Each summer we host multiple ski clinics to share our love of skiing with members of the Quad City community.
Our Access to Waves program is held twice a summer and gives individuals with various disabilities the opportunity to ski on specially designed water skis.
The Backwater Gamblers Water Ski Club was founded in 1980 with just 14 members and got our name because we used to gamble with our lives by water skiing on the backwaters of the Mississippi River. Our mission is to:
40 years later, the Backwater Gamblers now ski at the beautiful Ben Williamson Park in Rock Island, IL and have consistently been among the top five show ski teams at the National Water Ski Show Tournament. We are a family-oriented organization with families making up the majority of the club’s 120 members who range in age from 0 to 70. Club members consist of both skiers and non-skiers, all of whom are important to presenting the best water ski show possible.