Here’s the proposal for the project I told folks about in the District 2 post yesterday. It generated quite a bit of interest. Capital Neighborhoods decided to support it. Tenney Lapham – in which the half of the park with the rentals is in – hasn’t taken a position yet that I’m aware of.
Supreme Water Sports LLC Motorboat Proposal Brief
Supreme Water Sports LLC (SWS), the concessions and water sports provider at James Madison Park, hopes receive approval from the Parks Commission and Neighborhood Association to provide Madison and surrounding area residents with wakeboard and water ski youth camps and rentals. Wakeboarding and water skiing are two of the world’s most popular motorboat sports, and we want to make them accessible to a wider demographic than just boat owners.
Clients will be picked up at various public access points on lakes Mendota and Monona, with services provided on those two lakes to prevent a high frequency of usage in any one location on the lake. SWS will initially use only one motor boat to provide these services. We hope to have two boats in operation for the 2009 season, demand permitting.
In addition to the camps and equipment rentals, SWS wakeboard/ski instructors will provide public boater safety courses and volunteer services for MSCR pontoon boat rides. Some SWS staff already volunteer for the MSCR pontoon boat rides, and that practice will continue. Further, SWS will provide adaptive wakeboard/ski instruction to existing and future clients such as Madison School and Community Recreation and the Wisconsin Association for Blind Athletes.
SWS would also like to include lake tours in this agreement. This simply consists of taking clients on a guided tour of the lakes.
SWS motor boat drivers and instructors will be trained for overboard rescue by MSCR, as required for all their volunteer boat drivers. They will also be required to have CPR, Lifeguard, and Wilderness First Responder certifications. SWS will be fully insured to provide all included operations by its current insurance provider, CBIZ. The boat will also be used as a Fast-Response Rescue Craft for SWS clients when the Coast Guard and Sherriff’s boats are already engaged in rescues.
*This proposal is NOT for renting out boats for private use, but for providing instruction and guide services. At no point will a client be allowed to operate the boat. A SWS boat driver and instructor will be present and operating the boat at all times. Alcohol and smoking will not be permitted on the boat at any time. Personal Floatation Devices will be required to be worn at all times. As with our current operations, safety is our first concern.
Wisconsin has long been a water skiing haven, and is fast becoming a Mecca for wakeboarding, with the World Wakeboarding Association Nationals competition being held in Wisconsin for the last three years as seen on ESPN and FUEL TV networks. In fact, I have partnered with the Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation to provide the Badger State Games with an amateur Wakeboard Competition for the 2008 summer games. Professional athletes, many native to Wisconsin, will be celebrity judges and be performing trick demos. This will be a great opportunity for Wisconsin youth to meet professional athletes and role models in the sport of Wakeboarding. SWS programming and events such as this, aim to offer athletes safe and healthy sports environments, and bring in much welcomed tourism dollars to Madison.
Thanks for your consideration.
Thomas Murphy
Supreme Water Sports, Owner
