Nationals Trivia

[Edbrazil]

With the tournament season shutting down for traditional 3-event skiing, we tend to get into the Silly Season for postings.

Here is some trivia about the Nationals.

See the attached Excel file for years and locations.

 

--The 74th Nationals in Caldwell, ID will be the first time the Nationals is held in the Mountain Time Zone (I think).

--There's a big 'hole' in the middle of the US of states that never have had a Nationals.

--That site will be the most remote of any Nationals site from previous sites.

Nearest to Caldwell: Seattle (1950, 1972) at about 387 miles.

--3 previous states hosted only ONE Nationals: MA (Webster 1964), VA (1973), IN (1956)

--1942--1945: No Nationals (World War 2)

--Florida has hosted 20 Nationals. California is the runner-up with 12.

--Northernmost site: Seattle (1950, 1972); Southernmost: Miami (1966, 1976);

Easternmost: Laconia, NH (1954, 1959); Westernmost: Berkeley, CA (1969, 1977)

--Last single-lake site: Tyler, TX (1980)? Correction? If not Tyler, then Tivoli Gardens, MI (1978)

--Same-site most consecutive Nationals. Tied at 3: Holland, MI (1941, 1946, 1947), DuQuoin, IL (1981-1983),

Okeeheelee (1986-1988), Bakersfield, CA (1999-2001)

 

[ALPJr]

Great post @Edbrazil . Thanks. Here's little more trivia 1959's AWSA Rules from the book 'Water Skiing For All'. That's the second year the Nat's were in NH. Do you have any pic's from '77 in Berkeley or '64 in Webster?

 

[Edbrazil]

I have a DVD of a lot of the skiing at the 1964 Nationals. Think that Brent McNicoll has posted

some of it.

I was present at the 1977 Nationals, but busy, as one of the Appointed Drivers. That event

featured "The Runoff That Lasted Forever" in Open Men SL. Ended with skiers attempting to

score buoys at 10.25m and 9.75m. Both skiers got zero up and zero back, so the tie was

never broken. Not a tie for first, but somewhere in the top 5. That was 20 years before anyone

actually scored at 9.75. (Jeff Rodgers 1 buoy, 1997 World Record).

[klindy]

@Edbrazil without knowing where the sites are located Seattle (city center) is actually fartter west than Berkeley, CA.

[Edbrazil]

Looks like @klindy is correct, by about .03 degrees longitude. Seattle 1972 site was Green Lake;

don't know about 1950. Berkeley Acquatic Park: 122.299 degrees West; Green Lake: 122.330. W

Something like 1 1/2 miles.

[klindy]

@Edbrazil so now we have the setup of a good trivia question! :)

[Edbrazil]

Green Lake 1972 was a great showdown in Boys Jumping between Bob LaPoint and Wayne

Grimditch. 1969 World Champion Wayne still skiing Boys; no Open until 1973. Bob won SL;

Wayne won OA, TR, JU. With a distance record of 134' at 5' 28 in a strong tailwind. When he

heard about the 134 later that year, a noted long-time Canadian official had one comment:

They cheat in the US.

[Fast351]

Caldwell, ID also happens to be the site of THE biggest 3 gun match in the country:

 

http://www.mgmironman.com/

 

 

 

 

[Edbrazil]

Going beyond Nationals for N, E, W, S tournaments, it looks like:

 

Easternmost: Dexter, Maine (1968 Eastern Regionals)

Westernmost/Southernmost: Hawaii (back in the days of Jaap Suyderhoud and Ken White)

Northernmost: Borderline Lake in Washington State. (Don't think Alaska has had tournaments)

 

?Corrections/comments?