The Maine Attraction Water Ski Show Team has been turning heads for decades on Number One Pond in Sanford. Top photos by Paul Auger, bottom photo by Sarah Ouellette
Members of the Maine Attraction Water Ski Show Team are more than just water skiers. They’re daredevil acrobats, fearlessly flipping, twirling, and spinning as they fly across the water and through the air. They’re entertainers as they wave flags, dance, and whiz by on four-level human pyramids in colorful matching costumes. And they’re actors as they follow a choreographed script with a story line and music that would do Broadway’s show district proud.
Now going into its 37th year, the all-volunteer team puts on weekly hour-long shows on an old mill pond in Sanford, entertaining hundreds of people who line the shores and give their oohs and aahs and rounds of applause. The team has about 55 people in all; besides the 35 or so skiers, there are boat drivers, announcers, sound technicians, a costume crew, choreographers, a dock crew, and more.
“We like to call it Broadway on water,” said Katie Gray, who runs the show.
Gray’s parents, Mark and Lori Hegarty, started the Maine Attraction Water Ski Show Team in 1989 after moving to Maine from Florida, where they were professional water skiers at SeaWorld. They were ready to start a family, and decided to move to Sanford so Mark could join a friend in the home construction business.
Photo by Paul Auger
It takes months of practice on land and on the water to perfect the show’s numerous routines, including the impressive and crowd-pleasing multi-level pyramids. Photo by Sarah Ouellette
That first year, the team had about six guys and six girls, Lori Hegarty said. “Since then, it’s grown and grown and grown through the years.”
Team members come from all walks of life: high school and college students, a nurse, a lumber yard worker, an engineer, an occupational therapist, town and school employees, and on and on. Lori Hegarty, at 64, is the oldest member on the team. The youngest is Gray’s son, Gunther, who is 3.
“We’re all over the place,” Gray said.
Team members don’t have to know how to ski to become a part of the team. But what is required is a strong commitment for six months of the year to ensure the show goes on.
The team begins practices every winter inside a local gym to master their moves on land before hitting the lake several evenings a week come warm weather to perfect their routines. The shows are held at 6:30 p.m. every Thursday in July on Number One Pond. A crowd begins showing up half an hour early along William Oscar Emery Drive for pre-show festivities, toting chairs and blankets. Many bring picnics, others enjoy food from a food truck that typically shows up with hot dogs, Italians, ice cream, and the like.
Skiers can fly up to 20 feet through the air off this jump ramp in the pond. Photo by Sarah Ouellette 
Many of the ski routines would make ballet dancers proud. Photo by Paul Auger
Each summer brings a distinctive theme, with different music, costumes, and choreographed acts that follow a script. A sampling of past shows includes “Gilligan’s Island,” “Jungle Ski Safari,” “The Wild West,” “Pirates,” “Hometown High,” and “Christmas in July.”
In addition to the free weekly performances in July and another on Labor Day weekend in Sanford, the team each year takes its show on the road to Rangeley Lake in western Maine and Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. They also compete in regional water ski show tournaments against teams from other states; they won in 2021 and came in second in 2022 and 2024.
Photo by Paul Auger
The shows are as much fun for the team members as they are for the crowds that watch them. Team members span a wide age range, from youngsters on up to skiers in their 60s. The current team ranges from 3 to 64. Photo by Paul Auger
They were even once called upon to do a high-energy television commercial for Twisted Tea, which aired two summers ago (bit.ly/3Da41i2).
Not surprisingly, all that time together creates bonds among the team members until they, essentially, become a family of sorts.
Erin Fraser, along with her younger sister, joined the team 14 years ago as a senior in high school. Today, she skies on the base tier of a female pyramid team while also serving as a choreographer for dance portions of the show. One routine features members who dance on a barge that is anchored by the shore, then perform a ski routine before returning to the barge for more dancing.
“Skiing isn’t even my favorite part,” Fraser said. “I love our team so much; they’re like an extended family. I just love being around everybody. I just love hanging out and being with the team.”
Photo by Sarah Ouellette
Besides bringing its members together, the ski show team also brings the community together for fun outings. The skiers feed off the crowds when they whoop and holler, knowing they’re putting on an entertaining performance.
“We’ve had people come up to us after the show who say we saw you on Facebook or on the news or read about you,” Fraser said. “People come from three hours away just to watch our show. It’s not just local people; people travel to see us—which is really cool when people tell us that.”
The team is a non-profit and performs for free but relies on sponsorships and individual donations to help pay for the equipment, skis, costumes, gas, and the upkeep of four boats. A donation bucket is passed through the crowd during the shows’ intermission, and the team also holds a fundraiser every St. Patrick’s Day.
An announcer provides commentary on every choreographed act. Each scripted show has a theme, such as the Wild Wild West, shown here in 2019. Photo by Paul Auger
Lori Hegarty still skies on the team while serving as vice president and secretary. Her husband, Mark, is the primary boat driver and team president.
When she thinks about it, Lori Hegarty isn’t all that surprised that the Maine Attraction Water Ski Show Team keeps chugging along, even decades after it was founded. When Hegarty was a young girl, her father started a similar water ski show team in Wisconsin that is still going strong under the name the Altoona Ski Sprites.
“I guess I had a little foresight into thinking that maybe this was something that could continue for a long time, because his ski team did the same thing in Wisconsin,” she said. “And now here I am in Maine following in my father’s footsteps. Here we are, some 30-something years later and still doing it.”
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Clarke Canfield is a longtime journalist and author who has written and edited for newspapers, magazines, and the Associated Press. He lives in South Portland.
For More Information
Maine Attraction Water Ski Show’s 2025 schedule is available at maineattractionwaterski.com.
