Malibu Open 2012: was it something in the water....like maybe the boat?

[skibug]

39 was run a ton at the Malibu in water that tends to be busy or unsettled. I think it was the Katy, TX tournament that a bunch of 39's run and the cut line for the OM was somehwere around 1@41....also pulled by the Malibu TXI. The level of competition and accomplished skiers there was amazing. Most all of those guys run 39 behind anything; but......how much of the consistency or higher number of 39's had to do with the boat that was pulling the tornament? Opinions? Obviously......

 

[Horton]

Very good driving. Very focused skiers. Very good boats.

[Roger]

How many men ran 39 in the first round of the Masters (lake Robin, SN 200). It's the skiers... Also, the water level was much lower at the Malibu Open this year which everyone said made the conditions way better than previous years. The Malibu is an excellent boat, but it's not making everyone run 39 (it's not stopping them either which is good).

[Kelvin]

The difference between last year and this year at the Malibu Open was the water level. This year the water was down about 2 feet from last year which left a nice slope all the way around the lake similar to any purpose built ski lake. Last year there were rollers everywhere.

[jhughes]

Last year was pulled by the TXi as well, keep in mind. Everyone seems to forget this. The water was definitely the big difference.

 

I can't believe they don't have a dock, ramp, or something like that for skiers to climb out of the water on once they fall- those shores were lined with broken glass!

 

Once again great event, great skiing, great venue. One of our family's highlights every year is to stay downtown in Milwaukee and catch the Malibu!!!

[ForrestGump]

Charles said that last year was some of the hardest water to ski on that he ever skied in a pro event.

[Chad_Scott]

The boats definately have something do to with it. The new TXI tracks very well and makes driving them easy. The water was down about two feet and the lake was skiing awesome. We are going to talk to the parks department next year about possibly pumping the water to the same level. As far as extra docks and etc, we have to be out of the park on Sunday so the less things we have to tear down the better it is. We were at the park until about 2 am getting it torn down. All of the skiers pitched in and helped with something this year which made moving out much easier. This was a great event with and incredible level of skiing that I dont think has been seen at any another professional ski tournament. Skiers ran 39 and didnt make the first cut, then 3 at 41 is a runoff for the second cut. Hats off to these skiers who stepped it up in every way and made this an awesome event. We are looking forward to making next years Malibu Open even better. Kelvin worked his but off all weekend to make sure the webcast was rolling. Great Job and thanks to Malibu Boats for their continued support of the event

[Skoot1123]

THANK YOU MALIBU BOATS!!! This past weekend in Milwaukee, WI was another tremendous presentation! I went last year and had a blast, so I had to do it again this year. My wife and I had an awesome time over the two days watching spectacular skiing!! More events like this need to be done.....it will raise the "awareness" of skiing and increase the visibility to the sport which I think everyone wants!!

 

Unfortunately the Malibu Open shirts were sold out when I went to get one. They were nice this year!

 

My opinion on the skiing boils down to the water level of the lake. It was a good 2 to 3 feet lower than last year. Even with the wind blowing off of Lake Michigan the water seemed to only be slightly rippled. Last year there were some rollers that effected the skiers. Conditions were perfect this year!!!

 

Kudos as well to the athletes for taking their time and signing autographs. I don't know of any other sport where a big crowd can line up and get items signed by most of the participants. That too is a great way to grow the sport - make the athletes accessible.

 

Great Job!!

[swc5150]

Agreed! More high-profile events like these would boost our sport. Thanks to Malibu for putting this on!

[markchilcutt]

Agreed on everything said and yes i would love to get to one of these events in the future too!!!

[Skoot1123]

@scotchipman - exactamundo!! How awesome would that be?

[jcamp]

I'd like to see a U.S. Open again ...

[Detrick]

@scotchipman - that would be great to see!! I think we should make it mandatory for the top water ski countries, 6-7 of them, to host 1 event each year with a minimum purse of $75-100K

 

The U.S. Open used to be run at the end of the U.S. Nationals but it seems like the Big Dawg Finals have taken over as the main focus. It would be great to see the U.S. Open ran at the end of the U.S. Nationals again. I think both the Big Dawg Finals and U.S. Open can be run at the U.S. Nationals. The Calgary Pro ShootOut is at the end of the Canadian Nationals this year; I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out!