It is time for your yearly Who Are You Guys thread:

[Commuterfisher]

I couldn't find any information on Parker Staver at Newberry Springs. Any contact information? Thanks

[SirDukey]

Howzit! My name is Mike Duke, from South Africa.

I ski at a ski club in Benoni called Skiworld about 10min drive from my house.

I'm 32 and have been skiing since I was 8 years old but have never tried the course until Jan this year so I'm still learning the basics but I did make my first six balls on Friday.

I use a 2007 Connelly Concept so far so good.

[uflbret]

Hey guys, my name's Bret. 40 years young. I've been around boats since I was 12, bought my first one ('83 SN) the week after I graduated college and have been a loyal Correct Craft guy ever since. Had the '83, a '96 SN, '97 Supersport, '87 BFN, and now a '02 TSC2. I used to be a die-hard wakeboarder, and living in ORL enabled me to pretty much ride whenever I could find some friends willing to go. Was fortunate enough to ride with a lot of really good people and learned a lot. Blew my left knee out about 7 years ago and it slowed me down some but I have transitioned back more towards slalom and barefooting. My wife, 22 month old daughter and I moved to Gainesville, FL last May and have not had near as much water time as we used to. The nearest good lake to ski is 40 minutes away and no course so I mostly free-ski now. Currently on a 67" Radar Senate C which is by far the best ski I've ridden.

Most days at the lake now revolve around my little girl. Her 2nd word was "boat" and she's been in ours since she was 5 months old. I can't wait to get her on some trainers. She loves the boat and the water as much as my wife and I so it is truly a treat to be on the lake as a family. I don't get to ski as much anymore but we met a really cool couple at this years Nautique reunion on the St. John's that are part of a show-ski club just outside of Gainesville so I'm looking forward to skiing with them this summer.

 

[Horton]

@gt2003‌ here you go

[gt2003]

Thanks for the redirect Horton.

 

Hi, I'm Greg and I'm a ski-a-holic. I was clean for over 20 years (age 21-22 or so to age 45) but I relapsed this summer after buying a boat and a new slalom ski. I hear there is a course on my home lake somewhere so it looks like I'll be hitting the hard stuff before I know it. Glad to be somewhere I can learn and become a better addict!

[jdk99]

Sorry guys never really introduced myself. Been lurking for a year, posting sporadically the past few months.

 

Name is Jeff. 42. Married with lots of kids. Neurosurgeon by trade and therefore tend to overanalyze everything (as some of you are now painfully aware!). Happy to answer any spine questions that may come up to the degree I can in this format.

 

Returned to skiing 3 years ago after a long education induced hiatus. Started in the course this past season , 10-12sets overall until I blew my ankle in early July. Absolutely addicted! Bought a 196 after 2 sets. (take note @gt2003).

 

Great site! Thanks to @Horton and all the experts who post for providing a tremendous resource…and crackhouse for the addicts!

[skihard]

Name is Rod. Hooked on swerving around orange balls a couple winters ago after travelling down from Canada to San Marcos to spend a day skiing with Trent F!

Fast forward to the last spring I got got transferred to Texas. We bought a lot and built a home in a wonderful ski community.

Have been fortunate enough to ski with and meet some great people and skiers.

I'm a hack skier still learning, trying to break old open water habits, and having a blast improving as I go.

I ski year round no matter the temp because well..................... if the lake isn't frozen........we can't skate on it so let's ski it!

Great site Horton and I thank all the people that contribute to the site to help me gain knowledge and try to get better!

Addicted?????? HELL YES!!!!!! :)

[DonT]

Name is Don - 54, Married - pretty much an empty nest now and within the last 5 years gotten hooked on water skiing - to the point of picking up a '95 DD Tige. We spend multiple weeks down at Lake Powell and head out evenings to enjoy the water. Goal for the coming year is to introduce myself to the course and see what happens. I love the info available here on Ball of Spray. It's now snow season, so I spend my time in the backcountry of the Wasatch - but come March the excursions south for warmer water will start.

 

[drewski32]

Andrew Devall, 16, Collierville, TN. I'm probably the youngest person posting on this site.

 

I started skiing on a river when I was 8 behind a 15ft 90hp outboard, just going out once every couple of weeks with family during the summer. I remember the first time I had even heard about competition skiing was when my dad showed me a video of Jamie Beauchesnie unofficially breaking the world slalom record... I thought it was the coolest thing ever, and if I ever got a chance I HAD to try it. Every now and then my dad and I would drive by a small lake (which we had no idea was Collierville Ski Club) where we saw people skiing a course. We would stop and watch every now and then, and finally in 2010 we pulled in the driveway and asked about it. I had just watched Jon Tate run deep -38, and he told me about a local tournament being held by Hilliard Crews that weekend, which was just down the road. It was there that I finally had a chance to try the course, and I couldn't believe how HARD but FUN it was! I was hooked. I started off skiing at Hilliard's every day for a few weeks, and then joined the ski club. It was there that Jon took me under his wing. I could not ask for a better group of people who so graciously took me in. Nearly five years later, I'm knocking on the door of running -35, and I LOVE this sport.

[lpskier]

@Drewski23 Two words for your future: Auburn University. ;-)

[rab]

My name is Ryan and I am the sole member of the Eastern Michigan Water Ski Team. I am 23 and have been slalom skiing since I was 11 but it has only been the last few years that I have actually been learning the correct technique. During the spring and fall I get to ski the course and compete in Collegiate tournaments. I have run the water skiing program at a summer camp in northern Michigan for 4 years. At the camp I am lucky enough to get access to 4 Mastercrafts and free gas but no course.

 

My first time in the course was when I showed up to a collegiate tournament alone, with no team and had no clue of what was going on but the open arms of the water skiing community has kept me hooked ever sense. After being so welcomed by the collegiate water skiing community I have felt like I need to give back and help out collegiate teams. So, I recently have started a company making no stretch trick skiing and wake boarding ropes that will be using some of the profits to provide collegiate teams with free ropes.

 

P.S. I love all the support and help that is given here on BOS, it is definitely helping me get through the off season.

 

~Ryan Black

[Horton]

Ok now just the new guys....

[inland]

Name is Chris. 41, married, 2 little ones (3 & 6). Bought my first inboard 5 years ago and started skiing since I always wanted to. Now I'm hooked, but being a Sr. Estimator for an industrial contractor keeps me away from the water more than I'd like.

 

Started skiing the course 2 years ago and gradually getting better. Looking very forward to my second Seth Stisher lesson here in June. He's been a great help.

[TallSkinnyGuy]

I'm 45, married, two kids (boys, 8 and 6), live just north of I-80 between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. Learned to ski behind a 22 hp outboard when I was around 10 and then my family upgraded to an 80-horse outboard tri-hull open bow boat. We lived a few miles from a decent public lake in Northern California and my brother and I skied as much as we could through our teen years. I first skied a course in the Lake Oroville afterbay (I recently read that Marcus Brown learned to ski on that course -- he picked it up a little better than I did). I also borrowed a portable course for a month from a friend during my college years and dropped it in my local lake about five days a week for that month.

 

My brother and I subscribed to Waterski magazine and went to the Marine World tournament every year. I developed a crush on Kristi Overton when she started competing (also had multiple other crushes on skiers, including Camille Duvall of course).

 

I now live two doors down from my brother and we bought a '97 Prostar 190 together almost two years ago. Unfortunately my closest accessible lake is a 30-minute drive each way so I feel lucky if I can get on the water two or three days a week. But I am hooked on the sport once again and am trying to get my boys hooked on it, too. I will be adding Perfect Pass to my boat this year and either getting a portable course or convincing my church pastor who just moved to a private lake community near me to take me out on his lake regularly. I told him that would be the best way to minister to me.

[aupatking]

I'm not exactly new here, but I think this is my first time seeing this thread.

 

I'm 37, work as a Pharmacy software consultant, from south Alabama.

I learned to ski at age 3 or 4, and started training around 13 on the course. For several crap reasons, I didn't really ski from age 15 until 4 years ago. I broke off an engagement and bought a boat (cliche). I bought an old Tige and an HO A2, and went to see Jodi Fisher for a short, get your $#!+ straight lesson. That's been the best string of events in my life.

I'm now married and have a 7 year old girl and a Nautique and live on the water.

 

I'm working on competing, but had a pretty nasty Powershell caused ankle break training for my second tournament last year. I've got another surgery scheduled but I'm skiing again. I'll be back on the course and pouring some cash into lessons as soon as I'm done having this ankle cut on and screwed back together. I count myself pretty lucky to get to ski with some really talented guys down here, Richard Moyer and Tynes Stringfellow. I really couldn't be happier with life, now that I'm back skiing.

 

Also, I travel, a lot. I'll be in Sacramento one more time this summer, and Phoenix a bunch. I want to ski with all you guys, everywhere. Most the time I'm traveling for work, but I've got a butt-ton of sky miles. Offer me a set or two and I'll book a flight, maybe I can get @OB to fly me and bring his stick too.

[DmaxJC_ski]

I'm not overly new either, but I haven't revealed my story.. I'm turning 38 soon, wife and 2 daughters ages 9 and 11. Started skiing at 9 after years of not wanting to get in the water my dad told me "I didn't buy this boat for you to sit here and be a wimp so you can try skiing or you swim back to the dock". Well I jumped in skied a mile or so, dropped a ski and the rest is history. Took up the course at 13 or so, free skied for the most part till 2012 when I went to Calgary and watched the mastercraft shootout and decided to get back into it.

 

I am a welder by trade, own a business, work in oil and gas here in Alberta, Can, so typically I don't get to ski much due to work and where I live in proximity to a course near by. I have a lake lot at a rather large public lake and an EZ slalom portable, tough to get good water though. I'm still a 15/22 off @34mph guy, found my stack on the last set of 2014 early oct, hoping to continue on and break into 28 this year.

 

Own a 2010 Malibu VTX , girls are kneeboarders and surfers, my oldest follows Paige Rini and has recently decided it's time!! Woo hoo! She wants to be good enough to earn herself the radar lyric.

 

Love this site, gives me my fix when I can't be on the water.

[Bookm_dano]

Dan and (wife) Amy. I'm 57, Amy is slightly younger (not allowed to say exactly how much).

We split our time between Houston and Austin. The boat stays in Austin.

I've been a mediocre open water slalom skier and barefooter for 40 years; just now getting serious about trying to run the course and taking some lessons. Amy is super enthusiastic, a great partner, and she skied and drove the boat all winter.

We mostly slalom but bought wakeboards and a wakeskate so as not to be the old curmudgeons that can't try anything new.

Ball of Spray is a great site...often helpful/insightful....always entertaining.

 

 

[Than_Bogan]

Welcome Dan and Amy!

 

Just FYI, so far being an old cumudgeon who can't try anything new is going pretty well for me... :wink:

[Texas6]

Dan and Amy, great to see some more Texans!! Whare you guys skiing in Austin?

[Texas6]

Dan and Amy, great to see some more Texans!! Whare you guys skiing in Austin?

[Bookm_dano]

@Than_Bogan - Hey whatever works best.....and we mostly just play around on the 'alternate water toys ' when the lake is too crazy to slalom.

@Texas6 - We ski on Lake Austin. Just joined local club which has ski clinics alternating on SMRR, Aquaplex, and Frameswitch.

[RAWSki]

Robert, freelance producer of corporate meetings and video programs. Oakland Co. Michigan about an hr north of Detroit. Live and Ski on Big lake with 8-10 other die hard 'buoy heads' we are mostly grey or bald now!. Learned to ski at age 6 growing up on Lake Lanier outside Atlanta GA but didn't get to spend any time in the course until I moved (transferred) to Michigan. Got the itch and can't stop scratching it. Want to to get back home to GA sometime soon so I can be like @OB!

[pvysohlid]

Hey, my name is Petr, I'm 33 years old, married, 2yrs old boy. I work as a freelance web designer/programmer.

 

I learned to ski when I was 15 behind zodiac boat with 50hp outboard during summer vacation in Croatia. I've been mostly freeskiing although I always wanted to try slalom. Finally, everything came together 3 years ago when we moved to Acapulco and bought property next to the lake.

 

I am trying to ski 2-3 times per week with my friend Steve V. who I met setting up slalom course not far from our place. I could be skiing all year (water stays around 83F-92F year long), but I'm missing driver/skibuddy as Steve is half year in Mexico and half year back in the states and so far I haven't met anyone else. As you can imagine, it's the worst feeling when you can ski, but missing someone who can pull you :D So, If you know about someone who lives down here, I would love to get in touch!

 

BoS is a great site! With awesome community behind it.

[6balls]

@pvysohlid you are correct nothing worse than glass with buoys and no ski partner. Wish I could be there!

[Ststanford]

Hey guys! My name is Stephen Stanford. I've been reading the forum for the past couple of years but just now joining. I've been doing any and everything behind a boat since I could walk but it wasn't until I met my wife 4 years ago that I learned about skiing a course. @jRoe and @smanski have taken me under their wings and taught me all they know about the sport. Needless to say, I'm hooked. We've been living on the lake for the past year (which has been absolute paradise) but are about to relocate to San Antonio where I'll be a dentist at Fort Sam Houston. We're excited about the change and looking forward to finding a new place to ski but sad to be leaving our ski paradise. I love the site and all the great articles and insight.

[ricski39]

Hello all! My name is Ricky Walters, I'm 33 and have been skiing in the slalom course since I was 12, all thanks to Linda Giddens who taught me to navigate all six buoys, trick and jump. I was captain of the Georgia Southern University (The real GSU) ski team from 2005-2009 with a little break for an internship peppered in. After I graduated I went to "work" a summer at Trophy Lakes in Charleston, SC. That three month gig turned into a three year stint working for both Trophy Lakes and for Seth Stisher as a certified ski bum. In 2012 I decided to cut my hair and put my degree to use. I currently work as an engineer in Augusta, GA and try my best to get a couple sets in after work with my girlfriend/ski partner/driver.

If you ever find yourself in the Augusta area, get a hold of me and bring your ski. We love trading sets with new skiers!

[MattP]

Bump for the new guys and gals.

[sunvalleylaw]

I will call my self "re-new". Was here mostly in 2012 getting back into some course skiing. But then I got injured for a couple seasons. So I have not been around or posted for about two years. Coming back into the fold now. Basically, I am a life long recreational skier who enjoys trying out the course from time to time. I currently ski on a mid 00's (I think 2008) D3 Nomad, 68". I currently ski behind an old 1988 Seaswirl outboard we have owned since 1993, (mostly up at Redfish Lake and Alturas Lake near Stanley and Ketchum, Idaho) and also behind friends' boats at a comp lake near Twin Falls, Idaho. If there is water in Magic Res. near Hailey, we will ski there too.

 

My boys both have their slalom water starts down, using double boots. They also enjoy to wakeboard. My daughter currently is learning. My wife skis once a year or so on some day over 85 degrees.

[Greg Lukin]

Greg here from Australia - Brisbane. Skied since I was 6 with my family at a local lake with limited membership - so very lucky to have a spot there - not many private lakes here in Oz, and not many lakes that they allow boats on.

 

Just when I started skiing reasonably well the insurance issues kicked in here and my club didn't continue to do competitive skiing. So I have been just a social skier/footer.

 

Got into the course again recently and broke my foot bad - 18months later and I'm trying to get back to where I was before summer hits. I've always wanted to go in a comp so this is the year for me - I'm training with a good crew and one retired ex "pro" from time to time which has helped - got a family now so its more about a couple of sets then back to social skiing for the rest of the day with family and friends and kids.

 

First comp for me will be on 24/25 Oct - hoping to be at 36mph by then and by states into 22 off. currently getting my body back into shape after putting on weight.

 

the boat is a custom ski boat 6L pcm with ZO - not the smallest wake but certainly fine for me at my rope lengths.

[FLeboeuf]

Francis 33, from summerstown Ontario. My wife, 15 months old daughter and I, live by the Lake St-Francis, which is actually the St-Lawrence river between Valleyfield QC and Cornwall ON (it's near Montreal). It's also where I ski. Got my wife waterskiing about 10 years ago and lucky me, she loves it now. She is also my driver

I ski on a 2014 D3 Quest 67´´ and behind a 2011 200 ex343.

I've been skiing since I was 6 and running the course since I was 14. I worked teaching waterskiing for about 5 Summers, two of which I worked for Pierre Plouffe in Mont Tremblant.

I competed when I was younger until 2001 and then got into motocross and kiteboarding and other sports. I went back to slalom and restarted skiing more seriously 8 years ago because there is nothing more fun in my opinion. Restarted tournaments 3 years ago and my PB is 2 @ 38 36 mph.

Looove this sport!!!

 

[oneski]

Thought I'd get this thread bumped back up. I'm Richard R., 51 year old skier in the Atlanta area. After taking 7 years off from skiing I came back to the sport 2 years ago. I fell in love with it all over again and went from being completely out of shape and barely able to get up on a ski to competiting in tournaments and setting a PB of 2.5@38'. It was truly a cathartic experience for me to go from an out of shape couch potatoe to being in the best condition of my life in under a year.

 

Unfortunately, as I was just getting back into prime shape for this year's ski season I suffered a rather severe herniated cervical disc that has taken me out of skiing for the rest of the year. My passion for skiing has not dampened my attitude. I have been damned and determined to bounce back from the injury and get back to skiing. And I owe a HUGE debt of gratitude to jdk99 (Jeff) for his advice and guidance. He has been incredibly helpful in explaining the nature of my injury and available treatment options. I can't thank you enough for your help and time.

 

While I've lost this season, I'm hoping for a full recovery by next year. And I can promise I'll be working harder in the gym, running faster on the trails, and swimming more laps in the pool to get back in shape for next year. Here's looking forward to chasing 3@38' next year!

[fox197]

Im Aaron Phillips. Live in Lithgow NSW Australia. Have been skiing socially for over 20yrs with my family. On my Honeymoon 4 years ago I went to Sunset lakes and had some lessons and ran the course with Jon Travers and fell involve with slalom. Since then Ive purchased a 2013 PS197.

Our local lake is only 4 minutes down the road from me so we pretty much live there every weekend except public holiday weekends due to crowds. No kids as of yet but this sport makes me want kids more and more everyday.

[Horton]

Bump for the new guys

[Fast351]

Hello, I'm Mike, I'm 43. I've been addicted to water all my life (born in the Netherlands, practically raised on a boat). Got started in towed watersports in high school at about 16 years of age on a set of skies behind an underpowered runabout. Later after college, got into kneeboarding, then wakeboarding in the early 2000s when it became big. Got my first inboard then, a Nautique 211, because my wife liked to ski while I was more into wakeboarding. In the last 5 years or so my body has told me to stop with the jumping crap so I got into slalom skiing. We have a lake place, and when we're out there I ski with a fellow ski addict while my wife sleeps in.

 

At my day job I'm currently spending all my time on Ski it again. OK just kidding, I'm an Electrical Engineer in the test field, but I am looking for a ski-only boat to further our sport.

[ScottC]

Hi guys, Scott, 44 and been a lurker for most of this year. Live in North Queensland - Australia. Only started skiing 2 years ago and have been hooked since. Wife and kids are also into it so we bought out first inboard this year. A bit of a change to the fishing boats i have always owned and am actually going to sell now as we pretty much only ski these days. Haven't hit the course yet but that is the goal this summer. Hoping the new CX Superlite I just ordered will help once the bruises heal from the bashing the wife will give me. Sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission :# . Thanks @Horton for a great forum.

 

Cheers

Scott

[keithh2oskier]

I am Keith, started slalom skiing when I was 9. Was skiing local tournaments in middle school. Went to Western Regional's a few times, Nationals once with lots and lots of local tournaments between. Skied 4 years of collegiate and it was the most fun I ever had on the water. Took about a 5 year break and just joined the local ski club this summer and purchased our first boat last week so it looks like were back into it...

[Fam-man]

Hey Everyone, Mark, 35 live in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Was introduced to skiing at 24 by a girlfriend who has since become my wife. For the next few years would ski one week per year behind the family boat, Supra Comp then an MB sports.

Decided to buy out own boat so we could get out when/ where we wanted without sharing. Found a good deal on at 98 Ski Nautique so jumped all over it. Now we start skiing at the end of May once the air temperature is warm enough for our 3 kids to stand being in the boat and end in October. This year Our oldest daughter learned (7) to drop a ski on the on boom and was working on long line. Our son (5) started 2 planking on the boom and our youngest loves to tube and drive the boat from my lap and figures I should barefoot anytime, any water.

The family time on the lake is what I enjoy the most!

[Horton]

We have a lot of new members so it is time to bump this thread.

[h2onhk]

Hello everyone, Nate, 36yrs old and lived on the muddy waters of Northwest Ohio my entire life (minus 5years of college). I was skiing very early in age and grew up helping my dad with the local ski club's activities. I remember as a kid on Saturday morning of the big 2 round 3 event tournament we held every year in August, skipping the cartoons on TV and helping out where-ever the club needed it. The club dissolved 20 or so years ago but the memories will last a life time. I have a great wife and 3 awesome kids, 2 girls (7 and 5) and a 2yr old son. They are all starting their progression with waterskiing as well. "Tubing" is a bad word in our house! We have had several different used boats and were big into Wakeboarding for several years. 3 years ago my dad, uncle, brother and I went in together on an Insta-slalom course and the buoy addiction began all over again. PB last year was 6 at 32off. This past year we downsized our 2011 Malibu FXi and landed an amazing 2007 SN 196 TSC3. Kids, wife and I love the ski/trick wake and my 7yr old even wants to learn the course this year. Hopefully I can make as many great memories for them as my parents did for me growing up. Its going to be a great summer! Cheers!

[ScottScott]

Scott, 50yrs old. Living in the Orlando area, originally from Durham NC. Very limited skiing as a kid (just on 2 skies and never consistent enough to even successfully get outside the wake.) Started again 4 years ago when i got a boat, fairly regularly for last 3 years. Started trying the course in the last year and attempting to refine my form. At 15 off 28mph still have only accomplished 4 1/2 balls. Have taken a couple lessons, hoping for more. Ski behind friends Nautiques occasionally, but most of the time its behind my 18ft searay bowrider (actually not bad wake, just a little slow pull-up, which is more of a problem for some of the people that come out with us learning than for me.) Skiing on a 2010 Elite I picked up last summer.

[ESPNSkier]

Bonjour all, Rob Bee here! I'm a Safety Director with ESPN and I am writing this from my hotel room in Paris where I'm working the French Open Tennis Tournament and EUROS soccer tournament. Currently we are trying to build our EUROS Host Set at the Port des Champs Elysees but the Seine River is currently 5.2 m above flood stage (and still rising) and we have 5' of water in our TV compound!

 

I'm 60 years old and have been slaloming since I first got up on a Cypress Gardens El Diablo behind my grandfather's MFG with a 40 hp Johnson at age 14. The first time I saw a slalom course was in college when a ski buddy and I signed up for a tournament in Covington, LA....we both ran 1.5 buoys that first time and were hooked. We spent the next few years skiing on the bayous of SE Louisiana and I bought a 1972 Nautique (orange and black) in 1980 and skied a handful of tournaments in the early 80s. My tournament PB back then was 1 @ 22 off/36 mph and I broke two EPs in half on that brutal 22 off wake over a couple of years. Injuries slowed me down and I pretty much quit skiing for a long time.

 

My wonderful wife of 39 years and I have skied off and on over the years and our kids are married and raising kids of their own (I can't wait until the grandkids are old enough to get behind the boat). We currently live on John's Lake near Winter Garden, FL and maintain one of the 4 courses there. Unfortunately, my job keeps me on the road too much but when I am home my wife and I will typically jump in the boat after work and each ski a run or two before opening a bottle of wine and playing backgammon on the engine cover of our 1993 MC ProStar 205....did I mention that she is an exceptional and patient driver! Over the past few years I have been happy to kick around at 15 off on an old HO, however, I discovered BOS last fall and it helped get me hooked again and I decided to take another stab at shortening the rope. I recently bought a 67" HO Superlite CX and am still skiing it at 32 mph while I adapt but I have already cleared 28 off a couple of times (not pretty) and set a new PB at 1 @ 32 off. Can't wait to get home and hit the water again!!!

[bikesrus]

My name is Kathy and I grew up skiing on Lake Nacimiento for 2 weeks each summer since I was 12. My dads fishing boat had a 75 hp Evinrude. Got married in 88 and we bought an 88 Malibu Skier and skied lots of weekends. Sold the boat when the kids got into BMX racing but enjoyed the travel and family time of bike racing.

But by late teens the youngest got into wake boarding which led to waterskiing. He joined the Far West Water Ski club at Nacimiento and I tagged along. The mini course was my jam until a couple of years ago, when all of the stars aligned at 50 years old and I ran the regular course. Still not running it as often as I would like but I love the challenge.

We bought a fixer upper house at Nacimiento and an 06 LXI and are enjoying weekend lake life at one of the best lakes around with some of the best people around.

Monday thru Friday life is a very rewarding job in So Cal working for a large non-profit Autism Services provider.

Life is good!

 

[chris55]

Hello eveyone,

I am Christian, I live in Geneva Switzerland and I am 60, married with 2 daughters an 1 stepson. I started to be interested by waterski in 1978, friend of mine had a boat and I tried 5 to 6 times and stoped. I went to live on a sailing boat in the Carribean for 2 years. Then in 1987 a friend baught a outboard and we started to ski with old wood ski we found. The second year I bought a real ski O'Brien and we shared it. It was fun but none of us knew any technics. So I started to buy waterskimagazine and that is when I discover this new world and I got hooked. But 1988 I went to Santa Monica for a year (pilot licence at American Flyers) so no more ski. When I got back to Geneva in late 1990 I went back to ski with my old and good friend. But in Geneva, the ski season is kind of short from June to mid-October and we were only free skiing. So we did that for 4 years and he had to sell the boat, so no more ski until 1998 because a club opened right in Geneva with a slalom and a coach. First time on a slalom with my very old ski. It was fun but the ski was very "old fashioned" but it was okay and a lot of fun to learn how to ski basically. Then I got married in 1999 and my first daughter was born in 2000. It slowed down my time for skiing but since I was (still is...) a Andy Mapple big fan I ordered a O'Brien Mapple (see the picture), the real ski to really slalom and I got half of a season (2 months) skiing and learning the slalom at 28mph to 30mph but skiing only on Lake Geneva open water, means wind, waves, rollers traffic etc....and my 2nd daughter. And my ski went direct to storage :(.....until 2014. I was still passionate about waterski and following what was going on about it. So now I am becoming a serious skier and I can ski 2 to 3 time a week weather permitted. I entered my first tournament last year and just before Andy died I ordered a Mapple T2. So since the new year I ski on a T2 and my ski has improved greatly.

Becaus of Ball of spray I am able to know what is going on in the community and I am very thanksfull for that to John Horton who started it. So now I am building enough technics to run 32mph and my goal is of course 34mph and shortening the rope. But we have difficult weather conditions so we ski when it is possible and we learn the hard way. I went to private lake 5 times since last year.....this is so.........addictive. It is like having dessert for the entire meal......!!!!!!

Sorry if my story was long but my story with waterski is weird and it is like a love story on and off but the passion still on......"We leave nothing on the dock" says Andy Mapple and that is what I do every time

[arigold22]

Hey Ballers,

My name is Ari Grode. I am 23 years old and have been on the water since I was 16. I mostly wakeboarded in high school but joined the Michigan State ski team in college. Picked up the trick basics my junior year and was able to land a 48 foot plop off the ramp. Decided to learn the slalom course in June of 2014 and was able to run 30mph a couple of time by the end of the summer.

 

I'm now a full blown 3-event addict and get withdrawals during the off-season. My personal bests are 4 @ 36mph 15 off (tournament) 4 @36mph 22 off (practice), 1,800 points in tricks, and 78 ft in jump. This site has helped me a ton especially with tricks and slalom and I try to contribute where I can.

 

Currently a master's student at Michigan State and still skiing on the grand river and tournaments all over the Midwest. Hoping to run 28 off this year, trick over 3000 points and jump into the century club!

 

Cheers!

[Horton]

Bump

[Horton]

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[Sprazzle]

Technically I joined in 2014 but I think I've only posted a few times so we'll call me a noob.

My name is Chris, 32 and I live in Las Vegas, NV. Been in the desert a little over a year now. Finally got on the water with the Wet Set club in Newberry Springs last weekend and it was awesome.

I grew up in Kentucky but spent summers on Birch Lake in SW Michigan. Free skiing and wakeboarding my summers away. Met some friends in the summer '14 while I lived in South Bend, IN and got some time and coaching on the course. Made it through on the old Kidder I had been riding forever at 15 off @ 28 mph, and with enough shit given purchased a Goode 9960. Only had a few sets on the new ski but needless to say im hooked. Looking forward to meeting up with the Wet Set club again next weekend!

[JordanOz]

Hi Ballers.

 

My name's Jordan. 34 from Melbourne, Australia. My grandpa had a boat when I was little, but the folks split up when I was about 7 so that is when I stopped learning on the water. I'd forgotten about watersports until my late twenties for various reasons, so bought a boat when I 'remembered' because I wanted to drive fast on the water (side effect of having raced things with and without motors my whole life).

 

I never really had any interest in skiing, so devoted myself to becoming a skilled boat driver towing others in all aspects, making sure my friends had a safe but very fun day on the water. Wasn't until about 2 years ago I walked by a top end ski in a shop near me, and I was quite interested in the materials and R&D from a technical aspect, and thought to myself that I had better learn how to do it before I spend $2k on a stick. That was 2 years ago.

 

Spent some of that summer trying to learn how to ski. 2 was easy, but could barely get out of the water on 1. Didn't help that I had no skiing mates and they couldn't help me. Then I joined an awesome club (Latrobe Valley Waterski Club - where the first annual Invitational was held this year, the week after Moomba) at the start of our last summer, and they helped me so much I can never repay them. I've gone from missing almost all my starts and giving up to running 3 at 49km/h in he course. Now it's an addiction - to the point where I have taken time out from visiting my sister who lives in Canada just to come to Orlando to get coaching from Rini. I even flogged my other boat and bought a 200 Team when I joined the club.

 

I've met some amazing people and my club is full of people I feel like I've known forever (9 months really), and hopefully I can help people learn to ski one day as much as everyone else has helped me. And the skiing is a by-product for me. I've started driving a couple of local tournies and become an accredited judge and judged some tournies also, so hopefully I can keep progressing that way. I wish I'd done it all 10 years ago!

 

Looking forward to bettering my skiing a bit, and helping others be their best a lot.

 

Have a good ski.

JJ

[liquid d]

It inspires me to hear some of your trials and tribulations just to ski. I live in Orlando lakeside and can ski every day. I read some of the posts of people driving an hour with boat in tow, just to go ski once a week or less for a few months a year. I know I have taken it for granted sometimes in the past, but as I grow older and parts of me breakdown (all the friggin time), I really do appreciate every set I ski. This sport still gives me the rush. When I shorten the rope, it still makes my blood pump!

[Fast351]

I thought at some point I'd written up a little bio here, but apparently not scrolling back through this thread. I was born and raised in the Netherlands for the first 10 years of life. Practically born on the water, my parents are big into sailing. Since moving to the US, I started out kneeboarding in high school, then switched to wakeboarding in the early 2000s. Bought my first Nautique in 2007, a 211 "crossover" wakeboard boat. Switched to skiing in about 2010, when my knees started complaining about wakeboarding painfully. Then in 2014 or so, @dtm8119 moved in across the lake from us, pushing me to get a little more serious about skiing. Last year I bought a 2001 Ski Nautique (pictured below) to be able to ski behind something I can improve on.

 

I've been skiing a lot this year, mostly free skiing working on form and technique. We have a local Minnesota ski group that puts on ski nights and got a chance at a course a few weeks ago. I'm not quite there yet :smile:

 

My goal is to eventually run the course 34@28 off. (I'm 44, 200#, skiing on a 69" Radar Graphite Senate).