How important is show skiing, wake boarding, Air Chair,Barefooting, ski racing, etc?

[Jody_Seal]

How important is show skiing, wake boarding (including cable), Air Chair,Barefooting, ski racing, as it pertains to the advancement and future development of the sport of three event tournament waterskiing?

Point is we are all lumped together in one fruit basket when their is a whole diversity of fruits that are as different as Apples and oranges

[BraceMaker]

The events people like. How many participants in those sports join usa waterski...

 

Hydrofoil and wakeboard are evil. I've lost several ski partners to those sports, they sell their inboard, buy a v drive and foil and surf

[ForrestGump]

If any of those disciplines fell off the face of the earth, I wouldn't care. About the only positive is with wakeboarding is that the boat manufacturers sell enough $90-100K wakeboard boats to to stay in business and continue to deliver 3 event boats to us.

[Not_The_Pug]

I would say they are great activities if people like doing them, nothing against getting on the water and having fun. But to be tied in with AWSA, they are not important to the overall goals of 3 event skiing.

[Horton]

That chart looks like it is giving me the finger

[tfriess]

Are you kidding me? No offense but seriously these are sports too and they are very important to help keep 3event strong! If you want to gain 3venters, go to a showski tournament, barefoot, wakeboard, whatever. Chances are most there have access to a tournament boat and have an understanding and a decent knowledge as to the other "sports". How many of us started out on one ski and have nothing else? I would say most of us have tried other things as well. Sorry to go off on a tangent but I believe this is strong subject and should not be avoided!

[Horton]

I applaud your passion but think you are wrong

[FrankS]

I never understood ski racing. Can someone explain it to me?

[ForrestGump]

@FrankS Take someone who I might consider to be dumb as a brick, put them on a 7 or 8 ft slalom ski with about 150ft of rope behind a 600-1000hp powerboat, and then go as fast as you can. Races can be sprints or marathans. Can be timed or distance based. He/she who has the biggest set of brass ones wins.

[FrankS]

@ShaneH it seems like it is more the driver than the skiier. As long as you have the balls to hang on to the rope isnt it just a boat race?

[ForrestGump]

It's a team thing. The driver has to be able to gauge the skiers ability and the water conditions. The skier has to hang on and if need be, up the intensity so the driver can then speed up.

[jcamp]

I got my two young daughters up on skis this summer, but I pretty much had to cajole the daylights out of them to do it. So far, they are not that interested. But a couple weeks ago they saw a bunch of pictures of show skiers in The Water Skier and they were both completely fascinated. For a couple of six-year old girls, being able to wear pink, frilly things and do themed shows puts water skiing in a whole new light. No show teams around here, so they likely won't be able to ever show ski, but at the very least for once they thought water skiing was cool. Hopefully I'll be able to find ways to draw on that next summer.

[The_MS]

I dont think anyone is anti showski or other USAWS functions. Most 3 event people would just like to see a dedicated federation to the 3 event sport and not pour money into Olympic dreams and cost not associated with 3 event skiing. For all we know, the racers and wakeboarders may note want to be with USAWS either.

[Garn]

My family and friends are huge hydrofoilers. We take one with us whenever we go to the lake. Water isn't always skiable. But it is almost always hydrofoilable.

 

Garn

[Horton]

What @MS said

[klindy]

@MS how much money has been "poured into Olympic dreams"? Specifically how much has been funded by USAWS? Conversely how much has been 'returned' over the years in terms of funds, opportunity or exposure?

 

I think there's assumptions and opinions but few know the facts.

[Than_Bogan]

@ShaneH I had the impression "Dumb as a Brick" was on your list of requirement for a mate. Maybe you should hang out at ski races?

 

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

 

On more serious notes:

 

I am completely confused by ski racing, and it really seems to have almost nothing in common with any other discipline.

 

Almost everything in the history of wakeboarding bums me out: I wish "we" had integrated them right away and either made Wakeboarding a 4th discipline or replaced trick skiing with it. I wish wakeboarding hadn't become specialized to the point where the wakes had to be so gigantatic that nobody else can use the lake and fishermen hate them. I wish wakeboard boats didn't cost $100k, making it almost a certainty that only rich kids with no direction in life can choose to pursue it "seriously."

 

I am very surprised that kneeboarding is an organized sport at any level.

[The_MS]

@klindy I am not sure on that and someone would have to go back to the YOY budgets to see what has been spent since this wet dream came about. I saw that Rhonie B-B has stepped down from her position and Brooks Wilson is taking over.

@Brooks Wilson We would love to hear the stats if you could put them together for us.

[Horton]

@Ms in English?

[DW]

Interesting comments but I have noticed that at several slalom/jump events the "halftime" or downtime entertainment happens to be . . . barefooting or show skiing, which the crowds I observed happen to find very entertaining.

 

So for those tossing these disciplines under the bus what would you propose to keep a pulse going to a group of spectators at your three event tournaments assuming you desire a watching crowd (the assumption is yes based on numerous other threads on the site). So it depends on what the definition of important is to the sport and what the criteria to determine success includes (the sport itself or the ability to entertain a crowd).

 

Ski racing certainly would be the outlier as it requires a very different "stadium". There is a lot of appeal to a sport that overloads the adrenaline level and also requires a team approach in a dangerous environment. Is it any more dangerous than your teen ager texting while driving?

[klindy]

@Horton I understood it in the SC region :-)

[The_MS]

@Horton Rhoni Bischoff is stepping down from USOC and Brooks Wilson

will be taking over her position.

Brooks is now the point man to continue the wet dream of gaining waterskiing as an Olympic sport. We are not even close to making the short list of 8 sports being considered.

[Skoot1123]

@DW - agree with you on the "halftime" comment. The barefooting and the ski show at the Malibu Open were great to watch! Maybe USAWS needs to change the acronym to encompass what it truly represents?

[The_MS]

@skoot Did you see the bare footer paste the boat at the 2011 Malibu Open? Could be why the rates are going up.

[Than_Bogan]

I can't decide if I'm horrified that a great guy like Brooks is associating himself with this hopeless cause, or that I have renewed hope of success from the energy and talent that Brooks will bring to the task!

[Kelvin]

The wakeboarders have already left USAWS. In fact, the Masters has 2 separate sanctions. A USAWS for the 3-event stuff and a separate World Wakeboard Association sanction for wakeboarding.

 

My guess is the WWA is much larger then the wakeboard arm of USAWS.

[klindy]

@Than_Bogan and others...I'd like to hear a definition of "hopeless cause". Does that mean traditional 3 event waterskiing will never be a medal level olympic sport? Is it a hopeless cause if USOC provides funding, training/fitness opportunities, insurance or even publicity? It is hopeless if USOC funds/partially funds or otherwise supports organizations that produce World Cup events or other events like PanAms?

 

Is it really hopeless if something like cable wakeboarding DOES make it onto the Olympic stage AND traditional waterskiing is associated with it whether thats as a NGB or product manufacturers like board/ski, vest/rope or even boat companies? What if an electic boat was feasible? Wouldn't the "green" aspect of a sport which requires a power source to operate be appealing?

 

What if USOC provided funds to broadcast an event - even if it was something other than 3-event? Does the general exposure mean any benefit to slalom skiers?

 

I'd suggest the real answer is "it depends". It would depend on the cost to USAWS relative to the return on that investment. Certainly a dozen or more years ago there was a LOT of money spent on the effort but the vast majority of the hard cash was privately funded and not from the USAWS/AWSA general fund. There's a lot of rhetoric about "pouring money" into an effort without any facts whatsoever.

 

I'm not here advocating for either position at this point but I AM asking for facts and not emotional responses or second/third (or tenth) hand opinions.

[allycat]

from a social point of vew whats it matter what they do behind your boat i like slalem sking my 7yearold likees kneeboarding who does it withmy best mate who is good on a Knee boarder and a ski which is good for me i don t like the kneeboard but like to see them have fun.but than again i like the wakebawd after i have run out of energy for the ski