Ski Sharks’ Faith Passehl to compete in state swivel competition

Faith Passehl will represent the Shawano Ski Sharks at the 2020 Wisconsin State Water Ski Show Championships on July 16 in Wisconsin Rapids.

Passehl will compete in the swivel competition. She is one of 18 competitors scheduled to take part in the event, which is set for a 10 a.m. start on Lake Wazeecha.

The competition will serve as a national qualifying event for Passehl and the rest of the competitors.

“With a smaller amount of competitors this year there will definitely be a lot of competition for the top spots,” said Passehl, who typically competes against 25 or so other skiers at state. “These are the best girls from around the state and of course everyone wants a spot at D1 Nationals. So it’s a lot of pressure but we’ve all been training year round to prepare for this season.”

Passehl hopes to place inside the top five, which would help her qualify for D1 Nationals.

“I’ve worked extremely hard to hopefully be placed in the top five,” she said.

Last year, Passehl took 12th at state and qualified for the D2 Show Ski National Championships in Tomahawk, where she placed third.

Typically, the entire Ski Sharks team would be competing during the three-day state event, but the team state portion was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The decision to cancel the team state portion was made May 23, with the Wisconsin Water Ski Federation stating it would be irresponsible to host such a large event, which includes 26 teams from around the state.

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