The Timberbats make up the waterski team of Camp Timberlane. It is made up of all campers, including P.A.’s and C.I.T.’s. Not many camps have their own waterskiing team, especially of only campers.

People in charge of the Timberbats are Mike Ukman (senior counselor) and Bob Heilbronner (junior counselor). Mike Ukman is also the boat driver of this year’s Timberbats. This is quite a difficult job because he must have the patience during the practices and also must know all of the different speeds for each act. Bob Heilbronner is the announcer of the shows, and he must know all the Timberbats and the order of their acts. He must also be able to tell jokes to stall for a minute if someone should fall or an act takes a while to get going.

In order to be considered for the Timberbats, one must first pass what is called a screening test. The procedure is usually (1) a drag start on two skis. This is done because many of the acts consisting of 3 or more people cause a lot of drag on the start. (2) Lifting a ski and cutting across both wakes is required to demonstrate that one is a stable skiier. (3) Finally the person being tested must take a whip on two skis. After the pass through the show course, there is usually a sharp turn, and this test also confirms stability. There are some exceptions to the screening. A younger skier may be put through an easier test to see whether he can do the things required for a specific act. Such acts include the pyramid and the saucer.

Even if a skier does pass the initial screening test, he is not necessarily on the team. He still has to be fit into an act. There are limited openings most of the time; once a skier has made the Timberbats, he stays on the team until he becomes a staff member. Staff members are ineligible to participate as a Timberbat.

Here is a list of the following acts and what they involve:

Once a skier becomes a Timberbat, he is considered a junior member, As a junior remember, he must do a lot of the dirty jobs such as cleaning the skiing area and scrubbing the boats. A junior member can work hard and hope to earn a Timberbat jacket at the end of the camping season. The jackets are given to the senior members free.

The Timberbats travel throughout northern Wisconsin putting on shows at girls’ camps and lodges. A total of three shows are performed each session, one of them being on parents’ weekend. When the Timberbats put on a show out of camp, they always take their own equipment. This includes skis, ropes, and of course our 105 horsepower boat.