The two RV Gypsies enjoyed the
Backwater Gamblers Water Ski Show
5000 44th Street
Rock Island, Illinois
(call for show times and dates at '309.786.8987)
August 21, 2017

"The Backwater Gamblers Water Ski Club was founded in 1980 as an Illinois non-profit organization with a mission to:

• Provide free, quality water ski entertainment to the Quad City area.

• Become a nationally recognized show competition water ski team.

The Club is a family-oriented organization with families making up 68 percent of the Club’s 150+ members. The ages of the skiers range from 3 to over 60. Club members consist of both skiers and non-skiers, all of whom are important to presenting the best water ski show possible.

They perform free water ski shows on Sunday and Wednesday evenings from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.  Donations accepted."

Below: A miniature lighthouse in front of a nearby church. It has nothing to do with the water ski pictures shown below.

Leaps, pyramids and high speed excitement as amateur water skiers entertained the two RV Gypsies with fun-filled shows. There was no charge for this amazing show, but donations were accepted. The photo below is the dock from which the acts in this show took off from. The Backwater Gamblers, along with 4 other show ski teams, are pictured in the 2017 Guinness Book of World Records for successfully building a 60 person, five 4-tier pyramid behind one boat.

One of the most graceful acts in show skiing, swivel got its name from he movement of the ski binding which can swiveled 360 degrees on the larger, specially designed swivel ski.

A 4-tier pyramid (Read the quote in their brochure, also shown below)

Ballet is consistently one of the Backwater Gamblers' highest scoring acts at tournaments. It is also one of the few acts that is performed entirely in front of the audience. It puts as many girls as possible on the water at one time. in 2011, Backwater gamblers tied the National Show Ski Association record for the most girls in a ballet line with 25. On this date, they had 17 girls as shown in the photos below.

The jump ramp is 21 feet long, 14 feet wide and 5-1/2 feet tall. The photo shown below is a multiple image of one jumper.

3-tiers

Acrobatic stunts

The younger girls took a spin.

Below: Audience members bought little yellow rubber ducks and tried to throw the rubber ducks into the middle of the toilet seats hanging from the three outhouses. No winners on this date.

Below: A Barefoot skier was going so fast at 40 mph, he could not even be seen. Barefooting can be performed frontwards or backwards. There are several ways to start barefoot skiing - by stepping off of one ski once in the water, dock start, beach start, tower start, or jumping out of two skies.

A silly chicken act in-between shows

Below: As the two RV Gypsies were leaving at the end of the show, the boat drivers and crew put on a short show of their own.

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