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 By
Chuck Gleason
Stuart Parsons, owner of Parsons
Roofing Company, has been living in Waco, Texas his entire life.
He grew up skiing on the Brazos River and went to college at Baylor
University there in Waco. A few years ago, Stuart purchased about
250 acres of land just outside Waco. At that time, he told me he
wanted to build the best barefoot ski sight in the world. One that
he could ski on any time and be assured smooth water. We did a
Barefoot Crib on Stuart's new Dream Lake in November, 2007. Here's
a link to that video:
Click Here
Nearly 3 years later, the Dream is now
complete and Stuart is hosting barefoot tournaments at his sight.
Earlier this year he hosted the South Central Region Regionals and the
next two years, he'll be hosting the US Nationals.
While at the Nationals this year,
Stuart met up with David Small and they got to talking about Stuart's
main passion, barefoot jumping. I don't know how the idea came
about, but Stuart called me a couple weeks after Nationals to announce
he'd be hosting at Barefoot Jump Only tournament with a total cash prize
pot of $17,000. At first I thought he was joking. $17,000
for a barefoot jump tournament. I think my first question was "Are
you crazy?" He replied saying "Quite possibly, but I want to host
an event for something I'm passionate about and see how many people we
can get to come out and see it."
The tournament was set up to have two
cash payouts. One payout would be for the longest jump. The
second payout would be for the skier that increases his/her PB by the
greatest margin. This was the event Stuart was hoping would draw
the jumpers. He knew the long jump would be a battle between
Smallzy, St Onge, maybe Cody Heller, and hopefully skiers like Royal
Wiseman, Paul Macdonald, and Bill Bzoza. The PB tourney was up for
grabs and even Stuart himself, who'd just learned to invert jump, was
hoping he could win some of his own cash.
Initially, I wasn't planning to attend
the event. He had scheduled it on the same weekend as opening day
for dove hunting season in South Texas and our family always gets
together on a big hunt that weekend. If you're a hunter, you'll
understand. So I was about 2 hours South of San Antonio, Texas in
Dilley, Texas hunting that weekend. Lucky for me the doves were so
thick this year, we had our limit each day in about 30 minutes, and I
can only stand so much sitting around eating and drinking. Around
2pm on Saturday, my partner Joe Isaac and I decided to pack up the guns
and head 4 hours North of Dilley to Waco. We hoped to get to the
event before the finals then head back to Houston and be in bed back in
Houston before midnight.
We arrived just in time to see the
last few jumpers. I hadn't seen the sight since Nov, 2007, and I
was quite amazed at the job Stuart had done. He and his ski buddy
Aaron York have worked together for 3 years on the sight and it is in my
opinion one of the best barefoot sites in the World. Stuart hasn't spared a dime
on this place. The property is beautiful. He has paved roads
leading to the lake, concrete walks around the lake,
sprinkler systems, bridges, custom cabin and spectators pavilion with
flat screen TVs and 1st class outdoor furniture. It's truly a barefooter's (or any skiers) dream lake.
All around the property you can see elk and deer. Stuart used the
property to start a big elk & deer breading business.
When I arrived, I was informed that
David Small was in the lead for biggest jump (90+ feet); no
surprise there. The surprise came when they told me that Royal
Wiseman was tied with Bill Brzoza for 2nd longest jump of (around 80
feet). I then asked who was in the lead on the PB side. 1st
place was Royal going from 70 to 80 feet, then Bill Brzoza, then Dan
Baumgartner. Dan was very excited to be in the money. His
comment was "This is the most money I've ever won barefooting."
And that wasn't the last time I would hear that statement. I think
every skier, including David Small could claim that statement thanks to
Stuart Parson being a little crazy and very generous.
Video of
Our Visit to the Jump Jam
The official results were as follows:
Longest Jump:
1st place - David Small - $5000
Tie for 2nd - Royal Wiseman and Bill Brzoza $1,750 each
Royal and Bill decided that instead of having a
run-off, they'd take the combined prize money for 2nd & 3rd ($3500) and
split it
Person Best Jump
1st Place - Royal Wiseman - $5000
2nd Place - Bill Brzoza - $2500
3rd Place - Dan Baumgartner - $1000
So the jumper that made out the
biggest was Royal Wiseman with a total of $6,750, then Smallzy with
$5000, Brzoza $4,250, and Dan Baumgartner with $1000.
After the event, I spoke with Stuart
to see how he thought things went. He said he learned a lot and is
looking forward to hosting more events at his sight in the future.
He wants to continue hosting events that will draw big crowds. He
feels the local support around the Waco and Austin areas could result in
crowds over 5000 people. With Stuart's business savy and passion
for the sport, I'm sure he'll accomplish what he sets out for.
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Pictures |
Event was
pulled by Sanger boats |
The jump |
Spectators
|
Safety
Director - Black Ehlers looks on as skier approaches ramp>
Bill Brzoza in USA suit talks with Dan Baumgartner |
Sanger Boat #2 |
Eagle Sports
co-owner Joe Isaac looks on |
The Pavilion |
Bill Brzoza
looks on as David Small exits the water |
Stuart Parsons
congratulates Royal Wiseman and David Small |
Aden Daneker
talks to Dan Baumgartner and Nikki Soublier Brzoza |
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David Small
with check in hand |
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