James Hooper Grew – 50th Reunion Essay

James Hooper Grew

College: Ezra Stiles

In 2013, I was the 64th inductee into the US Water Ski Hall of Fame. After teaching French for a year at Andover, I moved to Europe to learn German and Spanish and gallivant about, followed by teaching three languages at Maine’s Gould Academy for two years. Discovering that teenagers had no interest in learning languages inspired me to switch paths abruptly and teach a sport that someone wanted to learn and would pay to do so.

I began my full-time short, competitive water skiing career at 21 in France, much to my parents’ surprise and chagrin. Can you picture my Andover teacher dad’s facial expression? I was never an elite skier, but fared well in my age group although competition never drew me in. “Encouraged” by three back surgeries, I became a committed volunteer and climbed up another proverbial ladder.

In 1976, I moved to Florida, helping out at ski schools. Once I had the necessary experience and had paid my soul-crushing dues (anything to train!), I opened my own in 1978, coaching summers in Europe. In 1987, I fulfilled a dream to work for USA Water Ski (USA-WS), the national governing body of all towed water sports recognized by the United States Olympic Committee.

Over the years, I have worked as an official at multiple able-bodied and adaptive National and World Championships and served on committees and boards for the international and national governing bodies. Additionally, for 30 years until 2015, I traveled annually as US team captain with elite and age group teams, my favorite volunteer task. In 2017, I stepped down after 10 years as USA-WS president.

With my Andover background and understanding that athletes needed education, I started the Barbara Bolding/Jim Grew Women’s Scholarship in 1993, was also a major donor in the campaign to build the Water Ski Hall of Fame/Museum completed in 2000, then purchased the naming rights of the now existing Lake Grew national training center adjacent to the museum.

Barbara Bolding was my fiancée when she died in 1992 at 39 after a five-year struggle with cancer; and I have apparently not ever completely recovered from that experience. It resulted in my retirement to devote myself to volunteer work, particularly with the physically handicapped skiers to whom Barbara so easily related. Barbara left a son and a daughter, now over 40, also affected by her death, with no father to speak of other than me, apparently. I did marry in 1998 at age 50 (Why?!?) to someone way too young; but, although short-lived and supremely unsuccessful, it left me with an adopted son.

Since 2017, I reside in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, reveling in the backcountry in the deepest powder to be found. The following sums up my choices over these many years although water skiing had yet to be invented when it was written: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”