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 over 3 decades 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 is semi-private, and is mainly used for trick, wakeboard and recreational skiing.

“Everything is designed to be a controlled environment so the only thing that matters is the skiing,” Kurt Hinz, an ex 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 the office manager at the school.

The number of coaches varies according to the season, “there are four of us out here right now that are all competing at the professional level,” one of the coaches 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.”

 “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,” Kurt Hinz, an ex ski coach 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,” said the office manager. “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 to both visitors and local residents:

• The “Mini” with one lesson per day for 6 consecutive packages
• The “Short Program” with 2 lessons per day for 6 consecutive days
• The “Full Program with 4 lessons per day for 5 and ½ consecutive days.
• On the per lesson basis during the week or on week end
• Customers can look at the different rates on our website:  www.swissskischool.com.