2015 World Championships

[TrickyTom]

Beatrice Ianni, @sbevski is now also live. The Italian chatting gives me the feeling being there :)

[Dirt]

Thanks Bea and David for the webcast.

 

 

 

 

The men's slalom final was exciting.

[DanE]

Surprise surprise, Nate on top!

[gmut]

Nate is on his way to becoming a modern day legend!!

[ALPJr]

The webcast for the finals was cool. Top 5 were tight. Will's 39 looked so solid I thought he was going deep into 41. The play by play announcer was great - really got into it like a local announcer for a major sports team.

[Horton]

what the hell happened in women's tricks?

[Edbrazil]

Women tricks: Some did better; some did worse in Finals. Typical tricks. And one did the same:

Neilly Ross @ 9500 for 2nd. Better: Anna, Alex L., etc. 7 of 12. Worse: Regina, Whitney, Erika,

Kate A.

[Drago]

Don't see any actual scores. Also. Jarrett Ll broke his femur, positive thoughts for a good recovery

[ToddL]

Not sure if everyone can view this, but here is a video of Jaret's crash:

https://www.facebook.com/danwaterski/videos/10153790009249749/?pnref=story

 

[Jordan]

Chris Parrish is posting on instagram that he asked for a re-ride after hitting 2 ball at -41...he thought

it was floating too high...he was denied the re-ride, but they lowered the ball afterwards?

 

Crazy

 

https://instagram.com/p/-aejBaRkGS/?taken-by=cparrish43

 

 

cparrish43

Couldn't be any more disappointed in some judgement calling that was done today. I was first off the dock and it hit 2 ball @41 super hard , coming to realize that the buoy was very high and out of the water but to top that off in a angle. I called over the boat crew they picked me up to go over to the buoy to evaluate the situation , I looked at the driver and boat judge and said give me a re-ride lower the buoy and then everyone after me will have it correct and will be safer as well. My re-ride was denied then a complete shit storm evolved after , I was in disbelief when I saw them later on lower number 2 buoy for the last 8 or so left in the field. My mind is still blown what I witnessed today.

[Chef23]

Nasty crash. Heal quickly Jaret.

[schafer]

awful news. Speedy recovery Jaret

 

[Edbrazil]

The Rules tolerance range for buoy height above water is HUGE. According to Rule 14.05G, the

buoy height can range from 10 to 17cm. 17cm would just about be the buoy sitting on the

water without any downpull. This Rule needs to be re-evaluated. 14.05D allows buoys to be

as large as 28cm in diameter--a little over 11 inches, getting to near beach ball size. Another

specification to re-evaluate. Those Rules do recommend 10cm height and 20cm diameter for

skier buoys, but these are just recommendations.

 

Buoys in the Old Days could be enormous, and the specification has been revised several times.

 

In this case, the #2 buoy would have been legal. But, adjusting it for the benefit of later skiers

was giving them an advantage, unless it might have slipped up more. I don't know the details

of the buoy attachment at that site, but that could have played a part.

[MISkier]

I am not sure how that buoy factored into his scores in any round. He got scores of 4 @ 39 and 1 @ 41. Neither of those scores had him on the outside of buoy #2 (a.k.a #5). There was no .25 or .5 score in either case. So, if/when he hit it, he must have been entirely on the inside of it and/or ran it over/submerged it without crossing the buoy line to the outside. If it had been too high and he was on the outside of it when he hit and, presumably, fell, he would have scored .25 or .5, depending on how long he kept the handle and whether he turned back into the boat.

 

Unless I am missing something, he would have received the exact same score if he ran over a lower buoy on the inside and was able to continue skiing.

[Peebs]

If a skier thought that if the buoy was high and "unsafe" one would think that a skier would ask for it to be adjusted after his opening pass.

[Than_Bogan]

@Peebs At least for me, buoy height doesn't come into play on my opener. It's at -35 and -38 that I become aware of it.

[wtrskior]

@peebs I agree, it sounds like sour grapes. He ran 38 & 39 rounding that same 2 ball. It doesn't look out of tolerance based on the photo either, although I'd be angry they lowered it later, I can see why no re-ride was given.

 

@than, as I mentioned above he RAN both 38 & 39.... pretty short lines where buoy height matters as well

[MISkier]

Regarding the subsequent lowering of the buoy, we don't know if the 3 skiers that followed the re-ride request caused the buoy to become further affected to the point of requiring adjustment. Each of their rounds could have generated more disturbance and further loosened the buoy.

[Horton]

@CParrish43 so what happened?

[Freddie Winter]

Just on the way out to collect my lost skis but the short version of the story is that Parrish was right, the buoys were ridiculously big, especially buoy 2 on the first pass (5 on the way back). No other serious event I've been to this year has had such big turn buoys or gates. It makes it harder to ski as you need to be wider to get around them at short line and more dangerous if you hit them. Problem is once the event has started it's hard to change the buoys. I complained at every pass. They (allegedly) lowered buoy 2 after I skied. This was one of three hugely shameful admin/ judging issues for the sport of the week and that doesn't include the lack of webcast.

[klindy]

@FWinter three issues? 1)buoys; 2)meeting scheduling; 3) ??

[Stevie Boy]

Yet again more controversy, I am so disappointed for all the Atheletes after training, packing there gear , and travelling to what should be the climax of the water skiing calendar, again the Officials have let them down, what has got to happen to get this right, I have to say it's starting to be a Joke, ask yourself why would you spend hard earned cash to travel to events, when you know it's very likely you are not going to get a fair go, I know several people who run competitions and they run them well, if you ever have the pleasure of skiing a competitions at Champions Lake, the organisation there PH and colleagues make sure everything is 100% right and in particular bouy height to the point where it is OCD all the bouys are lowered and all the bouys are the same height, it is not Rocket Science, it just needs a little attention to detail, I want to scream, pay attention to the little things, the competitors train, pay their money and perform the best they can, why kick them in the Balls Of Spray.

Sorry for the rant, I really do feel for the Atheletes in our sport.

[Than_Bogan]

Wasn't the story that Italy was supposed to host and then backed out at the last second and Mexico stepped up? If so, perhaps it's a bit unfair to be critical of the execution details. Pulling off a good event takes a TON of preparation, and that simply can't happen with limited notice.

 

Am I wrong to think the message here should be simply: Thank you Guadalajara for stepping up to Save the Worlds!

[MattP]

@Than_Bogan yes thats the short story, but that does not excuse mistakes of invited Sr. level world officials. Also we are all human. Just my 2cents.

 

[Ralph Lee]

Its super easy to measure 6 buoys. Get it right. No webcast... WOW!! Can anyone say if Nate worked hard to get 2.5, or did he let up to ensure the title?

[Stevie Boy]

@Than_Bogan Yes ! Thank you Guadalajara for stepping up to Save the Worlds, but Guadalajara supplied the site etc, the Organisation and Officials that make sure the site is fit for purpose ie: homologate the course, check bouy height, safety issues, etc and make the decisions on and off the water, come from all over, or have I got that wrong, we can continue to make excuses and bury our heads in the sand, but it just isn't good enough, somebody is going to have to shake the tree, or else our sport is doomed.

If you managed to get Water Skiing onto a TV channel right now, it would probably do more harm Than good, the sport just has not got it's act together, there are small events held by clubs all over the world, they can get it right, why do we have issues with the bigger events ?

[lottawatta]

Lets not confuse the host with the officials in this case. The host should be commended for their time and effort in saving the event this year. They certainly spent a lot of time getting ready and probably lost a bunch of money on top of it. If the officials didn't ensure the same conditions for all competitors in the division, it is egg on the official's face, certainly the host shouldn't be disparaged. The host couldn't have swam out after the event started and tightened the buoy if he wanted to. It was the homologator and other event official's fault the buoy was high. With a mindset like Stevie's, no wonder there isn't a line of venues foaming at the mouth to host these big events. This isn't a local tournament where the people who ski at the lake are the officials as well. When you host the worlds, the officials come in and the host has very little input into anything that goes on until the event is over. I commend the hosts for putting their neck on the line and making sure there was a world championship so the competitors could have one this year.

[Stevie Boy]

@lottawatta , it's not a mind set, it is passion for the sport, if you read my post, my main rant was with the Officials not the people who operate the venue, various issues are happening on a regular basis, if nobody speaks out nothing will get done, if you read through the other posts there are some Pro skiers amongst them, they are the people who devote their time, efforts and money on the sport, I am reading that they are not happy and these are genuine nice Guy's who are normally pretty laid back and do not complain at the drop of a hat, but if there are safety issues and poor decision making, then for sure they have the right to complain.

 

Just for interest do not blame the lack of Venues on my mindset, blame it on the people who cannot get it right for the Very Best in our sport.

[disland]

The problem is the rules not the judges. The judges are going to follow the rules. The tolerance for buoy size is a leftover from the old days before people were skiing at 43 off. Skiers today are used to smaller buoys and bubble buoys so when they see sites set up based on the rules of yesteryear its a freakout.

 

Change the rules! Of course getting IWWF to do that is some kind of magic that know one understands

[Ralph Lee]

Regardless of buoy height, Nate wins.

[Wish]

[ALPJr]

Great post @Wish. Awesome skiing and announcing.

[MattP]

 

 

 

 

 

[MattP]

 

[jimbrake]

Those are great little synopsis videos - the winning jump, trick run, slalom pass, then a brief interview with the champ to get their thoughts. All the winners seem like such good, intelligent, focused, hard-working, grateful athletes/people. Jacinta just seems to me like such a little sweetheart. They all seem great. Thanks @MattP.

[ALPJr]

Thanks @MattP

[Edbrazil]

Unknown?? Is Isis infiltrating the Forum? Or aliens from Outer Space?

[dchristman]

@Edbrazil Suspicious... That's why I hit the "Flag". Alert the authorities.

[MattP]

@Edbrazil we know about it. Thanks @dchristman. @Horton

[gregy]

Adam Pickos won on old school rubber binding too.

[slow]

The cream rose to the top in slalom. Sounds like the bouys were within spec. Variability a within the different venues make it interesting. If a rule change needs to be made for the safety of the skiers then it needs to be done.

 

I'm at Lake Louse helping out for a world cup downhill. The course is a little different for everyone depending on weather and course conditions. Makes it super fun to watch.

 

A lot like watching water skiing. Athletes are approachable and willing to sign anything for my kids.

[dbressel]

@slow just a question, do they move the breakaway gates during an event, and if so, would slight movements of 2 to 3 inches either way make a difference in a high level event where thousandths of a second determine a win or loss?

[Drago]

@dbressel would be very rare in a World Cup, and Lake Louise is speed events--would be inconsequential. In slalom, a competitor can ask to have a gate fixed and not start until it is done ( leaning or broken). The pro skiers need to get their sheet together (they need to "unionize"). Walk the shoreline and if something's wrong, have it corrected or all stand there until it is.OR, they all can designate a representative to do it for them. AND, if the rule reads wrong, get it changed!!

[Edbrazil]

In snow skiing, even if the gates don't move a centimeter, they have Winter weather to deal with,

with visibility and wind being major factors. Even though course surface preparation is done to

a great extent, the surface will change with the passage of skiers. Can speed up if snow is

scraped off; can slow down if ruts and chatters develop. In our sport, the 'ruts' fill themselves in!

[Edbrazil]

Hacked? That evil "Unknown" isn't going away.

[ForrestGump]

In the picture posted, you can see the difference in the height of the buoy near the boat and the one across the course.

[slow]

Gates can be moved under one meter in any direction during the course of race without reinspection due to safety or course deteriation and no you don't get a rerun if you have a poor course conditions.

[dbressel]

Thanks for the explanation. Wow if a gate was moved up to 3 feet between competitors, in my mind that would significantly increase or decrees the downhill line. Crazy!!

[MarcusBrown]

In my opinion, buoy 2 was comparable to all other turn buoys in height.....prior to CP running the buoy over at 41. When he center punched buoy 2, it was seriously dislodged and unfortunately didn't go back to its original resting position. Maybe its a function of those particular buoys...or maybe its just poor luck. I don't think CP could have known that the buoy height significantly changed before and after his 41 attempt.

 

HOWEVER, the officials waited 4+ skiers, then took a 10+ min break and appeared to measure and maybe even adjust the height of that exact buoy....before running the rest of the field. That was the mistake here.

 

And a similar, more serious mistake was made during the Mens Jump final.

 

When these things happen, the athletes suffer....but so does the sport as a whole.

 

@Drago is right....without a voice, and without representation, most likely things will not change. Many successful skiers throughout the past few decades have gone down that road: some pulled together strong organizations....for a while. I've even made multiple attempts over the past decade to pull the athletes together into 1 unified entity....its more difficult than it sounds.

 

But its part of the answer....not all of it, but PART of the answer. Without tournament organizers and governing bodies, there wouldn't be events for athletes to showcase their craft that they work so hard on....the same craft that inspires future generations to aspire to be great at something.

 

But without the Athletes...there would be no sport. There would be no need for Governing bodies.

 

Its symbiotic. It has to be.

 

Unfortunately, right now, I don't think the athletes are involved enough....or at the very least, no one wants to listen to them. And because of that, they are forced to deal with what they get.

[Edbrazil]

Note for @MarcusBrown

What was the similar situation in the Jump Event. Womens JU or Mens JU?