Course Progression: Shorter Line vs Faster Speed

[Shakeski]

Hi Ballers,

 

While I am sure there have been many threads around this, I figured I would post this question as my season is a few weeks away from starting up.

 

I am fairly new to slalom and the course, however not new to water sports (been wakeboarding at higher levels for 15 years). At the end of last year I was going through the course at 28mph at 15 off. As I look to progress quickly this season, what should I look to do first...

 

Get the course at 34mph at 15 off (then begin to shorten the line), or get up to 30/32mph and shorten the line (increase speed at 22/28 off)?

 

My ultimate goal is to get all 6 at 35 off at 34mph before I am 30 (I am 24 now).

 

Any chart or advise on this would be greatly appreciated!

[Than_Bogan]

My answer is: Both.

 

Either an increase in speed or a shortening of the rope will increase the difficulty a lot. But the exact new challenges are pretty different, so I think it's valuable to play with shorter lines at a slow enough speed where you can at least turn a few consecutive buoys, and also practice the faster speeds to develop the coordination and reaction time to deal with the speed.

 

In both cases, try to maintain your best possible body position and pay attention to what you have to do to maintain that body position against each of the types of challenges.

 

P.S. Why would you stop at 34mph if you are 24 now? 36 mph is the official tournament speed until 35 years of age, and is much faster than 34. Depending on the day, 36 is even more fun or incredibly aggravating!

[Shakeski]

@Than_Bogan thank you! 36 it is.

[PT Mike]

There was an interesting article posted by @Horton a while back about the quickest way to -32. It was all about body position behind the boat. It was a great write up on getting into, and holding that good stacked position.

[pgmoore]

@Horton / @PT Mike --> do you have a link to that? I'd be super interested to give it a read.

[Horton]

@PT Mike Haaaa I do remember writing that.

[Horton]

Wow this article is not too bad. Here it is

[Deke]

I like everything in that article except, "3. If your ski is more than 5 years old, it is time for a new one. If you can afford to ski, you can afford a new ski."

 

It should be much further down the list.

[drewski32]

skiing at -15 36mph would kill me. I've only skied -22 and shorter at that speed, and even -22 feels too long for the speed.

[Chef23]

I was at a clinic with Jaret Llewelyn last year and he recommended doing both with more emphasis on shortening the line at slower speeds then speeding up leading into tournaments.

 

From watching kids move up in speeds it seems that the kids that run 28 off change speeds without much trouble. I don't think you can run 28 off even at slower speeds without good fundamentals. I think mixing it up makes sense. Some sets running shorter lines at slower speeds and some sets working on skiing faster speeds.

[Greg Banish]

I'm far from a tournament skier, so I'm not really worried about an official score. So for me, it was far easier to shorten the rope at 30mph than it was to speed it up. -28/30mph feels easier to me than -15/32mph.

[MISkier]

Get away from 15 off as soon as possible. If it requires a slower speed to do that, stay there until you run 22 off with high probability and in smooth form. 15 off will let you get away with a lot and still run the pass. The shorter rope will get you to feel the geometry that will require you to focus on good technique and body position.