About Us:
The Badgerland Jet Pilots are a sociable group of PWC enthusiasts as well as an official AWA Charter Club. (However, now that nobody seems to know what is up with the AWA, we really don’t require our members to pay AWA membership dues.) While the majority of our members prefer to ride stand-up or smaller sport sized jet skis, ALL forms of personal watercraft are perfectly acceptable within our events and informal gatherings. Also, while many of the members spend much of their spare time and money modifying their machines to their heart’s content, 100% stock machines are welcomed as well, but be warned: If you ride and hang with the BJPs for much time, the itch to modify your PWC will rub off on you, guaranteed. Age, gender, creed, and color are also not factors here. So long as you are passionate about the sport of jet skiing, and your ego fits into a standard sized helmet, you will fit in just fine with the BJPs.
Our group officially began life during the winter of 2011/2012. After many Wisconsinites had been attending the TCJP (Twin Cities Jet Pilots) Freerides and events for several years, and a few of these riders had been looking for a spot to host a Freeride within Wisconsin, the idea for the BJPs was born and everything took off from there. The first annual Wisconsin Dells Freeride was held over the weekend after Memorial Day in 2012 (June 1-3), and roughly 100 attendees got to experience the first official Freeride ever held in Wisconsin. Since then, the Wisconsin Dells Freeride has always been held right after Memorial Day each year, but has “officially” grown to a 4-day (Thurs-Sun) event. However, it is a poorly-kept secret that a good number of attendees have been arriving on Tuesday and Wednesday, in order to really get their fill of PWC riding. Attendance at the more recent 2014-2016 Dells Freerides has been 240-350. This sets the Wisconsin Dells Freeride squarely as the 2nd largest annual PWC Freeride held in the U.S.
As the BJP group has grown, so has the desire for additional events and Freerides. We have held organized events at the heated lake in Clinton, IL and up in Sheboygan, WI on the “Third Coast”, where the freshwater surf is amazing and challenging. Oh, and more events and more locations are currently and always in the works for the Badgerland Jet Pilots. Just keep paying attention, as we are not a group that is prone to resting on our laurels. You might just see some new ideas and events that buoy up our attendance even more.
Besides comradery, socializing, and just plain old riding fun, the BJPs are also about improving the image of jet skiers in general. We have striven to demonstrate that not all jet skiers are careless hooligans. As part of our primary Freeride each year, a charity fundraiser is held and a donation is made to the CWCAC Food Pantry (Central Wisconsin Community Action Council) in the Wisconsin Dells. We have helped to feed over 300 needy families with almost $19,000 donated in just our first 5 years. The prizes for the fundraiser are donated by the many generous sponsors you will find listed on the Sponsor Page of this website, and 5 complete jet skis have been restored and donated (by the group effort of several of our members) as some of the many prizes as well. Please check out the Sponsor Page and patronize these companies whenever possible, and be sure to thank them for their support of the BJPs!!!
“2018 UPDATE: Our last 2 annual BJP Freerides (2017 & 2018), called Jet Blast, were held at Hattie-Sherwood campground on Green Lake and then Holiday Shores campground in the Wisconsin Dells. The change of scenery was refreshing, and we also added a ton of new attendees. Better yet, our total dollars donated to the CWCAC has now exceeded $25,000. If you’re interested in attending Jet Blast 2021, send us an e-mail.”
See you on the water…