History of Slalom Course Dimensions

[slow]

Just curious of the history of the slalom course. How were the current dimensions arrived at and when.

[Horton]

That is an awesome question. Anyone know?

[Bulldog]

Didn't some guy named Dr Jim change them a few years ago??? lol

[jwr]

I found this http://www.hickoksports.com/history/waterskiing.shtml.

 

"Another manufacturer, Dan B. Hains, was asked to put together a water ski show for the 1939 New York World's Fair. The show's popularity inspired Hains to found the American Water Ski Association and stage the first national championships that year at Jones Beach State Park on Long Island. Hains created the sport's three competitive disciplines, slalom, tricks, and jumping, and formulated the rules.

 

The jump ramp was made of wooden rollers to minimize friction and the slalom course was simply a straight line of buoys."

 

 

[Ed_Obermeier]

Here is a link to the US Patent Office web site, some interesting reading if you really want to dig into it. Looks like the first patent having anything to do with the search term "water ski slalom course" was issued in 1923 but I couldn't get any text or images to load. Maybe someone else with more time and a different browser will have better luck. The link -

 

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=4&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=%22water+ski+slalom+course%22&OS="water+ski+slalom+course"&RS="water+ski+slalom+course"

 

[skibug]

The patents referenced in the link are all remotely relative; but have nothing to do with the slalom course. For instance the 1923 patent reference has to do with a marine torch, the 1957 reference has to do with stabilizing a sonar instrument, etc. etc. etc.

I don't know the origin of the course dimensions; but, I would imagine the rope length was determine as a standard 1st. So, we all know that 75' is the standard; is not the buoy line in the range of half that length? I am guessing it all started somewhere there with these two parameters in mind. As far as the down course dimensions, I have loose guesses; but, I imagine they were not going 36 mph when this all started. That brings up another question...why 36 mph..seems somewhat arbitrary.

[MattP]

@Horton your dad was around in the stone age right? He should know ask him.

[lottawatta]

I asked my Dad this question. He has been around tournaments since the late 1950's. He said the dimesions were likely set by Chuck Sleigh and/or Bill Clifford sometime in the early 1950s when they fine tuned the rules for the AWSA rule book. His further comments: "When I came into the sport, the Slalom course was 90 feet longer. The distance from the end "gates" to the boat guide buoys of the first scoring ball was 135 ft., the same as the distance between all other Boat Guides. The end gates scored as an additional point, so a full pass was 8 points. Course was shortened, probably around '62 to '65. Scoring changed, I think, around the early '70s."

Side note to John: My dad served on the board with your dad in the early 70's.

JL

 

[Bud Man]

As for speed; I do not know if this is true, but it seems like I heard in an interview on a ski tour stop with one of the LaPoint brothers say that the speed in the beginning was faster than 36mph.

 

As for dimensions; I would GUESS that it is not an American invention. My opinion is solely based on the dimensions being even verses odd, in metric. Sure 36 mph equals 58 kph and ¾” equals 19 millimetres. And we even changed the spelling of metre to meter. Anyway, it appears that we have converted everything in the course to odd verses even, imperial dimensions. So if we invented it, wouldn’t there be even Imperial numbers. We also rounded 55 kph to 34.2 mph. it is actually 34.18.

 

I hope that slow is given the answer to his interesting question.

 

There is something that I have wondered for a while. This should he easier to answer for it is more current I believe. What came first; the 8 buoy course or the pre-gates.

 

This first came to my mind when I was considering buying a small parcel of land for a ski lake. I found a diagram for an 8 buoy course and noticed that the pre-gates being 55m prior to the gates made it so they were evenly spaced two increments of lane buoys (82m) prior to the #1 lane. This placement allows the pre-gates to double their use in an 8 buoy course. If there were no 8 buoy course at the time, and the pre-gates came first, was this just luck that this placement was chosen or did someone think it through? Or, was there already an 8 buoy course, so they used the 55m distance because it already was there? Seems like Gene Davis might know.

 

[Phil2360]

Seem to remember reading years back in an old book that the "Total width of the course was equal to the length of a ski rope".

This would agree with the pre metric dimension of 37 1/2 feet out to the buoys, (now 37' 8 3/4").

 

Also remember the same article stating that when the rope got to 35 off it only extended 2'6" past the buoys, & if someone was to "ever" make it to 38 off, the rope would fall 6" short of reaching the buoys.

 

Maybe it's that extra 5 1/2" of width that's given me all the grief in later years..........

 

Phil