Keep bringing the so-called "beginner" questions

[Than_Bogan]

Just wanted to say that I think a lot of folks who haven't yet gotten waist-deep into tournament slalom have a lot of the same questions that Taelan28 has been asking, but they are often too intimidated to ask them.

 

So think it's a great service to keep asking these, and hopefully we'll do a non-horrible job of answering them!

 

Let me also take this opportunity to once again apologize that I don't know of any way to answer these questions without contrasting open-water skiing with short-line slalom. I'm sure this ends up sounding totally pompous, but all I (and I think others) are trying to do is being as honest and specific as possible.

[Horton]

Often the lurkers and new members ask the best questions. Without those questions it is just the same guys looking for a chance to be mean to MS.

 

Than your not pompous.... you are a MIT dork.

[Than_Bogan]

Guilty as charged! I will happily accept the label of being a dork. I'm just hoping I can avoid also being an arrogant a-hole :)

[Horton]

No man don't be silly. You are a solid Baller.

 

Dorky but solid

[skier2788]

So kinda a beginner question. I have skied most of my life in a course but have only recently started skiing tournaments again. Zo is totally new to me. First I would like to ask if there is a good way to practice being light on the line as I tend to slam dunk my turns and load early and heavy. Second do you change settings drastically from site to site and boat to boat? I skied here in Colorado and played with my settings and found C2 felt most like my PP that i practice with. I ran within a bouy of my normal score. 2@35. I then went to Houston and skied at Katy ski Jam. I fell on my opener ran 28 off fell at 1@32 then third round fell 3 ball @32 off. I used C2 first two rounds and B2 the third. I hadn't missed a 32off in months at home. I don't know if it was nervs or maybe an altitude difference. I just never felt comfortable behind the boat.

[Wish]

 

B2 is what I use and ski PP. Been told by many that know more than I that B2 is the way to go. There is a thread on here (Hmmmmmm?? Or Maybe a website) that shows the on/off pull of each setting compared to PP in a graphic form. B2 on the graphic was really close to PP. I ski in FL but get to ski in MN for a week in the summers and there is a vast difference in the way the water feels and skis. I don't think I would change my ZO setting but I most certainly change my timing from the pull out all the way though the course.

 

I havn't been mean to MS. Want to just cause he's a fellow Southern Canadian..but havn't. Any tips on how I should start?

[thager]

Picking on MS? Guilty, but it is fun. What's that kettle/pot thing JTH? Santa threatening to give you coal??

[Horton]

@skier2788 B2 two is the standard starting place.

 

My guess is that you skied bad in Houston for a number of reasons. You have to practice skiing in tournaments. It is just different. Also every boat is a little diffident and some water just takes getting used to.

 

I would not mess with your ZO settings too much until you have a handle on the other factors.

[6balls]

I skied poo in my first ZO tourney a few years ago not knowing what setting to choose. I had run 38 a few days prior on PP and was feeling dialed. Missed all 3 shots at 35 in a headwind on B2...serious disappointment (all lines felt whacky).

Skied some practice ZO w/my bro soon thereafter and figured out a setting that worked for me. Now it's all good at ZO tourneys even though I mainly train PP. Ski ZO enough to figure out what works for you and stick w/it.

[crashman]

Than and crew- thanks for making us "non-awesome line length" skiers feel welcome. This website and interaction is part of what makes skiing so awesome- you can't really go to a golf website, post a question, and expect some of the world's best golfers to chime in. I can't wait to get back on the course this spring and take you up on your offer to answer more "basic" questions as I (hopefully) advance my skills.

[xrated]

All right then. Here ya go, from a open water ski guy.

 

WTH is with all the tweaking of fins, etc? In just skimming the stuff about it (cause it gets boring) it seems like most of the adjustments are to compensate for technique flaws, no?

 

I come from a snowmobiling and dirt biking background and well there is a fair amount of equipment tweaking in both sports, it is widely acknowledged that one is better off to master the basics and build off of them vs modding or tweaking the equipment to make up for your shortcomings. The thought being that one who can master the skill set to make "stock" perform to the fullest of the capabilities is helping themselves in the long run more so then the person who constantly tweaks the equipment instead of stepping back and mastering flaws in their style.

 

OK now I will return to my Fitgers Brew Pub Oatmeal Stout and lurking while I wait for either loads of snow or the lakes to get soft again.

[skier2788]

I could be wrong but I believe the people who are tweaking the settings have already mastered the basics. They are just optimizing the equipments performance to changes in water chemistry and temp. I ran 35 off (in practice) with out of the box settings. I don't adjust cause I don't feel I am good enough yet. I don't think anyone here would tell a new skier to start adjusting there fin to help corrrect anything.

[Taelan28]

I was saving that fin question for another day. Whatw the change in adjusting the fin up or down?

[6balls]

Work your technique to get rid of the major flaws. There is a lot more to gain there than in fin/wing settings. When your technique is far more dialed, it certainly makes sense to tweak the ski to assist your personal skiing style. Horton doesn't even use a wing!

[Taelan28]

Word. I probably wouldn't notice the difference between two extremes.

[Than_Bogan]

Everything said above exactly true.

 

One VERY surprising thing is that, in the context of trying to run your hardest pass in a slalom course, you can actually feel a change in what the ski does with imperceptably small fin adjustments. When I was first told to move it 0.01", I thought that was comical, but I figured perhaps there was SOME truth to it, and so I limited my movement to 0.02". I wouldn't say this was a "radical" change, but VERY noticeable (again in the context of trying to run my hardest pass).

 

For open water skiing, I would never touch a fin position.

 

Just for emphasis: Technique first. When your technique is near to plateaued, consider tuning fin to personal style. Even so, I usually end up back at factory!