Banned water ski members fight for right to practice

Water skiers Zack Worden and Claudio Kostenberger look for ways to train and help defend the teams’ 23rd national title after being banned from team affiliation for a semester.

Overall and jumping champion Worden enrolled in ULM’s online Gold program for the spring semester because he will not be in Monroe.

“I need to be able to train for my pro career,” Worden said.

Worden has competed professionally since the age of 17, and is sponsored by Nautique Boats.

He said he will be in California teaching snow boarding classes and will return to his home-state, Florida, to train for the upcoming season there with his family.

“I’ve always trained there, so hopefully everything works out, and in the fall I’ll be back in the bayou (Desiard).”

Water ski team manager Treina Landrum banned Worden and Kostenberger from using any ULM Water Ski facilities and docked $500 dollars in scholarship money because they missed curfew the night of winning the national championship title at the National Collegiate Water Ski Association championships in Zachary in October.

Landrum had no comment on Worden’s enrollment in the online program, and his move out of Monroe.

Kostenberger said, “All I can do is wait it all out and hope that there is at least some kind of change so I can ski.”

He said, “I guess I will go to the gym as much as possible so I am in the best possible physical shape when I am able to hit the water again after school is over.”

Kostenberger said, “I don’t have a car so I cannot even go out of town to ski somewhere else.”