The high-flying act of this water-ski school sends tourists soaring

On the outskirts of Clermont, Fla., is a road leading to outdoor adventure bliss. A Water Skiing Paradise to be exact, well that’s at least the name of this Lake County attraction’s boulevard entrance.

The Swiss Ski School was founded by Pierre and Denise Grimm 25 years ago. The school features all the necessities for a successful waterskiing lesson, including full-time coaching staff, state-of-the art equipment, rental lodging and plenty of water. The four manmade lakes of the Swiss Ski School are narrow and long, presenting ideal conditions for waterskiing. A fifth natural lake, Lake Sumner, is used for the school’s wakeboard academy.

“Everything is designed to be a controlled environment so the only thing that matters is the skiing,” Kurt Hinz, a ski school coach and professional slalom skier.

The resort offers much more than skiing or wakeboarding lessons. The Swiss Ski School offers cabins and a dining hall for students. In addition, surrounding many of the manmade lakes and the 18-hole Swiss Fairways are vacation homes, which are available for short-term rentals.

While the skiing and wakeboarding schools provide a fun getaway for tourists, the facility is also a training ground for professional athletes.

“Coaches rotate in and out of the school according to their professional schedule,” said Jodi Boyatt, a manager at the school.

On one sunny September afternoon, a handful of skiing coaches practice their craft to prepare for the upcoming U.S. Open Waterski Championships at nearby Walt Disney World. The Swiss Ski School hosted the 2003 Waterski World Championships.

“There are about four of us out here right now that are all competing at the professional level,” Hinz said. “The Swiss Ski School is just a great facility. There’s nothing else like it around. It’s the only place with this many manmade lakes and professional skiers.”

Because of its highly trained coaching staff and ideal skiing conditions, the Swiss Ski School attracts skiers of different levels of experience.

“We’ll have people that come down here that are as good as or better than the coaches to those that are just beginning to learn,” Hinz said.

As former residents of Switzerland, the Grimms’ business also attracts plenty of European interest. According to staff, the majority of the school’s clientele is international.

“Until I came to work out here I didn’t realize how big waterskiing is overseas,” Boyatt said. “We have a few groups that come for a month at a time, including a lot of kids from South America.”

The Swiss Ski School offers a variety of packages. Half programs which include two skiing lessons for five weekdays are between $305 and $690, depending on lodging and food service needs. Full programs with four skiing lessons a day are between $525 and $890. The school also offers single lessons, which are about $32 apiece, and five or 12-lesson cards.