April Virtual Tournament post results here.

[Bud Man]

The first week of the April Virtual Tournament starts now. I have picked Wednesday to ski my first round and probably all four rounds. You can pick whatever days you want. I already have butterflies just thinking about it.

 

Please use this format:

Example:

Jill, Girls 2, Wednesday April 6, 2011, 55 kph, 5 @ 15 off, 18.25m, 65 buoys, ZO

Or if Jill has not gotten up to her max speed, and is at (28.6 mph) and is still at 18.25m, see below:

Jill, Girls 2, Wednesday April 6, 2011, 46 kph, 5 @ 15 off, 18.25m, 23 buoys, ZO

Or if Jill has not gotten up to her max speed, and is at (28.6 mph) and is still at full line 23m, see below:

Jill, Girls 2, Wednesday April 6, 2011, 46 kph, 5 @ 0 off, 23m, 23 buoys, ZO

 

I will post mine after I ski Wednesday.

 

Come on everybody that can ski now, join in the fun.

 

[RichardDoane]

I blew my opener today, can I try again next week ?

[Bud Man]

richarddoane,

The point is to make it kind of feel like a real tournament. If yesterday was your first round, then you should post it. I plan to ski my first round this Wednesday. I skied yesterday and only got 1 ½ off the dock at 11.25m, then dropped back to run a few 12s then back to 11.25m and ran that pass that I now find out favored my on side. And the other day I got too aggressive and turned in front of #3 at 12m.

 

So do what you want, but I suggest sticking with your preplanned schedule as if it were a real AWSA tournament not an INT. This is about all of us having fun and not just repeating our personal best every time we ski. I want to feel some of that tournament pressure and plan my sets ahead of time.

 

[RichardDoane]

Bud man - Sunday was one of those days where I was stuck doing something else in the morning, which made me feel "late" to the lake to ski in the afternoon. I went off the dock with the wrong frame of mind, a longer than usual rope length (-22), and my mindset not focused. I deserve the 1.5 @ -22 because that's where I ended up, sitting at the 2 ball thinking, RATS!. Hopefully my next opener will be the start of an "up the line" progression to happiness.

[Bud Man]

Well the virtual tournament thing worked for me. I did get nervous before and during my skiing. That is what I was hoping to happen. I need to get used to that.

 

My first round:

Bud, M5, Wednesday April 6, 2011, 55 kph, 1.5 @ 38 off, 11.25m, 97.5 buoys, PPC

 

I was defiantly not feeling the groove. I was getting too wide and coming out of the buoys way too soon. When I got through skiing and got to shore, I could really feel that I had over used my back leg while skiing. That muscle was very tight.

 

It was fun and I hope more of you will join in. Remember, you don’t have to beat someone else’s line length or speed to win. The first three rounds are averaged together, and then the difference between the fourth round and the average of the first three, determines the winning order.

 

You don’t have to wait latter until you think you are skiing better. Start now.

 

[Bud Man]

Maybe it is a bit early. There does not seem to be an interest in this April virtual tournament. Let’s try again this May. Are there any objections?

[dleenhouts]

If I had a boat in the water (or a course, or a driver for that matter), I'd be game. But alas...

[RichardDoane]

I skied better last Saturday, due to the fact that I had my head on straight, up the line to 5 @ -38, so 101 buoys, PPSG behind the 05 Malibu, Officer Friendly was driving so he's my witness. Hope to do better this weekend with the "ventral wing"!

[Roger]

@Bud Man "Are there any objections? " I will participate when we go back to last year's rules; tournament verified scores only (you asked)...

[Bud Man]

 

@Roger

 

This is just for fun. I hope to gain more composure to ski with pressure through knowing that my score counts. If we can do that, then we all win.

 

Even if there is someone that never gets wet and post winning scores with absolutely no verification what so ever; how would that hurt us? Come on Roger, join in.

 

The speed control doesn’t matter. Verification does not matter. Truly, if someone cheats, they only cheat themselves. The only cheating I see is if someone cheats themselves out of having fun and not participating.

 

The person that never gets wet but post scores could be like the guy in the story below. That person could be in a wheelchair, but still has fun with the virtual tournament.

The Hospital Window

An inspirational story of hope, friendship, and imagination.

 

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window.

 

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

 

And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

 

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

 

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

 

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed.

 

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

 

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself.

 

He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

 

She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

 

Author unknown

 

[bmiller3536]

Skied my first round last night 1 1/2 @ 11.25 58 K PP Classic ... 1 Ball time 1.67

103.5 buoys

[Chef23]

I don't have a boat in the water yet and won't be skiing the course a lot until May.

[Bud Man]

Second round today.

Bud, M5, Friday April 15, 2011, 55 kph, 4 @ 38 off, 11.25m, 100 buoys, PPC

 

First week out of dry suit and windy and bla, bla, bl,a bla, bla!

 

I actually felt better today than all week. I’m getting more use to no dry suit for sure.

 

[RichardDoane]

Budman - probably a better title to what we're doing would be, "April Practice Scores" instead of using the word "tournament". I agree with Roger in that scores posted to the Ranking List are based on following tournament rules, driver certification/boat path control, multiple judges, and the biggest factor - ZO, or the speed control used. Good skiing by the way, it's impressive and I hope to see you do well at the "Baller's Bash"!

[Bud Man]

I see your and his point. But, we do have the word virtual in the title. I want to get that anxious feeling before I ski and if we call it practice, I think I will miss out on getting use to skiing under pressure. You and a lot of others ski many tournaments and might be more accustom to skiing with that pressure. I have not skied very many tournaments at all. I did ski the State Championship in 2006 and hardly could sleep the night before and not a whole lot the week leading up to it. I actually get anxious NOW when I think about the two tournaments I would like to ski in this year and they are months away.

[RichardDoane]

A wise man once told me, "the way to get better at tournament skiing, is to ski in as many tournaments as possible". I still get nervous sometimes, but not nearly as much as I did at first.

[RichardDoane]

Bud Man - I'll take my second set score from this afternoon, up the line to 6 @ -38. Didn't go for a shot at -39 though, backed it up with a @ -35 to the dock. 1999 MB, funky PPC, Eddie's my witness. Couldn't tell you if the times were any good, so that's why it's only practice, but was a lot of fun - thanks for the "push", competition is a good thing !