What does it mean to "grow the sport"?

[WBLskier]

I've heard a lot of talk about how to grow the sport of waterskiing. I couldn't agree more. But I'm curious what that really means. Please chime in.

[RazorRoss3]

I personally don't care about the tv coverage as much, I think it would be cool, don't get me wrong, it just isn't the thing at the top of my list. More young blood in the sport is needed and in reality, more people with more access will grow the turnout at sanctioned events so really the biggest thing to grow the sport and achieve all of the above is increased awareness and increased access. The access will probably need to exist before awareness because the increased awareness needs somewhere to ski or they will lose interest before they even get rolling.

[oldjeep]

Depends on what you consider "the sport of waterskiing" to be. Is it waterskiing or waterskiing around balls? The sport of snow skiing seems to be on the rise again, the sport of snow ski racing is in decline.

[lcgordon]

Truthfully it pro bally will never grow much. People are just too lazy now days. Would way rather do something they can do with out any skill than go through the process of learning something. Everybody would rather surf with the handle or tube. Kinda sad really. I guess also why would you want to get serious at any 3 event sport or footing or even wakeboarding when the public water is just trashed from all the surfers and tubers. It gets bad enough where you cant even wakeboard. You gotta work too hard to get good water atleast where I live.

[kindoitall]

Summer waterski tournaments aren't all that fun. You wake up drive some distance to a lake and ski maybe three times and sit around the rest of the day. Some times you have a banquet with dinner, but the event aspect is nonexistent. The only part of the sport that seems to be growing or even have a large presence is collegiate skiing. I think the only reason for this is that it is a party theres something to do other than just sit around waiting your turn all day. Those same kids that ski in collegiate tournaments rarely ski in summer tournaments. Competitive waterskiing has very limited access which has severely limited the sport.

[MrJones]

I agree that it's hard to see it growing. I believe the change from a sport that was done at public lakes or in open club settings to one done in private ski subdivisions and/or in my own lake has been the issue. It's expensive, hard to access, and takes a lot more effort to set up than just throwing a tube or wakeboard in the boat and heading out to public water.

[MrJones]

One more thought. I think "back in the day" when most tourneys were 3 event and done over 2 days it was more fun. I did some trick and jump (even though I was terrible) just for fun as I was there anyway. With all the down time we had some epic sand volleyball tournaments while the skiing was going on. It's almost what I see with little kids now. They play in the water until it's time to ski, then get back to playing and have a great time of it. Seems I remember doing an adult version of this back then.

 

6 rounds of slalom is great, but from a social/fun aspect I think something has definitely been lost.

[lcgordon]

Plus take a look at prices. Whats a nice wakeboard cost 500 bucks idk. Whats a black slalom ski cost 1600. Even a decent open water ski will run you 7-800 by the time you get bindings. Most kids dont have that money. By me there is a ski lake that you pay by the set. Its like 35 bucks for 10min. It probably cost that much in gas to go wakeboard or surf 9 guys all day. (They do probably drink more than that in beer haha) Thats another thing all those other lazy sports you can do pretty drunk. I dont think I would go ski after 2 beers.

[ToddL]

I wish the BOS polls could be setup to select 1, or more options with check boxes...

 

I think the reason why the sport was crazy big in the 80's was due to a few key factors:

1) so many people slalom skiing on public water with friends and family for fun

2) visibility of pro events in mass media with key sponsorships

3) baby boomers in prime ages for skiing

 

I believe that #2 happened because of #1, which then fed #1, and resulted in a cyclical, supportive relationship. Local tournaments and participation naturally grew out of the success of those two above. Finally, I think that in the US both 1 & 2 were fueled by #3.

 

 

The children of the boomers didn't quite adopt slalom skiing due to the attractiveness of wake sports. Thus, we will/do not have the surge for that generation.

http://freesociologybooks.com/Sociology_Of_The_Family/images/ch14-fig4a.jpg

 

 

Maybe the Boomer grandchildren will discover this sport.

http://www.pewresearch.org/files/2015/01/FT_16_04.25_generationsBirths.png

 

[lcgordon]

So the reason it is low is because of all of you guys that skied in the 80s let your kids do what every they wanted haha. Just kidding a little.

[BraceMaker]

I think waterski acts like it doesn't want to grow.

 

There are quite a few good events every season if you search USA Waterski. But what happens if you are a new skier and interested in the deal and show up?

Every tournament other than the big nationals/regional/R capable should have a new skier representative on site (just someone to introduce skiers to the sport and get them hooked up locally).

 

Major cities should have a USA waterski facebook group - it should have contacts for getting started with clubs, where people ski locally, events, carpool to tournaments, regional representative.

 

Dealerships like Action watersports in MI have started cable parks, have new skier clinics etc. Get those in place and it will do alot.

 

Oh and - Courses on public water - I go to MI, good luck getting a course permit.

 

 

 

[h2onhk]

Maybe its just me but people seem to be flocking to public bodies of water more and more the last 10+ years. River and lake property is at a premium and traffic volume on the waterways is much higher. We see many new little campground get-a-way spots popping up every year and with it brings more boats, jetskis and pontoons. Back in the 80's i remember our river having 2 different permanent ski courses and a jump. Now we debate whether we should take our portable course out each time we use it for fear of damage or legal issues if they wrap their boat up in it. Hard to get people interested if there is nothing there to use. Skiing can be a tough sport that requires practice, patience and persitance, but has huge payoffs when you learn something new. Even if that's getting up for the first time.

 

@ToddL makes a good point at least in our neck of the woods...

 

"I think the reason why the sport was crazy big in the 80's was due to a few key factors:

1) so many people slalom skiing on public water with friends and family for fun"

 

fast forward to now and replace "slalom skiing" with tubing ,surfing, wakeboarding.

 

We're doing our part to help the cause. Taught of 2 our kids friends how to ski this year. 7 and 11 years old. Never skied before in their life and couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces while they were learning....especially after they got up for the first time!

[Stevie Boy]

I was truly sadden this weekend, I was at a competition and had two conversations and overheard another, all involved the same person, who I feel should have responded in a different way, instead he was arrogant, opinionated and not listening.

There is no point in even discussing it unless people like this are replaced, why would you ever want to be a Pro if people at the top of an organisation do not want to listen.

[MrJones]

On a positive note, I was at a Texas tournament this weekend where a Boys 3 skier from Louisiana was skiing his first and a newish G2 skier also from Louisiana was slaloming and tricking. There was a good supportive crowd happy to answer all the normal questions about how things worked. There are a lot of very nice and helpful people in the sport.

[Stevie Boy]

@MrJones I agree with you there are some fantastic people in the sport , that put in loads of effort for little or no money, I applaud them, but they are not the people making the decisions and steering the sport, unfortunately it only takes a few to destroy the efforts of so many, apologies for the negative but sometimes you have tell it like it is, you can not bury your head in the sand.

[mjump]

I agree with @h2o.nhk. we need to bring it back to public water. I just recently got a permit for a course and f.w.c. didn't even know what it was. I had to show him what we did with it. We need to show people it doesn't require the latest and greatest boat to have a good time and turn some bouys. What we need is good people share their passion for the sport. I came the from a private site and now returning to my roots of public water. I have met some great people skiing on public water. #publicwaterskiing #oceanpondskiclub.

[BrennanKMN]

My vote is for more people skiing balls. Whether they run tournaments or just ski the course for fun, I don't care. I know plenty of people who ski who have little to no interest in courses. The more people who want to run balls the more courses we will have on public water and the more people will get funneled into tournaments.

[Ilivetoski]

Whatever keeps the companies in business. That's what scares me

[gregy]

I think college level has the largest potential for future growth. Its fun and you can convert a few wakeboarders. It focuses on the group most likely that can afford to buy in future. The companies should get behind that.

[LeonL]

Grow the sport.....my primary concern at this point is to keep the skiers we have. Every tournament I've attended in the last three years has less skiers that the same event the previous year. I'm still stuck on two reasons for this. Increasing cost of boats and ski equipment and the disappearance of competitive type skiing from public water. I'm guilty of count two, as I like most was once a public water skier. Now I only ski on a private lake. I became interested in skiing from seeing moderately skilled slalom skiers on public lakes and rivers. Now, for the most part, you just don't see that. I applaud the competitive skiers who have stuck it out on public water. I just found it so hard to maintain a course and get decent water that I gave up. I started skiing just recreationally, as most people do. Drinking beer and boat riding. Then I saw a slalom course and the rest is history. I bought a new ski, top of the line, $200. Then I bought a used (3 years old) inboard $9000. I was all set. Now a top of the line ski is $1500-$2000. A 3 year old inboard is $40K.

[chrislandy]

You'll have to excuse the long post, I intended on writing just a few lines but got into the swing of it....

 

In the UK we had a ban on skiing / boarding etc (anything over 10mph and towing) on one of the biggest and most widely used public lakes (Lake Windermere), this was lifted recently but was in place for nearly 10 years! It's had a massive impact on watersports here. The authorities seem to be against towboat sports.

 

The rise of wakeboarding has helped keep the sport alive but it has changed significantly. Boat costs over here are 50-60% more than in the US due to import charges and other taxes so a $100k boat resales for £100k (circa $150k) here, with little wiggle room for bartering. Because of this, my 96 205 is actually worth more now than it was 10 years ago!

 

We have had loads of System 2 wakeparks pop up all over the place, virtually any body of water - which is good for the sport, but with the cost of owning a boat and almost no public water that allows ski boats around means you have to go private lake, greed has taken over and it can sometimes take years to join on the waiting list or you have to pay 5-10k buy-in - kind of scuppers everything.

 

We have quite a few lakes with only their own ski boats (larger percentage of skiable lakes), clubs and teaching etc but, again you end up paying £20+ ($30) for 10-12 minutes on the course plus a membership fee that can exceed $1000 per member.

 

The biggest issue I've found with pay per ride/ski clubs has been the lack of family/friends/fun that you get when you can hang around and ski whenever you want. These days, it seems you book your place online, turn up 10 mins before, do your run, get changed and go home.

 

The lack of TV coverage has hit the sport too, most of the major sponsors over here are either local businesses close to the particular lake or the major ski manufacturers or re-sellers. There is very little external sponsorship unfortunately.

 

Most clubs have their own internal competitions, but between that and national comps there isn't much so I think a lot of people get put off that too.

 

3 event just doesn't seem to happen here anymore :'( the big names have all retired and disappeared/died or run their own ski school. Andy Mapple, John Battleday, Corina Williams, Patrice Martin & Nicolas Le Forestier to name but a few, with no-one to replace them.

[The_MS]

Kinis and IPA

[ToddL]

One factor regarding kids participation is lack of time - time to train & conflicts with tournaments.

 

Select/League Sports and UIL Sports/Activities, etc. have all gotten very intense. What used to be an hour or so a week for fun has turned into multiple after-school practices and 6-figure support organization budgets for the sake of competitiveness. For example, high school bands who want to be competitive at national level typically have up to 8 hours of after-school rehearsal and a booster funding program that doubles to quadruples the national median income. These activities' leaders and organizers are trying to "keep up with the Jones'" to the point of pushing each other to extremes.

Most of these programs have already started their "summer" practices, causing conflicts with tournaments scheduled in late July and beyond (including Regionals and Nationals).

 

It is pretty much impossible for a kid to participate in more than 1 activity anymore. Most of the top competitive kids in our sport have chosen skiing as that 1 activity. Those kids who also do school activities and are competitive in our sport are getting more rare.

[Ed_Obermeier]

It's probably too early to really make any sort of determination, but from my perspective it seems like the sport is going through a bit of a Renaissance currently. Been crazy busy this season, and a lot of the courses we're selling are basic portable 6-ball courses with novice options which to me means new skiers taking up the sport for the first time. I don't know if it's pent-up demand, If the economy has improved that much, or if we're actually getting more new people out there skiing balls. But business is definitely up this year and by quite a bit.

 

Probably doesn't help as far as tournament participation goes but with more people out on public water skiing buoys, making it more visible, to me that seems like a good thing. The more people see it, the more aware they become of it, the more likely they are to become interested in it.

[GK]

We had a great thing happen at the Ohio State Championships this past weekend. EIGHT Boys 1 skiers of which 5 didn't even score a buoy at 15 mph. Most of them ran multiple passes at slower speeds on either 2 skis or in one case a trick ski. Our novice rule has been working well. We give novice skiers the option of 2 passes in the mini-course and then a mulligan in the big course. So for most it works out to 4 passes minimum. We get some complaints about how long it takes for those skiers because it never fails that they fall at least once, lose their skis, miss a get-up, or whatever it might be but this is a great foundation for future junior skiers and they're having fun!

 

 

[slow]

I believe waterskiing isn't as fun as it used to be on public lakes. The reasons are both the lake conditions and the equiipment used.

 

Skis ride higher and at least for me more challenging in rolley water. Also zero if is a much less forgiving pull.

 

These improvements are great at private lakes but on public water where you used to be able really dig in and power though chop now just makes the problem worse.

[BraceMaker]

In racing you always have the option to buy the winners rig ;)

 

Think slalom ocd would go nuts with that?

 

 

I watch ski webcasts online. The wife makes me play music and mute the webcast. Maybe tournaments could simply play more music - also having a 'broadcast' of in boat video on a screen somewhere by the lake is very cool. Modern day wireless cameras can cover a lake and allow people to see in boat video of the pass.

 

 

[gsm_peter]

@chrislandy

Come to Sweden!

I would guess that 5000 £ would give you membership in most of all Swedish clubs (about 66 clubs).

All clubs has a ski boat. Bring gas, ski buddy and ski. OK there are of course maintenance work to be done.

 

We did arrange ski school for 3 weeks with plus 60 kids this year. Kids come back every year but none has continued to ski....

Many are alpine racers so we hope for a few new members.

 

 

[skihard]

I think there could have been a few other suggestions available on the top a selections for why I chose "All of the Above".

Until the top brass start taking their heads out of their a**es and seeing what's happening to the sport and the refusal to accept that change is necessary we will continue to see a decline in the sport.

Times change, people change, and the requirement to change with the changing times is needed.

Growth and fun is happening in some areas based on people in those areas taking initiative to develop their own leagues and rules. ie; Buckeye Tour, Wednesday Night Ski League, and the tournaments held in Austin (sorry I can't remember the name right now). And yes even Horton himself with teh ProAm's he works so hard to set up and run.

Big Congrats to these guys. They've taken a different approach with the same mind set in place - you still need to swerve around as many buoys as you can but how you personally score and maybe how your teams scores is different than the rules of 19 whenever.

If the sport isn't going to accept change to accept diversity it will continue to see falling numbers in membership.

[ToddL]

@skihard - for Austin, I think you could be referring to two things that we have here:

1) Wednesday night ski league - which is really affordable ski ride access rotated around the local sites.

2) Tracking of skill-based season long scores.

 

Both of these ideas are managed by the Capital Area Water Ski Club.

 

Also, there are Basic Skills Clinic(s) scheduled each year to promote growth.

 

 

In my opinion, there are 2 very different target audiences when talking about growth. First, there is the non-skiers and recreational skiers whom we want to attract and educate about what 3-event competitive water skiing is and how to get involved. Second, there are the non-competing skiers who are already chasing buoys, etc.

 

The first audience needs marketing (awareness) and then access to opportunities to build skills to the point that they feel prepared to participate in a competition.

 

The second audience needs tournament events that are appealing and cost effective to rival their time spent just skiing for fun.

 

If those audiences can't get events and options which meet their needs, the sport will not attract them into participation.

 

 

[andjules]

I was going to vote for "We need more people skiing generally" but I don't believe that means fewer wakeboarders/wakesurfers. I think at it's core, skiing is dependent on what I'd call 'lake culture'... the idea that what folks do on a weekend is try to get to a lake (probably public), hopefully with a boat. When they're there, they'll get exposed to wakeboarding, tubing, wakesurfing and skiing, and some—sooner or later—will prefer the latter (and some will just go tubing).

 

But at least where I live, fewer and fewer people try to get to the lake every weekend. Owning a cottage/lake house has gone from something for 'well off' families to something only the 'very, very well off' can afford. Now people rent for a week, or get invited for a weekend. But they're not going every weekend.

 

As others have hinted at, the poll is problematic, because it kind of confuses two issues: i) how to get recreational skiers to become competitive skiers, and ii) how to get people to ski at all. I'm frankly far more concerned with the second.

[lcgordon]

I would say for growing the sport I would like to see sports that take skill come back and to get rid of the huge water wrecking v drives. I mean even wake boarding takes skill and you will see at least at my lake wakeboarders lining up for one boat rotation trying to get good water. You wont see a surfer or a tuber doing that. I would like to see the water not becoming completely trashed so that people can try to enjoy skiing. Its not going to grow if the water is trashed all the time from surfing or tubing.

 

I would consider our sport as slalom, trick, jump, barefooting and even nowdays wakeboarding. Its all sports that for the most part need or want good water.

 

Thats my biggest thing it would grow but at my lakes the water is so trashed you cant do it.

[LeonL]

I'm a bit encouraged by what @Ed_Obermeier stated. Increased sales of slalom courses shows a step in the right direction.

[ToddL]

@lcgordon - this is one area where slalom skiers and the fishing industry could align??? ;-)

Limiting or reserving areas/times for non-wake sport activities. Both want to have some area or time where the water is not destroyed by excessive wakes. Not sure if fishing population will allow slalom skiing to share those times, though. We could pitch it as, "we are much better than those huge wake boats..."

 

The most important thing down this path is to ensure separation of water skiing (small wake water sports/boats) from large wake sports/boats. This path can back-fire such that increased limits are put upon ALL towed water sports.

 

Regarding towed inflatables - it would be best to target that erratic operation (unpredictable turning of the boat) for the sake of safety. For the most part, a towed inflatable going straight down the lake at 20 MPH doesn't disrupt the water. The one being slung repeatedly from side to side or pulled in a never ending circle is the problem. Maybe the key is to put a required distance that is so significantly large such that towed inflatables can only be slung around in large open areas of the lake or when no other crafts are within the significantly large safety distance.

 

Regulations suck in general. Ultimately, they can and do backfire and end up limiting our sport's access and enjoyment of the water. So, this is a very risky pursuit.

[lcgordon]

@ToddL This is a very good point. It would help in most of the US. But where I live we are on a very small lake. Not much bigger than a private lake. It is limited to 18 boats but that at a time but that is a ton. I think no more than about 5 can operate at once safely and you can kiss your water goodbye with that many boats. The other lakes are pretty much open circles alot bigger but still super small compared to the midwest. There are no coves or anything to get away. It sucks but generally the people around here that have private lake memberships are generous with helping us less fortunate get some sets it. I am very appreciative of them.

[unksskis]

This thread went from we need to get more exposure on public water, to we need to control and manipulate the rules on public water to our advantage.

 

Ski Clubs are the most important asset, and they are dwindling.

[lcgordon]

Eventually skiers get mad enough that they leave public water and go private which does nothing to grow the sport. To actually grow you need a super cheap way to get involved. That way is public course and public water. But if the water is so trashed you cant even wakeboard let alone ski nobody is going to stick with it.

[unksskis]

I agree, but realistically you're more likely to get that slalom course put in a back cove or receive a protected area as a ski club, not as individuals or as boaters/fishers united against wakesurfing. I hate wakesurfing, but realize any regulation put upon them will greatly effect skiers.

 

We need to re-build and support ski clubs, and it should be a major AWSA initiative to help establish and maintain ski clubs, especially in metro areas, on public waterways.

[lcgordon]

Yeah that is forsure. It would be awesome if every lake had a ski club. Boy I would love to be part of a group everybody vs surfers and tubers haha.

[MillerTime38]

If you would have asked me two years ago I probably would have voted differently.

 

Public lake waterskiing is the pipeline for people to get into tournaments. If you want to grow the sport you have to grow the pipeline!

[JDM]

Tournaments are not the be all end all of the sport IMO. Simply getting more people to ski balls is the goal whether or not it is at tournaments or just for fun as the more people skiing balls with generate more boats, skis and skiers whether they ski in tournaments or not.

 

As far as the public water issue and less course skiing on public water I don't think that is going to change for the better. We left public water to a private site because the public water situation changed and made it so hard that it just wasn't much fun anymore. We had a great scenario with open camping real close to a perfect shoreline for the course with good wind protection a gentle slope of shoreline and not to deep of water. Slowly more regulations made it more work and harder to access. The camping went from open dispersed to site regulated camping and then was shut down entirely and you had to camp well off the water (boat in and out daily or slip rentals at a high cost) in a forest service campground which was time consuming and just inconvenient. Basically government regulation on that aspect killed a great scenario, so I don't agree at all with regulating our way, it never works well when the government starts regulating. On the water it just got to the point where the amount of tubers, jet skis, wake boarders etc... made the time on the water either fixing broken stuff, or waiting for a skiable window without constant 3 foot rollers which again took the fun out of it. There are always going to be these issues.

 

You can have all the clubs you want but if the water isn't skiable it isn't going to work.

 

So, what to do? I don't have the slightest clue as access to private lakes is expensive as it will always be as they are expensive to create, maintain etc...

 

The comment about snow skiing growing greatly in the past 10 years, while ski racing declining is a great analogy. Access to snow skiing is expensive (as is access to even recreational water skiing) but access to ski racing is incredibly difficult even when you are located at a resort. It is also extremely expensive, which I know first hand as a former racer and parent with a child in the early stages of a race program. I don't think this is going to change either even with the huge visibility that US racers such as Mancuso, Von, Shifrin, Miller, Ligety etc... have brought to the US over the past decade. The barriers to good athletes getting into the sport are huge just like they are in water skiing yet snow skiing has thrived.

 

Are there lessons to learn from this? IMO yes. Snow skiing has thrived because of advanced technology that lets newbies and novice to intermediates get better a lot faster (i.e. greatly improve over a short vacation). I feel like water skiing has lagged in this area. It is still hard and frustrating for newbies to learn the sport. It takes a ton of time. Better technology in teaching newbies would be great as would better technology for the novice to intermediate which makes it easier. We all focus on the high end skis, which have come a long way, but a guy just learning isn't going to have much fun on a Vapor. They need something that is very user friendly and fun that shaves days/weeks/months off of the process of getting up to getting onto one ski to being able to turn that ski.

 

Sorry for the long winded post.

 

 

[LeonL]

@JDM mentioned the expense of skiing at a private site. I have a private site, slalom course and jump, within a one hour drive two metro areas with a total population of one million plus. Don't know the population within the same radius. I'd say another quarter million. There is a public lake about 45 minutes away and a group of skiers, I've heard as many as 40, maintain a course there and tolerate the normal problems. Having said that, our deal is bring your own boat, pay $700 per individual or head of household, and $75 for each skier in the household. You know how many skiers we've got? Ten, yep ten. So,the allure of a private site isn't so great around here

[The_MS]

In Minnesota we have over 10,000 lakes but it is much cheaper to live on a private lake then it is living on public water. Not sure why people think it is so expensive. You share boats, insurance and all the expenses that come with skiing. You dont deal with regulations, wallys and driving to a lake. You dont have to own a tow vehicle, boat or a slalom course. Add all that up. You can also maximize time away by not driving to/from and waiting for calm water.

[MillerTime38]

@MS people fish in Minnesota not waterski

[wtrskior]

This isn't rocket science..

 

The way to grow the sport is to get more people involved in the sport and that goes for all facets of towed watersports.

 

promote the sport as a healthy active, family activity. We need the organizing bodies and skiers alike to get off their A$$es and realize A. TV and Olympics are NEVER going to happen, for many reasons, but its clear now as both are declining in popularity.

 

Abolish "tournaments" and turn them into "events".

 

Open your private lake to the public every once and a while

 

Use social media to promote the skiers lifestyle.

 

Align with other power boat sports.

 

Get organized and stop fighting with one another.

 

Young blood in positions of power locally, regionally and internationally.

 

coup d'etat IWSF.... $500k for a tournament is larceny. Private shuttles at events for the IWSF leaders isn't a joke, its entirely criminal.

 

Its easy, but the die-hards seem to focus on the good old days far too much. We are never having a Coors Light Pro Tour again, NEVER! Maybe Jumping could be added with some other extreme sports shows, but never slalom and certainly not trick. Maybe barefoot?

 

Focus on what you can control and set reasonable and achievable goals.

 

flame on!

[The_MS]

I do both and our lake is loaded up with nice fish.

[curiousgeorge]

Money. My wife and I both have great careers and I am skiing behind a 20 year old boat. Boat, tow vehicle, slalom, jumpers, ski school, course, God forbid purchasing a ramp, private lake..... The average family CANNOT afford to even get involved in 3 event skiing. I would have to factor in a divorce attorney if I walked in with a 60k boat.

[Deke]

@JDM told great history of skiing at our public lake. I want to add that in more recent years there has been an increase in "ski" type boats here but outside of our small group there are very few that are actually interested in putting the time in to learn to ski the course. Towed sports are growing but not slalom. The majority here prefer to tube, surf and wakeboard (in that order!). With the increased traffic and the small daily window of potentially skiable water, it is nearly impossible to get any any quality time in the course. Even on a Monday or Tuesday, with only a handful of boats on the entire lake, it only takes one boat in the vicinity to end your set. There's kind of a luck faster involved. The result for me, at least, is that I don't even pretend to take it seriously anymore. In fact, I am no longer the organizer of our club and haven't even been in the course yet this summer.

 

For others that mentioned the public lake vibe of fun and comradery is great for the sport, I couldn't agree more! That's what we had back in @JDM 's day and it was truly fun. If you have access to decent conditions, slalom can grow on a public lake. If you can achieve this on a wide scale the competitive aspect of the sport will naturally grow too.