Lake Norman Marina to Host Ski Tournament

The 41^st Annual Lake Norman New Year’s Day Barefoot Tournament will be held Tuesday, January 1, starting at noon. Held annually at Lake Norman Marina in Sherill’s Ford, North Carolina and hosted by the Carolina Show Ski Team, it is one of the longest running barefoot skiing tournaments in the world.

The tournament combines barefoot starts, tricks and endurance skills in one single ride. Contestants receive points for the degree of difficulty of their starting method (flying dock start, backward dock start, etc.), degree of difficulty of any tricks they perform (one foot, tumble-turns, 180 degree turns) and one point for every second they remain on their bare feet.

Past contestants include world class competitors and barefooting legends Ron Scarpa and Peter Fleck. Last year former Women’s World Barefoot Champion Rachel Normand stepped out of retirement to compete in the New Year’s Day tournament, placing a close second to course record holder Jeff Blair.

“Although I love to compete and win, the New Year’s Day tournament is a really fun event and a wonderful experience to just participate in,” Normand said. “At this year’s tournament my highlight will be having some young students I taught to barefoot this past summer also compete in the event.“

Admission to the event is free, and concessions are available on site.