LA Night jam 2009 

  Waterskiing A Spectator Sport? Sure.

Bigger and better? More crowd interaction, more excitement, more extreme, more danger!?  How can we make 

waterskiing a spectator sport!?  This is what three essential waterski industry guys sat down to ponder one evening by 

a beautiful lakeside sunset;   Jay Bennett of Bennett’s Waterski and Wakeboard School, Aarne Clow of Matercraft 

Boats, and Chris Sullivan of Radar Skis. “How can we make this better?” 

Professional Waterski Jumpers fly at a 6’ ramp at 70mph and soar through the air over 200’ in distance... How do we 

make THAT more exciting!?  Well, sitting there at sunset, the answer was simple.  Turn out the lights!  Lets host a 

competition at night!  And thus, the LA Night Jam began to develop. 

Only a handful of ski sites around the world have attempted such a setting.  It is quite dangerous and a little difficult 

to persuade the athletes that this is actually GOOD for their sport.  With the masterminds of Jay Bennett and 

professional extreme distance jumper Freddy Kruger, the lighting was tried, tested and strategically locked down into 

prime position.  The skier comes flying out of the darkness, soars through the air and lands safely with out being 

blinded. 

The crowds at the 2007 INT National Championships, hosted at Bennett’s Waterski and Wakeboard School would be 

the test group.  Their Saturday night entertainment, little did they know, was just the teaser for the most successful 

stop on the MasterCraft Pro Tour the following season.  With a captive audience already in place, we only had to 

invite potential future sponsors (or VIPs from town) to join in on the action.  

The reaction was incredible as you can imagine.  It was talked about, built upon and after months and months of 

blood sweat and tears the 2008 LA Night Jam came to be.  With shorelines packed out full of vendors, live 

entertainers, professional athletes, music, drinks and food, the legendary LA Night Jam was officially born.  Media 

coverage came from 104X radio commercials and a live broad cast from the boat, WBRZ morning shows, Cox TV 

commercials, the advocate fun section, and 225 magazine. 

After drawing a crowd of 4,000 general public spectators, and being the most successful stop on the MasterCraft 

Professional Waterski tour in 2008, the 2009 LA Night Jam is well on its way to making another huge hit in the 

Zachary and Greater Baton Rouge area.  With a whole new show, new boats, more vendors, new bands, new 

amusements and even some surprise appearances, the 2009 LA Night Jam is scheduled to be, well... Bigger and 

Better!  

Waterskiing? A spectator sport?

For more information and directions go to www.lanightjam.com