Dedication

Since the club where I ski at home is exactly that, a club, there are a lot of things that need to be done by volunteers. There are a lot of things that need to happen where I don't have a clue how to help, like the technical aspects of the slalom course and the ramp. Since I do benefit from these things being done, I try to help and put my efforts anywhere I can. I do this out of respect for the volunteers who do the things I can't, for everyone that helps me and to show my passion for the sport in more ways than just on the water.
Sometimes this means raising money, in order to keep memberships and ski-set prices the way they are. It is possible for our members to ski for €6.90, which is extremely cheap, so to make this possible we need some other source of income. A local chain of supermarkets has a great initiative where sports clubs are able to promote their club so that shoppers donate tokens to their club. Customers get a token for every 10€ that they spend. After a while there is a party at which cheques are given out. The weight in tokens will be translated to an amount of money, which you are free to spend on whatever you want. In order to promote your club, you are allowed to stand in the supermarket and ask people to support you. One year we put the boat outside of the supermarket, which definitely made an impact. We also put skis around the supermarket and stand in our bikinis (in the winter) or wetsuits at the cashiers, where people decide which clubs to support. By bringing our youngest and cutest members we try to guilt people into supporting our club, haha. This all pays off, last time we earned €864.-!

To make sure we can have members ski at least 4 days a week, we need boat drivers and bartenders. I would really like to be a boat driver, but you have to be 18 for that in the Netherlands, so when I turned 16, I applied to be a bartender, since you have to be 16 for that. This usually means starting at 18:30 till after sunset, but it is a really fun way to contribute to the club, because you can chat with everyone the entire night. Best of all you can decide when you want to ski. In order to have a fair system, members can write their name on a board when they arrive, which is when they will ski. As a bartender you can say when you want to go once. So when the sun comes out, I quickly use this privilege to my advantage :) .
In order to keep our club up and running and attractive to new members, we have to keep building and cleaning. Cleaning is definitely my least favourite... however if it's done often enough it is not too bad, and the result afterwards is worth it. Along with cleaning days, we also have a couple of days in which everything is prepared for the new season. This involves anything that needs to be done that is not cleaning related. Sometimes we have to remodel to make storage more efficient and sometimes we have to build new things, for example ways to dry suits and towels, since it is mostly really cold. We had a day like this yesterday, which inspired me to write about all the things I love doing outside of the water to keep my club up and running. This is genuinely great because you keep the club up and running together with all the members. When everyone helps in their way, nobody owns it and it creates a sense of belonging and pride regarding the club and the way it is presented. This also means that the members are generally really close and it is always fun to go skiing because of the people you'll see.