Big Dawg skiers are invited to Soaked.

[Horton]

Email from Casey Mommer

 

Big Dawg skiers are invited to Soaked. All skiers, open and Big Dawg, will ski a 4 buoy course at 35mph. Big Dawg has specifically made this tournament a rule exception so that top 10 finishers in this event are not excluded from further Big Dawg participation. It’s time to man up or shut up! Let’s see who the real pro’s are.

 

Casey Mommer

Event Director

Soaked LLC

[Horton]

Time to speed up the boat. I will be skiing at 35 mph for the next two weeks. I do not really belong on the same dock as Will Asher and the boys but it will be fun.

[MattP]

@Horton Practice your 41 gates as well, If you get lucky and round 4@39 you will be headed into 41.

[Horton]

@MattP funny.

[MattP]

@Horton I try

[Horton]

@scotchipman

Worse than you think. I do not want to fly my N1 ski to Florida so i am going to borrow an AM when i get there.

[Texas6]

@Horton, you are kidding right? You're going to switch skis for the event? Please don't do that, you're skiing too well right now

 

[itch2ski]

@Horton is a wonderful guinea pig! I'm excited to read about his adventures on the AM. Who knows, maybe all these 38's he is skiing are because he is just plain skiing well!

[Horton]

@texas6

I am just just so freaked about the airlines beating up my N1 and honestly i am going to be the lowest rated skier there. I will get one ride on AM. I am better at changing skis than i am at rounding balls.

[Horton]

@itch2ski i prefer "Lab Rat"

[Klundell]

Sounds like a fun event. @horton you are in for a ride on a new ski at 35mph. Can't wait for the report. BTW @scotchipman ran his first 38 of the year on his nano one this weekend too.

[Texas6]

Understood; knock em dead Horton!

[JoeMac]

Where is Soaked?

[skier2788]

Orlando lake eola (I think thats the correct spelling.)

[Horton]

Banners all over site...

[GregDavis]

WHY NOT LET THE BIG DAWG GUYS SKI AT 34 MPH. That would even the playing field a bit, between the young pups and the BIG DAWGS.

[Than_Bogan]

@GregDavis. No way. If it's one division, it's gotta be all the same speed. Different speeds just aren't comparable.

[Horton]

It is a show. One speed is easier to understand.

[liquid d]

It should be a fun show, hope a bunch mm's give it a rip! I hope the water's good to see where CP , willy, nate and the rest of bigboys can take it...

[MarcusBrown]

why not make the BD's ski 36 instead of 34....that would even the playing field a bit too

[Horton]

The Pro are going to crush the BigDawg (and jackasses like me) so it does not make a difference.

[GregDavis]

It's a show, the crowd doesn't care if it's 34 or 35, they don't need to know. What's the difference? If all skiers go 35, Horton is right, the Pros are going spank the BD guys. However if the BD guys go 34, and the pros go 35, well the pros are still going to kill them, but not as bad maybe.

[Horton]

The rules are the rules and we should all be stoked that the event is happening. End of story

[thager]

@ Horton Very fair assessment!

[skier2788]

I can get 2@35 at 36mph on a good day. If i hadnt just flown to texas and back i would go ski this tournament. Where else could i go and spend 250 bucks to ski against and maybe be on the dock with cp,nate, will..... awesome. Who cares if its at 35 and who cares if you stand no chance of winning. I am really hoping for a cinderella story out of this. Like some unknown guy shows up and runs 3@43 or something ridiculous. Wont happen but this event gives the hope. Go ski promote the sport and have a great time.

 

[jipster43]

Somebody may ski 3 @ 43!

[skier2788]

Oh i know someone will. I would just like to see a non pro or maybe an unknown BD do it. Not someone like mapple badal or any of the pros

[jipster43]

I hear ya'. That would certainly be a cinematic moment.

[MrJones]

Is it a show or a tournament? (Rhetorical question) It just seems odd to me to be messing with the standard speeds and course lengths. I guess I have just looked at the standard of being able to compare scores in relation to a fixed point (WR at 36 mph), so if someone runs 1 at 44.5 on a 4 buoy course at 35 what does it mean???

 

I understand that on that day at whatever agreed upon course/speed someone will be the winner. That's great from a competitive aspect and hopefully good for the crowd. It's just that most of us are used to skiing against a score (say our PB or personal goal) instead of a person. Maybe I can get my old school brain around it...

 

(I am looking forward to see what the big boys can run BTW)

[liquid d]

It's both. Competition is competition. 34, 35 or 36, as long as we're all at same speed. It's not about chasing the record (ain't gonna happen on Eola). It's about making it exciting and fun for fans. I can hear a lot of fin changes and boots being moved, ski changes, too funny!...as bad as golfers! ps..watch out for leaches.

[jcamp]

Left-foot forward guys LOVE 4 ball courses!

[Wish]

Me: hay, I could ski at the Soaked event. (we live 20mn away)

Wife: that would be cool

Me: and the entry is "just" $250.

Wife: no

Me: how about for Christmas?

Wife: to far away.

Me: how about my birthday?

Wife: even further

Me: curse being a skier on a budget

 

 

Will start accepting donations emediatly....

[JoeMac]

I agree with Mr. Jones. It's a shame it is only a 4 buoy course. $250 seems quite steep since Big Dawg is $200 and let you ski around 6 buoys. Though, It only seems logical to up the speed, if the retired pros want to distinguish themselves from age groupers.

[MattP]

Who cares what the speed is people. This event is not about world records. Its a show, performance, to get waterskiing back on a large stage. If this is what it takes for the time being. I am all for it. I am flying in for the event and could not be more excited for the potential this has for our sport. Stop your complaining, winning, put on your own event and see how hard it really is. Talk to OB about that.

[JoeMac]

Good luck. Hope the event goes well.

[Wish]

i did ask on another thread a while back why a 6 ball course was not being put in. Lake is to short. only 1500'. So why not an 8 buoy? Well, that angles the course away from the spectators. @MattP is right, getting skiing back on the big stage (90s pro tours) is what's needed. I applaud their efforts and wish them all the best of luck. Hopefully I'll run into as many BOS guys as I can. Would be nice to put faces to names.

[MattP]

@Wish you are correct about the set up.

See you there!

[Horton]

@Wish I will be there. Look for the tall, thin, bald guy. You can not miss me.

[Wish]

@Horton Will the tall, thin, bald guy be carrying your ski? A ski caddie perhaps?. I can see it now. The ball of hair shows up with a ski caddie dragging an oversized golf bag full of the latest sticks clanking around like they don't really matter. His tall, balding caddie at the ready for the command as to which ski the Inter Galactic Leader will request. The caddie bends down and grabs a pinch sand and tosses it in the air... "well Mr. H, its a slight cross wind.... I'd go with the S2". The Galactic leader scoffs and responds with... "that's why your a ski caddie my friend, obviously its a slight cross but more head/tail really, so toss that AM ski and tare that silly wing off while your at it. Oh, and have beer at the ready when I'm done."

[jipster43]

I'm pretty stoked about this event, but I too have to wonder why it's being held on a lake that can't accommodate a six ball course. I'm not whining - I'm just curious. Is there something special about Lake Eola?

[Wish]

Yes. It is smack down town Orlando with high rizes all the way around. Downtown roads almost run along the shoreline and have views all the way around (heavily commuted). It is a famous lake in that it and the fountain in the middle (very large) are city icons in Orlando and known thoughout the state. It has a substantial park big enough and you could not get the action any closer to the number of people that work and live downtown. It's just the best place if your goal is to bring the masses to see our sport. There was a tour stops yrs ago behind a major mall 5-10mn north of downtown seen from the interstate. Very large staging area and park facilities as well. That was a full course and lots of people came off the interstate to see and the mall goers also just walked up to see what was going on. That venue has since been closed to all sporting events. Is a 4 ball course ideal.... in our eyes as skiers, maybe not. In the eyes of the folks coming off the street to see what going on, it doesn't matter. This will get lots and lots of local press do to the fact that it's being held on this lake. The only other time I've seen advertising or coverage for a ski event was at the for-mentioned location that's now closed to sports. So, famous lake, lot and lots of potential spectators already downtown and tons of media coverage....yep worth leaving out a couple little red buoys.

[jipster43]

Fair enough!

[Zman]

@Wish I believe that ski venue you mentioned near the mall north of Orlando was Cranes Roost in Altamonte Springs. They had a few really fun eventsthere with a pretty good draw.

[thager]

When Horton competes he will be " Hair of the Dawg"! Unless of course he MOPS. Kind of like -15@36??? Then he will also be "Hairy Stinky Dawg"!!

[Wish]

@Zman that is correct. I was at all the tour stops there as well as an under 21 event. It was great and the view from the shore was spectacular as the grounds sloped like bleachers. What shocked me was the number of people that would randomly stop me to ask what this was all about. I did have a ski T-shirt on so maybe they thought I knew something. I loved talking up the sport and explaining it all. I truly hope I get the same opportunity at Soaked. I think the BOS guys attending should have BOS T-shirts that say something like:

 

front: ballofspray - addicted to skiing and loving it.

back: I'm a water skier. Ask me anything about the sport we love.

 

 

 

 

[Zman]

@Wish The back of my Tee shirt my read a little different - I'm a water skier. Ask me anything about the sport we love - except why I'm not on the water today.

[Wish]

@Zman good one.

[Texas6]

I think anything capable of bringing skiing to the masses is great for the sport. And Horton is skiing which should be a big draw in itself. I always thought Town Lake in downtown Austin,TX would have a great turn out also. Anybody know if this has been attempted at any point in time?

[Edbrazil]

The 1961 and 1967 waterski Nationals were held on Town Lake in Austin. And probably many local tournaments. High water in 1967 kept slalom performances down; only Chuck Stearns ran good slalom in Men. The site also had some kite-flying championships (flat kites). When there's rain upstream, lots of debris comes floating down. Local club had an organized system of lining up boats staggered in a V-formation to plow it to the side. Maybe that site is different these days, and doesn't have this problem.