WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — From the wind in your hair to the splash at your feet, there is just something about water skiing and Florida that have always gone together. This is especially true for a team in Winter Haven that has been entertaining audiences for decades.
From the pyramid to one ski, to even barefoot, the Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team pulls out all the tricks on Lake Silver. A show that started at the old Cypress Gardens theme park in 1943 continues on in Winter Haven on the third Saturday of every month.
“A lot of our crowd used to go to Cypress Gardens and they had those passes,” said Mark Voisard.
Voisard has been on the team since 1977. He loves passing down his knowledge for the sport to the next generation.
“But it wasn’t terribly hard to learn the basics,” said 12-year-old Gabriel Maddox.
A lot of teams call themselves a family, but in some cases it’s true — there's even a routine that consists of all dads and daughters.
“Oh that’s the best part of this whole thing, build those memories, it’s pretty incredible,” said Mr. Maddox.
Next year, Lake Silver will be a leg up on the international ski scene.
“We’ll be hosting right here the World Show Ski Tournament, we have teams like Canada, Belgium, Germany, Australia,” said Voisard.
Many people call central Florida the water ski capital of the world, but for those who live here, they just call it home.
“Winter Haven loves us and we love Winter Haven,” said Voisard.
For more information, follow the link: Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team
