasatik had been holding tournaments prior to that time on the existing Soil and Conservation District lake. This body of water morphed into 2 lakes, separated by a long berm. An adjacent third lake was built at the same time. There are 2 boat ramps, 3 slalom courses, and 2 jump courses at Frame Switch Ski Lakes.
With leases to ski, training at ski school, and tournaments for competition, Frame Switch is a busy place! A historical highlight is the upper lake jump record of 214 feet by Jimmy Siemers, a former jump world record holder.
The first tenant to ski at Frame Switch was the University of Texas Water Ski Club. Gordon Hall, a developer of SMRR, was a member of this club. Today, UT has an active team, which participates in the South Central Conference of the National Collegiate Water Ski Association.
Frame Switch is where ski school takes place every Tuesday evening from May to September, starting at 5 p.m. until dusk.
Ski School Details:
- Time: Starting May (actual date TBD), Tuesdays 5 PM – Dark
- First Come, First Served; no appointments
- What to Bring: Personal gear (skis, gloves, vests, etc.), if possible.
- All students must sign a release waiver
- Ski School Message Line: 512-246-2927
Fees:
$35/lesson for Beginners
$25/lesson for Advanced skiers
CAWSC Members receive a discount:
$25/lesson for CAWSC Beginners
$20/lesson for CAWSC Advanced skiers
Site’s Home Page: http://frameswitch.info/
AQUAPLEX
Location:
The Aquaplex is located approximately 6 miles east of I-35. Take the FM1327 exit on I-35 and go east to Fm 1625. Turn right on FM 1625 and go ¾ miles until the road veers to the left. Veer left for one mile and the site will be on your left.
The Site:
Aquaplex was designed specifically to accommodate competition water skiing at the “World Record” level. It was built on a 60-acre site in 1985 with dual lakes occupying approximately 36 acres. Lake level is maintained by run-off from a 1600 acre watershed. A lake length of 2500 feet provides generous set-ups for each of the 2 record capability slalom courses and jump course. Lake widths range from 250 to 330 feet while lake depth is in the 8 to 10 foot range. Shorelines are sloped at a 10:1 ratio to eliminate roll-back of boat wakes into the courses. There is an air conditioned club house with a complete kitchen to accommodate volunteers and officials. In our summer heat this is greatly appreciated and unique to Aquaplex.
Every skier knows that water is a little different everywhere. Some ski very fast, others seem overly slow. The physical properties of the water itself can make as big of a difference in the quality of skiing performances as the actual design of the shorelines and set-ups. Aquaplex enjoys a reputation for “easy” water. It’s high to medium viscosity offers dependable declaration in the turns while allowing excellent acceleration behind the boat. It’s water that can really help “hold” slalom or jump skis when the skier needs it most. The lake slalom record of 6 @39 ½ off stands as sufficient proof of the quality performance possible at this state of the art, built for skiing site. Multiple World Disabled Slalom Records have been set in both 2013 and 2014.
The slalom lake contains judges’ towers, which are 3 meters above the water and located at 44-degree angles to the entrance gates on each end of the course. Also, replacing the towers for Record Capability tournament, is a video camera system including boat, end course, and gate cameras all linked together to provide Officials optimum visibility. Submerged magnets installed on the entrance gates and boat guides facilitate electronic timing. The course is record capable, made up of buoys attached to individual screw anchors, surveyed in before the lakes were filled and verified before every record tournament. Prevailing southeasterly winds have been limited by aggressive landscaping program. More than 250 trees have been planted on the shoreline which are fed throughout the summer by 8,000-foot drip irrigation system. Bald Cypress, Sycamore, Ash, Cottonwood, Oak and Crepe Myrtle offer both shade and wind protection for skiers and spectators alike.
The jump/ trick lake has installed permanent trick judging towers that meet AWSA/IWSF for use by the officials. For Record Capability Tournaments boat video is used to record each pass and played for the judges in our air conditioned club house. For jumping an elaborate 3 box camera video jump measurement system has been installed that enables world record accuracy measurement on all jumps in the range of 20 to 260 feet. The 2500-foot lake provides the set-ups required if world record jump distances are to be achieved. The jump course is considered one of the safest in the United States with the ramp located approximately 40 meters from the nearest shoreline and water depths in 8-10 foot range.
A pavilion/officials/announcers tower, with excellent view of both lakes, is located between the lakes on the north end. The lower level of the tower houses a concession stand and changing area for skiers and spectators.
Officials and staff may be comfortably accommodated in an air-conditioned clubhouse resting between assignments.
Spectators:
There is virtually no limit to the number of spectators the site will accommodate. 30 acres of parking space is available and more could be borrowed from neighboring fields if necessary. Viewing acres on the east side of the slalom lake and west side of the jump lake and on the land separating the two lakes will easily accommodate 50,000-60,000 people.
Tournament History:
Aquaplex has been the site of many major record capable events. Aquaplex was the host of the 2000 US Open water ski tournament. The South Central Regional Water Ski Championships, each with approximately 300 competitors, were held at the site in 1991and 1995. The Creedmoor International Cup, in 1998, The Ski Nautique Big Dawg tournaments were held here in 2007 and 2009, drawing top level slalom skiers from throughout the United States competing for the coveted title and cash prizes. The Texas State Tournament (State of Texas, not the University!) has been held here on a rotation basis with other area lakes since 1985 and many other central Texas tournaments, typically two per year. The U.S. Collegiate Nationals, in both 1995 and 2010. e.g., Collegiate Team Trials and South Central Conference tournaments have been hosted by The University of Texas, Southwest Texas State University and Baylor University.
Site’s Home Page: http://www.austinaquaplex.com