Photos by Glenn Triest

SPORTS

Left to right: Dede Weinberg, Yiftach Maas and Shelly Komer-Jackier get together for their morning spin around the lake.

Early Birds

Local waterskiers relish an early.morning spin on the lake.

NOAM M.M. NEUSNER

Staff Writer

B

right and early,
every morning,
they're out there.
They are har-
dy, robust types.
They are the kind who get
more done before 9 a.m. than
most people do all day.
They creep through the
early morning dew, dressed
in the flashy colors available
in swimwear. They even
carry membership cards.
They're Club Mad, a group
of otherwise straight-laced
professionals who consider a
day empty without a quick
spin around the lake.
Their members include
some familiar names of the
Jewish community. Among
them are Shelly Jackier,

48

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1991

who heads the American-
Israel Chamber of Com-
merce of Michigan; Sam
Fisher, who is the departing
director of the Fresh Air
Society; and Temple Israel
Rabbi Paul Yedwab, who is
reportedly the best skier of
the bunch. They meet at
Dede Weinberg's home on
Union Lake every morning.
Weekends, too.
Club Mad is just one of
many small bands of com-
mitted skiers. Even the
creeping approach of winter
won't stay these hearty souls
from their appointed rounds.
Don't be surprised to see
them zipping across lakes
into October.
"We start in April and end
in October," said Dr. Mit-
chell Greenberg, who once
skied with the Club Mad
bunch. Now, he skis regular-

ly with pal Steve Feldman
and "whoever else we can
get to come along."
They start as soon as the
ice melts on Elizabeth Lake,
skiing regularly in the even-
ings and on weekend morn-
ings.
The skiers say it's easy,
but it is not. The key is keep-
ing your knees to your chest

Success in water
skiing is a fleeting
thing.

and just letting the boat pull
you up. It is easier said than
done. (See sidebar)
Getting up on two skis is
tough enough. How about
the price tag on this sport?
Figure on buying a moder-
ately powerful boat, skis,
life jackets, gas for the

boat's engine and other
paraphernalia, including a
wet suit for cold water. The
grand total: over $20,000.
Not to mention the fact that
you need access to a lake,
which often means a lake
front property with a price
tag in the hundreds of
thousands of dollars.
All of it is fairly daunting,
both financially and
athletically. But Club Mad
members swear by the sport.
"This wakes us up," said
Shelly Jackier. "It gives us a
new perspective: There's
more to starting the day
than with work."
But Club Mad, following
the example of other skiers,
is not content with a new
perspective on the day.
They're in it for the competi-
tion.
Success in waterskiing is

a fleeting thing. Your in-
structors — who are prob-
ably your friends — will in-
variably goad you into try-
ing new and more difficult
things, like swooshing back
and forth through the boat's
wake.
"As with any sport, you
want a challenge," Mrs.
Jackier said.
The next hurdle, Mrs.
Jackier notes, is one ski. To
get there, not only do you
have to master the two-ski
approach, but also start to
lift one ski out of the water.
At least that's one way of
learning to balance on one
ski.
"One ski is a whole
different ballgame," Mrs.
Jackier said. "It's more
fun."
Experts say on one ski, you
can turn faster, have more