What are the opening hours?

Wednesday 6:30pm - 7:45pm Sunday 6:30pm - 7:45pm

Backwater Gamblers Water Ski Show Team

Home
United States
Rock Island, IL
Backwater Gamblers Water Ski Show Team

The Backwater Gamblers put on FREE water ski shows every Wednesday and Sunday starting Memorial Day

10/13/2026

🤍Back to back Backwater Weddings 💍💒

Congratulations to The newlyweds, Kayla and Noah (10/3) and Megan and Prestyn (10/10)!

Cheers to beautiful beginnings! We loved celebrating with you!

10/07/2026

GOODBYE Backwater Beach, HELLO “???new theme???” 👋🏼

Help us pick a new theme! What do you think we should do next? 🎭

What has been your favorite theme? Should we start doing sequels like Hollywood? 😆

09/29/2026

Sweet summertime sendoff

09/22/2026

We’re honored to share that the Backwater Gamblers were voted “Best Family Entertainment” in the Quad-City Times “Best of” Awards! 🏆

We’re also proud to have placed 2nd for “Best Place to Take an Out-of-Town Guest” and 3rd for “Best Sports Team”

Thank you to our amazing community for your continued support, votes, and visits. We take pride in our shows and our team. We’re grateful to be a part of the Quad Cities and look forward to creating more great memories with you! 🎉🙌

09/16/2026

Happy Wednesday y’all 🐪

09/15/2026

✨ Meet the Team Tuesday: Arrow! ✨

We are so excited to introduce you to the newest member of the Backwater Gamblers — Arrow! 💙

Arrow first joined us for a “Come & Try” practice, and we knew pretty quickly that she was going to be a wonderful addition to our team. She has shown us how brave she can be, how well she takes direction, and how willing she is to step outside of her comfort zone and try something new.

This season, Arrow has been part of our Conventional Doubles line, and she has already started working on pyramids and skiing on her own! We are so proud of the progress she has made and the confidence she is building every time she gets on the water.

Arrow’s mom gave us permission to share her beautiful words about Arrow’s journey with the Backwater Gamblers:

“I don’t even know if I can put into words how incredibly proud I am of this girl.

Joining the Backwater Gamblers Water Ski Show team has been about SO much more than learning a new skill for Arrow.

This is a girl who has always been incredibly talented, but confidence hasn’t always come easily. She has never wanted to compete or perform in front of people because the fear of failing or making a mistake was sometimes bigger than her belief in herself.

And then she did THIS.

She joined a team without knowing a single person. She put herself completely outside of her comfort zone. She learned something brand new. She practiced. She fell. She got back up. And then she went out in front of a crowd and performed.

Watching her be brave enough to try something that once would have scared her has made me prouder than I can explain. But my absolute favorite part? She is SO happy.

Every time we pull into the ski site, she is excited to be there. She has found something she loves, and seeing that smile and watching her confidence grow means absolutely everything to me.

From the very beginning, everyone on this team has been so welcoming, kind, patient and encouraging to Arrow and to our entire family. We are incredibly thankful to be part of something so special. This program is 100% volunteer-based, and every practice, every show and everything that happens behind the scenes is possible because people choose to donate their own time and energy to this team.

That makes it even more special.

And thank you to every single person who came to a show, cheered for Arrow, supported her and supported the team.

You may not realize how much it means to a little girl learning to believe in herself — or to the mom in the crowd. I cannot WAIT to see what next season holds for Arrow!”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. ❤️

Arrow, we are incredibly proud of you! Your willingness to listen, take direction, try new things, and be brave is something special. We have loved watching you learn, grow, and gain confidence on the water.

We are so happy you came to that first Come & Try practice — and even happier that you decided to stay!

Welcome to the Backwater Gamblers, Arrow! We can’t wait to see what’s next! 💙🌊⛷️

09/11/2026

September 11, 2001, shaped our nation forever. On this 25th anniversary, our team joins millions across the country in quiet reflection to honor the victims, support the families whose lives were changed forever, and remember the heroes who answered the call.

May we always hold their memory and the enduring strength of our nation in our hearts. 🇺🇸

09/09/2026

What a season. What a TEAM. ❤️🌊☀️

As we wrap up another incredible season, we want to take a moment to recognize some of the people who helped make it all possible — our show directors, Collin, Colby and Skyler.

Great leadership is more than making decisions or standing at the front of the team. It’s about setting the tone, building trust, bringing people together and leading by example. Throughout this season, these three demonstrated dedication, patience, creativity, resilience and an unwavering belief in this team. They challenged us to push beyond what we thought was possible, while creating an environment where everyone could learn, contribute and feel like they belonged.

And what a season it was!

We celebrated double top 4 Tier pyramids, countless new members stepping into ballet, conventional doubles and pyramids, and welcomed more than 40 new members to our team. That kind of growth is something truly special — and we’re not stopping there!

But the accomplishments on the water only tell part of the story.

This season brought its share of challenges: flooding, equipment failures, injuries and plenty of unexpected obstacles. But every time something tested us, we came together. We adapted. We helped one another. We kept showing up. And we kept moving forward.

That is the culture of this team.

We also want to recognize our Board of Directors and our President, Nick Passini, for the leadership, time and commitment they give behind the scenes. Leadership is often described as the ability to inspire others to achieve a shared vision — and this season was a great reminder that the strongest teams are built by people who are willing to serve, support and believe in something bigger than themselves.

Most importantly, thank you to our fans, families, sponsors and supporters. ❤️

You make this possible.

From performing our home shows, to skiing together, to spending time at our beautiful ski site, these are the moments that make this team so much more than a group of athletes. This is a community. This is family. This is something we are incredibly proud to be part of.

To everyone who helped make this season what it was — thank you.

And to Collin, Colby and Skyler: thank you again for your leadership, your vision and your belief in this team. You helped create a season we’ll remember for a long time.

40+ new members. Incredible accomplishments. Countless memories. One team.

And we’re just getting started. 🌊❤️

Address

5000 44th Street
Rock Island, IL
61201

Opening Hours

Wednesday	6:30pm - 7:45pm
Sunday	6:30pm - 7:45pm

Website

http://www.backwatergamblers.com/, https://linktr.ee/backwatergamblers

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Backwater Gamblers Water Ski Show Team posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Backwater Gamblers Water Ski Show Team:

Want your business to be the top-listed event/venue in Rock Island?