Help Folks Foot Addiction at Foot on the Chain This Weekend
by James Coulter
Seven years ago, a local barefoot water-skier’s life had hit rock bottom. Tim Collette was struggling with addiction and he needed help.
With help from his parents, he went into rehab. Now, seven years later, Tim has remained clean and sober ever since.
However, Tim knows how hard it is for someone in such a situation, whether they’re battling with addiction or alcoholism, to receive help.
He knows, all too well, how even someone who wants to seek help has trouble finding it, even if, unbeknownst to them, help is close within reach.
For Tim, the help he needed was only ten minutes away from where he lived.
“I had no idea how accessible recovery and health was,” he said. “It is so much more accessible anyone really realizes.”
For that reason, Tim has been hosting the Foot on the Chain fundraiser, and he will be hosting the next event this weekend on the Chain of Lakes on Saturday.
Foot on the Chain has been hosted for the past four years. What started as a trial event for barefoot waterskiing eventually transformed into a day and a half long water ski music festival.
The competition will have 10 participating teams, trailering their barefoot boats, from all over the country, racing through 13 different lakes on the Chain of Lakes in Winter Haven. Each lake they receive a dart, and at the very end, the teams go to breakfast to shoot those darts and the team with the most points wins.
The festivities will continue at Tanner’s Lakeside in Winter Haven for an evening of live music, raffles, t-shirts, and even a flyboard and fireworks show.
Proceeds will benefit the Clean Pirate Life Foundation, an addiction awareness foundation. Their proceeds will go toward building a sober living house in Winter Haven.
“So the cool thing about the event is that waterskiing will be going on at Lake May throughout the day during the live music,” Tim explained. “So, we are trying to bring the water ski community and local music community together.”
Tim has been an avid water-skier ever since the ripe age of three. He started barefoot waterskiing at age 12 and show skiing at age 15. He moved to Florida at age 22, and had been living in Winter Haven for five years.
Foot on the Chain has grown over the past four years since its inception. Last year, more than 88 folks registered for the event, and Tim is expecting it to be bigger and better this year.
Foot on the Chain will start with a kickoff event on Friday evening with the main event on Saturday. The race will begin from Tanner’s Lakeside at 7:30 AM, with the festivities continuing and concluding at Tanner’s Lakeside.
For more information, call 863-514-8935, or visit footthechain.com and footthechain on Facebook and Instagram.
