Water Ski championships come to Monroe

MONROE - The Twin Lakes Water Ski Club is serving as host of the 2007 Malibu Boats AWSA Eastern Regional Championships, which began yesterday and continue through Saturday, Aug. 4. “Anyone can come to watch, and they’ll have an awesome time,” said J.J. Paulovich, 18, of Greenwood Lake, who will be participating in the jumping events. “They’ll probably see some great crashes (in the water) and some great jumps too.” His father, John Paulovich, is tournament director. The event, taking place at the Twin Lakes Water Ski Park, is sponsored by Xtreme Marine of Connecticut, and is free to the public. Today’s activities conclude at 6 p.m. On Saturday, events begin at 7 a.m. and continue throughout the day. “There’ll be a little bit of everything,” said Ed Wiley, 18 of Wycoff, N.J., who will participate in the trick water ski events while his brother Tom, 13, will compete in the slalom events. This is the third occasion that the Twin Lakes Water Ski Club has served as regional championship host, with most recent time being in 1999. The eastern region covers Maine to Virginia, and the top five winners in each division will advance to the finals in Bakersfield, Calif. Paulovich said organizers expected approximately 200 participants over the three-day event, and were hopeful area residents would stop by and watch the competition. Some may even get hooked on the sport, like Iris Kurzban of Melville on Long Island, who at age 65, is the oldest competitor in the trick ski category. “Maybe,” Kurzban said, while hooking up her ski for a practice run, “they’ll get interested in water skiing. It’s just great.”