Chet's take on slalom....translation required.

[GaryWilkinson]

So I'm going through the press releases and came across this from Chet Riley.

"The idea of skiing from buoy to buoy has really changed. That’s the net result, but there is a lot of interest in skiing from the apex near the buoy to the wake right now. Deliberately setting an edge that sustains angle that culminates in the center line behind the boat. It’s a much nicer way to ski than the old days of turning, stalling, grabbing the line and pulling like a mad man to gain back your losses."

 

Ok,... Maybe I'm simple but isn't the first description of new style skiing from the apex near the buoy to the wake" essentially the same as the 2nd half of his statement " grabbing the line and pulling like mad" ?

 

My take is that he's basically saying the setting of the edge should be early, apex before the buoy, and perform a more gentle grab and have a perfect body position that is aligned for best leverage, power and acceleration as early and as "light" as possible on the line.

 

Have I got it or is there something I'm missing?

[lakeo]

With no intention of speaking for Chet. I believe it is sort of the difference between the way Nate Smith or Chet himself skis and say Jamie B or Carl Roberge ski.

[ral]

In my view, the first part of the statement is kind of what Rossi defines as the turn as a continuation not a breaking point, and a sustainable angle rather than a tug. It is subtle, though.

 

I believe that obviously a 4 sentence statement from Chet might need some context and/or extra information, as he usually goes far beyond 4 phrases...

[GaryWilkinson]

I look forward to him chiming in here.

[A_B]

My takeaway on the style today (ZO) vs old (PP), is that skiers are more attempting to carry speed through the turn and hook up while moving at a higher speed now with ZO so you don't overload the motor into thinking it has to hammer you out of the ball. As you load lighter and slightly later, there is less leverage on the boat/motor, so it will react with less severity...

 

That being said, I do not see top skiers being "light" on the line when they load. It is still maximum exertion into the wake to build the speed to get wide and carry speed into the next turn.

 

Just my take on it. Could be right or wrong, or somewhere in between!

[ral]

@AB, I think you are right about being light on the line. Andy might come and say that I got it wrong, but one of the things that surprised me about his skiing in the Santiago Big Dawg was that his turns looked easy, controlled, even slow, as well as the first part from the buoy to the wake. But boy, behind the boat he was on a perfect position and literally getting everything out of the engine and boat and exploding to the other side really wide and early.

[mwetskier]

replace the word 'skiing' in his 2nd sentence with the word 'turning' and I think you get closer to what he meant since he pushes pulling only from spray 2 spray in his posts

[ForrestGump]

Personally, I think the term "light on the line" should be thrown in the trash and never pulled out unless you qualify the statement by saying where. Light on the line as you leave the buoy is one thing. Light on the line behind the boat is rubbish. There's not a single elite skier that is light on the line from white water to centerline.

[A_B]

Well said @ShaneH. Slo mo and looking at facial expressions, as well as driving for 39 skiers will debunk that LL stuff. Stopping at the end of the turn with ZO = BAD, in whitewash its B2TW!

[A_B]

Well said @ShaneH. Slo mo and looking at facial expressions, as well as driving for 39 skiers will debunk that LL stuff. Stopping at the end of the turn with ZO = BAD, in whitewash its B2TW!

[MrJones]

This may be a different discussion, but I believe the difference is in the edge change going out, not the turn back to center line.

 

In the past it was cool to see this huge extension of reach before the buoy. (Picture Bob LaPoint with the handle rolled out to his finger tips.) When you unload like that you have to "re-load" hard at the hook up. This likely means you will not be well connected at the next edge change setting up the self fulfilling prophecy of unloading early, etc.

 

I see the big difference in the past few years being more control "riding the line" out to the buoy. This keeps your water speed up and makes for a smoother hook up and better ability to stay connected back through the wakes. The aggression and load are the same, but more efficient.

 

That is the most I have thought about slalom since October. A bit painful.

[MrJones]

This may be a different discussion, but I believe the difference is in the edge change going out, not the turn back to center line.

 

In the past it was cool to see this huge extension of reach before the buoy. (Picture Bob LaPoint with the handle rolled out to his finger tips.) When you unload like that you have to "re-load" hard at the hook up. This likely means you will not be well connected at the next edge change setting up the self fulfilling prophecy of unloading early, etc.

 

I see the big difference in the past few years being more control "riding the line" out to the buoy. This keeps your water speed up and makes for a smoother hook up and better ability to stay connected back through the wakes. The aggression and load are the same, but more efficient.

 

That is the most I have thought about slalom since October. A bit painful.

[GaryWilkinson]

Great comments fellas! Now if all this snow would melt... We received 14" of "partly cloudy" last week. Sheesh!

 

I've learned 2 things by your posts and watching the side by side of Andy and CP is that keeping your speed up is a good thing! A lot of small technique changes contribute to this. Keeping trailing arm pressure, elbow in close from ww to buoy, etc. it all keeps more tension on the line and keeps COM moving faster and more outbound. All key in staying ahead and being prepared for a balanced turn.

 

2nd thing reinforces what Andy was telling many of us a while back was that a lot of the "work" is done when the boat is weak, IOW hooking up smoothly and in good position while wide and at the apex is very important but the pressure remains later than what we (I), used to do.