Who's gonna be at Nationals?

[Than_Bogan]

I'll be there for the first time in several years. This is the first time since I became part of BOS.

 

So a chance to meet a few folks. I'll be with my entire family, so not available for anything beyond just meeting at the site, but it would be great to put a few faces to some folks here!

 

I'll be there most of the day Monday, and skiing in M3 slalom on Tuesday.

 

I'm the 6'2" skinny guy who ... looks like about half the people in Men 3. Hm. And I won't have my BOS sticker on my ski yet, either. I guess the best way to figure out who I am is that I usually wear my blue Nationals 2000 hat when I'm in the sun or rain. (Ah, remember when the freebies included stuff you might actually use!?)

[skidawg]

I'll be there with a bos hat on.

[jdarwin]

Than - I still have mine from 2000 Nationals - Overton's provided in our goodie bags.

[skidawg]

I haven't been since '05, do they do goodie bags anymore?

[skidawg]

One would think there would be a heck of a bag for a $160 entry.

[jdarwin]

I don't think so - if you want a t-shirt, that's another $20.

[eddie_roberts_jr]

I'll be there Sunday through Friday slingin' some skis and talkin' crap as usual.

[bmiller3536]

I just pulled up to the camp site skiing M2 Sunday morning and will be rocking brown bos baller hat

[Ham_Wallace]

44 in a row, here i come.

[jdarwin]

Hambone, you're the man! I'd be there but..well, you know what I'm doing :)

[Boody]

44 in a row? That is incredible.

 

I will be there for my first Nationals ever. I'm skiing M3 on Tuesday and my wife Kim is skiing W3 on the same day.

 

I am looking to meeting all of you guys.

[unksskis]

Last year they had a small goody bag, mostly useless stuff. However if you went to the Mastercraft tent and were a registered skier you got a really cool t shirt. Hope they're doing that again. I always appreciate t shirts.

[scoke]

 

Saw two BOS hats today. 1 black one and one tan one.

 

bmiller3536 was not one of them!

[MrJones]

Speaking of the schedule that Boody mentioned, I hope they keep the same schedule for WPB next year. Having M3, MM, W3, and the kids divisions within a couple of days is great! I never understood why they would put kids on Monday and their parents (M/W 3-4 on Fri/Sat. Kudos on the scheduling for this year. (Figures it would be the one we skip...)

[MrJones]

Scoke,

Text me some scores in the morning. We will be drivin' to Texas for some swerving with T$.

[jdarwin]

Jones - this year, the "kids" (W1) ski Friday/Saturday. M4 skis Sunday (5 days in between) so it doesn't work for everyone.

[Horton]

I will not be there but if you find a crazy old man named Dr. Jack Horton, say hi and tell him you are a Baller. He will tell stories all day.

 

NOTE the story about me riding a catfish is not true.

[ForrestGump]

We just rolled out on our trip back home to Texas. Only 1000 miles to go.

[scoke]

Spotted brown BOS on 5th place runoff winnner! Congrats.

[Dirt]

Great skiing bmiller and scoke. How did Ann do

[scoke]

 

girlfriendscoke, first nationals, ran opener. had a hot gate on second one and got 3@15-34. She's pretty pumped.

 

[Boody]

Last night's rain brought the lake up over a foot. "rolly" is an understatement, some of the most brutal conditions I've skied in. 3.5 @38 won it. Only a few ran 35. Don't ask how I did.

 

But I'm meeting a few Ballers.

[Jim Neely]

who won?

[jdarwin]

@Boody - I figured it was the MC wake :).

 

Congrats to Jason Staub - he came down from Kansas to my record in June. Nice guy and obviously a good skier no matter the conditions.

[Boody]

Steve Schroeder 2nd with 3@38. Chad Scott 3rd with 2.5.

[jdarwin]

My daughter had to back out at the last minute - glad we saved the money. From what I understand, they have no way of draining water out of the lake.

[Horton]

I would have "Shit a Chicken" if I had gone all the way to Chicago and skied as bad as most of those guys.

 

 

[Horton]

I wonder if the Sac guys are going to name a tournament for Matt Brant next year.

[Not_The_Pug]

What names would you suggest?

[Old MS Accout]

Horton,

I flew all the way to LA, was parked on I-5 for 4 hours, had to deal with all the left coast wackos and put up with your crap just to fall at -35.

But it was the best Fish Tacos I have ever had. Beer and Fish Tacos at Lengthwise brew company rocks.

[jdarwin]

If you want to host Nationals at your site in the future, please make certain you have a means to control the water level. It rained 25 inches at Lago in 2002 and yet the lakes were skiable due to the slope and their ability to drain water. It is an absolute shame that skiers paid 160 for a ride in sub par (to say the least) conditions that were foreseeable and correctable - via preplanning and a good initial design. I would be asking for a refund - NOW!

[Horton]

First of all, the folks in Chicago need to be thanked for thier work. No one else wanted the event (I assume)

 

Then we need to look at the whole thing.

 

[Boody]

I have to agree with jdarwin. The conditions were unacceptable. I can ski pretty good in wind but the rollers were similar to a public lake with other boats. Yes, it was an equal playing field but some would catch a roller in a turn that would put them down. Others may get them in the preturn and be ok.

 

 

[ForrestGump]

When I saw the design of that site, I told Charles that it must suck when they get rain. Geez, there's essentially a 2 foot bulkhead of dirt all the way around that is just higher than normal wake wash at normal levels. While they have zero watershed area to fill the lake, the end open to the bar ditch allows the watershed from probably 2000 acres to fill directly into the lake.

[Boody]

OB, yea would have liked to meet you. I'm not gonna fly accros the country and scratch! I gave it my best shot baby.

[jdarwin]

OB - wind is beyond the control of the LOC and is typically the same for eveyone. Rollers are not. Depending on the boat path/timing of the previous skier, the rollers will be in different spots for different skiers. If the boat waits 2 seconds longer on one end than previously, rollers will be in a different spot for the next skier. Rollers of that magnitude make it not only difficult but also dangerous.

 

@Horton - yes, they stepped up and hosted the event but they also netted $55,000 last year. Perhaps some investment in site improvement would have been in order.

[Mateo_Vargas]

How about There is No Place Like Home Open? Yes I am worst skier in the nation but it was a fun event to watch. I've skied in 13 nationals and the ones where there were nasty conditions are the ones I remember the best. At least everyone had the same conditions which hasn't always been the case in the past.

[Ham_Wallace]

JTH, we missed you. We actually did not even talk bad behind your back.

[Than_Bogan]

Back in Natick!

 

First thing I want to say is: It wasn't the boat!! As I suspected, this boat was perfect. That one at Eastern Regionals was either wacky or I was skiing even worse than I thought (which would be hard).

 

Next, I got to breifly meet Boody and Mateo, although it was more a day of commiseration than anything else. I also met a ski-buddy of Bruce Butterfield, but I forgot her name! Gawd I suck at names. Would have liked to meet Horton in person, but perhaps another time.

 

Although it's true that everyone competed in the "same" stuff, I agree with some comments above that this particular set of conditions is actually unfair because some competitors may randomly get much better water. In fact, I got rather lucky because something got stuck on the prop before my -32 pass, so they had to drop me and fix it up. Normally this would be rather UNlucky, but this was enough time to settle the water a bit and my -32 was probably the best conditions of the day. But it was nicely re-churned up for -35, and I ended up taking a rather hard fall (feel in my neck this morning) that I *think* I can blame on rollers (or else serious lack of skill -- THAT couldn't possibly be it!!).

 

At least for me, my first pass was by far the worst water -- I was very happy I decided to start at -22 for some extra site familiarization. In fact, I slammed into a roller at 3 and had to come off edge and right myself, and I'm not quite 100% sure I actually skied outside of it. I think it was a hard day to be a judge, too, because skis were chattering all over the place. In fact, I'm 95% sure that the winner was incorrectly awarded a 3.5 that should have been a 3. (My only doubt is that I could be thinking of the wrong guy. I'm 100% sure I saw *someone* go just inside of 4 @ -38.)

 

The number of missed 1st or 2nd passes was ridiculous, and perhaps most ridiculous of all are some of the big names that I ended up "beating" -- including everyone from the Eastern Region. Lex and Matt should beat with one arm and one leg, so that gives you a sense of what they were skiing in.

 

All that said, I'm very hesitant to "blame" anyone for this. Rain happens, Waters Edge did an awesome job as hosts, and I doubt it's really practical to design in rapid lake lowering in a part of the world that gets heavy rain at times *and* is dead flat. (I'm no civil engineer, so perhaps I'm missing something obvious.)

 

Well, anyhow 14th is by far my highest finish at Nationals. Over time, I may forget the asterisk attached to that and consider it an accomplishment!

[jwr]

I didn't think the conditions were unacceptable, they were just very challenging. Reminded me of the old days. Sure I fell on my second pass, but I never felt my life was threatened. Makes me want to go to the river and try to slalom on a Saturday. It was a good reminder to practice even when conditions are bad. Later that day we jumped in a 20 knot cross tail. Nobody jumped their farthest but it wasn't dangerous

[Ham_Wallace]

Sorry fellows. It is COMPETITION. Throw out the 3 round, perfect site tournaments and play the hand you are dealt. If the conditions are equal for the entire division, it is fair. There have been MANY Regionals and Nationals with huge divisions that have 3 sets of conditions. The early overall crowd gets glass, the middle packers get s#%&t and the top seeds get good stuff. If it is the performance that you are worried about, sorry. It is fair if it is the same for all. Oh yeah, that includes everyone skiing behind the same boat.

[unksskis]

I'm sorry, but how can you speak about conditions, specifically stating "sub-par", when you weren't there. Things like this happen, and it's way too easy to sit back and negatively comment on it. I ski'd, it wasn't that bad, and the majority of lakes near the Mississippi are experiencing similar conditions all summer long. It's awesome to have a site that opens itself up to tournaments, small and large, as well as helps grow skiing more than most like Waters Edge.

[Than_Bogan]

@unksskis I agree with much of the point you're making, especially in showering praise on Waters Edge. No doubt they did an awesome job in every respect.

 

But I think the scores pretty clearly demonstrate that, on average, it *was* "that bad." Also keep in mind it was pretty random. During my set alone I experienced everything from big rollers everywhere (thankfully on my opening pass!) to nearly perfect.

 

I practice on a public lake that often has high water, and I try to ski in anything we get. I've skied with a lot of rollers and in howling wind. That experience probably helped me a little and may be part of why I finished a few places ahead of my seed. But if anyone is routinely skiing in conditions like those for M3 Nationals, you have my sympathies.

[jdarwin]

@unksskis - you're right, I'm not there but I know many others who are. And, I'm paying $180 for my daughter to ski in the event. Not to mention the travel costs to get there. The travel and tournament costs of qualifying. The travel and tournament costs of attending Regionals (required). So, yes I have the absolute right to claim the conditions are "sub-par". I built a site that can accomodate a 10" per hour rain event. Reason? It COULD happen. If you think this event will "help grow skiing", you are dreaming. I spoke to a dozen skiers who are so put-out w/ this that they will not be attending Regionals or Nationals for the foreseeable future. And, these are high-end skiers who spend lots of $ supporting this sport. And Ham, we've known each other since the Champion Lake days. We'll have to agree to disagree on this.

[KB]

Toughest conditions I have ever skied in practice or tournament. Felt more like a variable swell than rollers. It was fun talking with the guys about any possible "strategy" prior, and how not much of it mattered after the fact. Chet said coming off the water "words cold not describe or prepare you for those conditions, you just had to experience it". Greg skied like a warrior and deserved the win. Many of us made the best of it and enjoyed it regardless. Maybe easy for me to say now having at least run my first 2 passes! Also, I was enjoyed the fact that it was so different. So many rides are nearly the same, and thats part of what we depend on, but the change was refreshing and threw a new mix into the competition.

KB

[jwr]

We all like to ski in perfect conditions, but it is not always possible. Most tournaments you are skiing to qualify for nationals or to set a pb or something, but nationals is completely different. It is to take the top skiers and see who is the best on that day. As long as conditions are equal for everyone that is all you can ask for. Conditions were fair for everyone. If people don't want to compete because conditions might not be perfect then it is their lost. Quit worrying about the conditions and setting a pb and go out and ski the best you can. If you can't ski in those conditions then your not the best.

[jdarwin]

@jwr - so you're saying that Chad Scott, Chet Raley, etc. are not the best? Really? And, how willing would you be to lay down the cash to ski in these conditions again next year? At any other tournament? If most of the skiers didn't mind the conditions and feel the scores truly represented the capabilities of those who participated, I'll buy that and admit I'm wrong in my analysis.

[unksskis]

The grow skiing comment had nothing to do with Nationals. They host many other events and tournaments, as well as give those who wouldn't have a place otherwise, a top notch site to ski at. I'm glad you can create a site that can accommodate 10" in case it happens, you're a smart man. Not all places can even accommodate that, let alone do it after the fact. It's a premier site, and the conditions in my opinion were not all that it seems some make it sound to be. Who isn't going to go to Regionals or Nationals next year because they didn't ski well at this years or just overall weren't pleased? I find that a reaching comment, especially since it won't be back in Wilmington, and Regionals had nothing to do with it. People should have fun with these competitions, and not let it get to them so much. And I think the average Joe skier can swing the cost better than I can, and I made it work this year.

[skidawg]

The conditions were not sub par, they were simply the worst possible I've ever seen or attempted to ski in. Yes the swells were different for each skier (sucked for all, but worse for others) I tip my hat to Greg, Todd K & Seth for running 38 and stepping up. If I ever go there again for nats, I'm skiing in the worse winds we have after I have JD do donuts in the lake for 5 minutes.

[Than_Bogan]

Out of curiosity: Is anybody still there? Did the water drop and the conditions recover for Wed or today?

 

It should be noted that the conditions on Monday were awesome. If Nationals were there again I wouldn't hesitate to sign up -- I'd just cross my fingers that it didn't pour rain all night right before my turn! Every site has its liabilities; I seem to recall M4 skied in basically a hurricane in Texas a few years back.

 

If the engineering of this or any site can be improved for a practical cost, I'm ALL FOR IT! But if not, I accept that I participate in an outdoor sport and Weather Happens. Indeed, at the risk of crossing into dangerous political territory, most scientists currently predict that high-energy weather will continue to get more common into the foreseeable future.