2005 Kneeboard National Championships to be held in Ellijay, Ga.

Event scheduled for Sept. 9-11 at Whitestone Lake POLK CITY, Fla. -- The American Kneeboard Association (AKA) has announced that the 2005 Kneeboard National Championships will be held Sept. 9-11 at Whitestone Lake in Ellijay, Ga. Hosted by the Skionee Board Team, the championships will feature the nation’s top kneeboard athletes competing for national titles in slalom, tricks, freestyle and flipout events. “We’re pleased to announce that this year’s Kneeboard National Championships will be held at Whitestone Lake in Ellijay, Ga.,” said Steve McDermeit, USA Water Ski’s executive director. “We’re looking forward to another spectacular and fun-filled event in 2005.” At the Nationals, athletes will compete in 17 divisions – ranging from Junior to Open. In the slalom event, competitors attempt to ski around each buoy in a six-buoy course, with the towline being shortened each time a complete pass is achieved. In the tricks event, the skier performs as many maneuvers as possible in two 20-second passes. Tricks scores are based on a predetermined point-value system. The subjectively scored freestyle event includes a variety of flips and aerial maneuvers. In the flipout event competitors compete for a maximum of 25 seconds, completing 10 flips in shortest amount of time. “North Georgia is an ideal location for the Kneeboard National Championships,” said Doris Rohner, president of the AKA. “It will draw competitors and spectators from the midwest as well as southern Florida, the eastern United States and the southwest. The AKA and Skionee Board Team, the host club, are fortunate to have the opportunity to host the championships at Whitestone Lake.” Whitestone Lake is a water skiing complex nestled in the North Georgia mountains about five miles south of Ellijay. The complex includes two tournament lakes with record-capability slalom courses. Two long-time skiers, the late John Roach, and Paul Kiker, founded the site. The Skionee Board Team of Lake Placid, Fla., is one of the nation’s most active and hardest-working kneeboard clubs. The Skionees have hosted the past two Kneeboard Nationals and have won USA Water Ski’s Club of the Year contest for the past three years. The AKA is one of nine sport disciplines of USA Water Ski. USA Water Ski was formed in 1939 as a non-profit organization promoting water skiing in the United States. USA Water Ski is affiliated with the International Water Ski Federation (world governing body) and is recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and Pan-American Sports Organization as the national governing body of organized water skiing in the United States. With more than 40,000 members, USA Water Ski is the largest water ski federation in the world.