JANESVILLE — Chase Doll, a New Glarus High School student, was part of a local waterski team that took home national honors. The Janesville Rock Aqua Jays took first place in the 48th annual Indmar Division 1 national show ski championships that were held in Warsaw Indiana from Aug.11-13 at Hidden Lake.

Doll skied in the opening barefoot line, which included 18 team members barefoot waterskiing behind one boat.  Later in the show he skied in a conventional doubles act that has him taking off from the dock with a partner on his shoulders and together they perform tricks while skiing.  

There were 14 teams from all over the country and more than 1,500 athletes that competed in the tournament.  Each team has one hour to present a waterski performance judged on originality, presentation, and execution.  This was the 22nd time that Janesville has won the event.   

Earlier in the summer, the Rock Aqua Jays won the Wisconsin State Waterski Show Championships in Wisconsin Rapids. The theme for the show this year was “Color Rush,” which divided the team into four color teams that competed against each other getting the crowd excited to cheer on their section and color.

This is the first year that Doll has been skiing with the Janesville team. He committed much of his spring and summer to making the drive from New Glarus to Janesville, often six nights per week, to practice and perform with the hallowed team.  Doll was very excited all year to ski with the team sharpening his waterskiing skills and looks forward to joining more acts next year, such as the pyramid team and the jump team.

The Rock Aqua Jays perform free of charge every Wednesday and Sunday evenings at 6:30 p.m. on the Rock River at Traxler Park in Janesville. The last show of the year will be Sept. 3.