Coleman Lake to be the site of May jet ski exhibition, council says

This spring, Coleman Lake in Sulphur Springs will be the scene of an exciting watersport making a splash in Texas-- no pun intended. By the approval of the city council on Tuesday, JetTribe Core Watercraft company now has authorization to hold a jetski race and trick exhibition from May 15-16, 2020. 

Appearing before the council, JetTribe vice president Sarah Whitehead asked the council for special dispensation to hold the May event due to the fact that motorized watercraft are typically prohibited from Coleman Lake. 

Sarah and husband Tony, company owners and Hopkins County transplants had been “so impressed with the hospitality of our hometown” of Sulphur Springs they want to put on the event as a thank you to the community, supporter Dinh Tran told the council.

“We want to introduce Sulphur Springs to the jet ski,” Tran said. Sarah told the council the Whiteheads had previous experience hosting international competitions, and thought the event could do well for tourism here. Tran estimated the event could bring 50-100 jet ski riders from throughout the state. 

Mayor Norman Sanders inquired if the Whiteheads planned to use “both the big part and the small part” of the lake for competition, and if the lake was deep enough for jet skis. Whitehead informed him water depth to operate a jet ski for competition only needed to be approximately seven feet. She also said that the upper portion of Lake Coleman, which is smaller, would be an ideal location for a kids area during the event. 

“Maybe some remote control toy boats would be good, so the kids can participate,” Tran said. “Everyone in town is welcome, we can’t have success without the community.” 

The Whiteheads would one day like to make Sulphur Springs a qualifying location for statewide competitions, Tran said. According to Tran, competitions like this take place in California, New York and Florida, but are not commonplace in Texas.

The council unanimously approved the event.