Fifty years of Webfooters

FREMONT – When a group of 10 locals took to the water on skis in 1976 for the village’s bicentennial celebration, they relied on donated boats, borrowed gas and a shared willingness to fall down for a crowd.

Fifty years later, those inaugural two shows on the Wolf River have grown into the Webfooter Water Ski Show, an annual tradition in Fremont that continues to draw crowds each summer.

Before the boats even hit the water last Sunday, the front lawn of the Webfooters’ grandstand area was transformed into a bustling makeshift dressing room. Skiers adjusted costumes, children darted between equipment bags, ropes and skis, and Caribbean music drifted across the river as performers prepared for another show.

The team’s story began in the summer of 1976, when founder Mike Abraham and a few others formed the “Wolf River Bath Tub Society” for the village’s bicentennial celebration.

Abraham said he planned to hold “bathtub races,” where participants take a bathtub, attach it to a piece of plywood, mount an outboard motor on the back, and drive it out on the water, hoping it doesn’t sink.

While the bathtub races were a fun part of the festivities, Abraham said he decided he wanted to do a little bit more to entertain the crowds, so he and nine other skiers put together a water ski “spills and thrills” show.

From wipeouts to world-class
Cindy Kohl, whose maiden name was Schmidt, was among the original skiers that first year. Because the skiers were inexperienced and fell down so much, Kohl said they were nicknamed the “Juicy Fruit jump team,” a reference to an old gum commercial because their falling “went on all day.”

The group relied on local boat dealerships and residents who donated the boats and the gas for the performances. Instead of the elaborate, sparkly costumes the team wears today, the early performers skied in denim shirts. Members recorded their own music onto cassette tapes, even visiting local radio stations to ask for the rights to use certain songs. By 1980, they were renamed the Webfooter Water Ski Show.

Today, the Webfooters operate as a Division 1 team, meaning they compete at the highest level where there are no limits on the number of skiers a team can have. They consistently place in the top five at the Wisconsin State Water Ski Show Championships, which is considered the largest water ski tournament in the world, and often rank in the top eight at national competitions.

Over the years, members of the club have traveled to perform in Japan and compete in China as Team USA. Webfooters’ have also helped achieve four Guinness World Records since 2019, including a multi-team pyramid of over 90 people.

Looking back at the generations of skiers who followed in his wake since that first bathtub race in 1976, Abraham said he’s amazed by the legacy that remains on the Wolf River

“I’m just happy that we were the genesis of it, and then 50 years later, they’re still going strong,” he said.

Waves of generations on the Wolf
For the Webfooters, the team is more than a sport, it’s a tradition passed down through generations. Alumni member Lon King joined the club with his family in 1998.

“I don’t think there is one other sport where the whole family can be involved in the same activity,” Lon said.

When the King family joined, Lon’s wife, Anita, performed in the flag line, while their kids, Amanda and Logan, learned to ski. Lon and 10-year-old Amanda began performing adagio doubles, a routine similar to figure skating where the male skier lifts his female partner overhead while strapped to a boat.

“Her and I did doubles for six or seven years, competed, did very well,” Lon recalled. “It was life-changing because I spent all this time with my daughter. We practiced all year, we came out here, we skied every show together, we skied competitions. It changed our relationship forever.”

When Amanda moved on, King found a new doubles partner in nine-year-old Halia Sternhagen, who he said became like a second daughter to him during their years of practice. Today, King drives the towboats, his son Logan continues to ski with the team, and Logan’s two young daughters are preparing to join the mix.

“I have friends in this club that I’m closer to than my family,” Lon said. “I don’t ever want to look back and regret having done it. It’s been very, very special.”

Decades of dedication
The longevity of Webfooters is built on families that have stayed connected to the club for decades. Sam Benjamin is celebrating his 40th continuous year performing with the team. He first became involved as a child in 1986, when his parents, Peggy and the late Dan Benjamin, volunteered to drive pickup boats for shows.

Peggy Benjamin recalled that in the late 1980s, the team once needed a prop for a Christmas-themed show, so the family brought a half-burnt Christmas tree from their own fire pit to use in the performance.

Current show director Melissa Hanser is celebrating her 30th year with the team. She joined at age 10 alongside her sister, Stefanie, and both sisters later met their future husbands through the Webfooters. Today, Hanser shares the water with her husband, children, sister Stefanie, brother-in-law Sam Benjamin, and nieces.

Fellow show director Kurt Berndt has been with the team for 34 years, first learning to ski at age six. For years, his wife Erica watched from the sidelines while raising their children. Last summer, she joined him and their now-adult children, Kendall and Carter, on the water.

“To still have something that we can hang out and do together is really good,” Erica said.

Kurt said the skiers grow up together. He remembers fellow show director Melissa and her sister Stefanie joining as young girls, and now watches as their children ski alongside his own.

“It’s just our summer family,” Kurt said. “It’s cool to see our kids grow up and now our kids are starting to do it with our friends’ kids.”

Camaraderie over competition
The Webfooters take competition seriously, practicing indoors beginning every January to prepare for tournament routines. But they say the overarching goal is community building.

Show director Megan Juen, who is in her 26th season with the team, noted that the shared struggle and triumph of mastering challenging aquatic skills erases traditional social barriers.

“It’s so fun to see them learn a new skill and help them get to that new skill set,” she said. “Every accomplishment just feels like an accomplishment for myself.”

Because the Webfooters are one of the smaller Division 1 teams in the state, she said they must rely on creativity and utilize every member to compete against clubs from larger cities like Madison, which often boast up to 70 skiers.

Hanser said that the club has a role for everyone, regardless of athletic ability. Grandparents help sew costumes, parents work the concession stands, and others manage the sound booth or drive boats.

“The coolest part about it is that you don’t have to be a water skier, really,” she said. “Anybody can have a role on the ski team.”

The Webfooters are a nonprofit organization and offer home shows for free at 6 p.m. on most Wednesdays and Sundays from June through August at the Bank First Fan Zone at Plank Stadium in Fremont. The performances draw crowds that swell the village of just 600 residents into thousands, providing a boost to the local economy.

The team maintains a symbiotic relationship with the village, partnering with establishments like Wolf River Pizza and Hotel Fremont to supply food and support for their concession stands. The Fremont Village Hall is often used for practices.

Voodoo Voyage show
To celebrate their milestone 50th year, the Webfooters are combining the varied talents of their massive membership for a special “Voodoo Voyage” show loosely based on Disney’s The Princess and the Frog.

Hanser said the creative concept was born out of a desire to showcase the team’s high school and college students who play brass instruments. During the show, six members acting as street performers play a live musical arrangement on stage. The live band includes tuba, saxophone, trumpet and trombone players, anchored by alumni boat driver Lon King stepping in to play the drums.

The team has fully embraced the New Orleans-style theme, blending high-speed water skiing with a comedic, fully scripted theatrical production. The performance features everything from junior skiers racing barefoot across the water to wakeboard jumps and a one-ski ballet line, culminating in a massive on-water pyramid. Between their demonstrations in the water, the skiers dance and act on the stage.

Following last Sunday’s show, dozens of current and former Webfooters gathered for a photo overlooking the water. The group included skiers from the team’s earliest years alongside the children and grandchildren now taking over the wakes. Afterward, the Webfooters broke into a collective cheer, shouting the word that has defined the club for generations: Family!