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KristinFormer professional slalom skier Jennifer LaPoint is currently working on developing inter-high school water skiing competition in central Florida and spearheading the development of the first “water ski academy.” LaPoint was recently was named the director of water skiing at Montverde Academy (MVA) near Orlando, Florida, where she will develop the water ski and wakeboard program beginning this spring.
A premier coed college prep and day school, MVA has a unique educational program that balances a college prep curriculum with an equally rigorous athletic program. Gifted athletes that have shown special dedication to their sport are allowed to fulfill their academic requirements in the morning and train for competitive athletics in the afternoon. Known for its nationally-ranked boys basketball team, MVA recently teamed up with Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy, National Training Center for swimming and Tennis Academy.
According to LaPoint, MVA is excited to announce a recent agreement with the nearby Jack Travers Ski School to serve as the water ski and wakeboard team’s training site. “This will be a tremendous opportunity for water ski and wakeboard athletes to train with one of the premier coaches in the sport over the last 40 years,” LaPoint said. “The special gifted athletes aspiring to high levels in their respective sport will be allowed to attend classes during the morning hours until lunch, and then have five to six hours to train in the afternoon.”
In addition to promoting MVA as a top-notch academic institution with a world-class water ski program, LaPoint hopes to launch an area-wide interscholastic program so neighboring schools can compete against each other, thereby promoting the sport’s growth among youth. “The format would be coed teams participating in slalom, tricks and wakeboarding,” LaPoint said. “It would be a competitive format, but all abilities would be welcome; we would like to have tournaments two days a week beginning in the spring of 2011.”
So far, LaPoint said she has received interest from a few Orlando-area schools. Students or parents interested in becoming part of the interscholastic program can contact LaPoint at jll@att.net.
