Gate Variations

[Skoot1123]

Working on the Gate:

 

I have been trying a few different approaches to my gate and am having better success with a somewhat less than traditional method than most folks on this forum (at least that is my perception). For reference I do a two handed gate.

 

The traditional gate is about getting really wide on the gate pullout - especially as you go to shorter line lengths. This is then coupled with a lot of speed and angle through the gate and into one ball. (A simplified description)

 

The gate that somehow seems to work for me is perhaps a less aggressive gate where I get wide on the pullout and not quite as much speed and angle as a traditional gate. My turn in is gradual but not as fast or aggressive as the traditional gate.

 

I have been trying to get the traditional gate to work for me but something has just not clicked. It seems the harder I try the worse it gets. If I relax a bit and do the non traditional gate I have more success and a much better chance at completing the pass.

 

So Ballers what are your experiences with different gate methodologies? What has worked for you and what hasn't?

 

[ral]

Line Length and speed?

 

Video?

 

Being wide allows you to have a "free-from-the-boat" and controlled and smooth turn-in (i know that this word has been under attack...), gate and pre-turn.

 

 

[RazorRoss3]

@Skoot1123, are you sure you aren't taking as much if not more angle, and generating as much if not more speed but because you are rolling into your gate smoothly and under control you are not generating anything near as much load and can then carry off the second wake to 1 ball in a much more controlled early path?

[Than_Bogan]

@Skoot1123 I don't think I've ever heard someone say you should turn in hard for a gate. Getting high on the boat is key. (And high is a better way to think than wide thanks to some evil facts of trigonometry that make it hard to even tell differences in width at those rope angles.) Starting with speed is key.

 

But when it comes time to turn in, what you need is a complete turn so that you can get to the necessary angle before you load.

[Chef23]

I try to get high on the boat then make a gradual turn in to get the ski completely swung under the rope with good angle. I go what seems to some very early because of the way I turn in. I start my turn in 10-15 feet before the nose of the boat hits the right hand boat guide.

 

You don't want to turn in hard immediately. You want to turn in to a good stack and build speed in to the first wake. I want to have maximum effort at the first wake then hold that position and ride the speed out to 1 ball.

[DefectiveDave]

All other things being equal, being higher on the boat for the gate should give you more kinetic energy through the gates. This would translate into being earlier and wider at 1 ball.

 

Without video it is hard to say, but my guess is that what you call a non-traditional gate is more progressive. Being progressive generally means that you load the line more gradually while you get into a stronger body position approaching centerline. While you might not have as much velocity into the wakes as you would getting higher on the boat and being more aggressive, you are likely in better body position and better able to maintain your outbound velocity after passing through the gate. This puts you in a much better position to make a strong move to 2 ball and sets a good tempo for the rest of the course.

 

It is also possible that you just feel slower when you use a more progressive gate, even though you might be traveling just as fast or faster. If you are indeed maintaining better outbound velocity, you wouldn't be pulled narrow going into one ball. Being pulled too narrow towards the ball makes the skier feel like they are traveling much faster with less time to react.

[Texas6]

Video

[CaleBurdick]

That's how my dad would run 35 off, do a "grandma gate"! nice and easy and slow and long pull. Then when he gets out of one ball, pull like the grandPA that he is! haha At 34 mph and up to 35 off, it works! This reminds me of training with Javier Julio (world overall champion) back in the PerfectPass days. He would run 39 off with the most shallow gate. I wonder what his approach is now with ZeroOff and different popular slalom theory.

[lkb]

I've been having trouble getting good gates all summer. This year and in the past I frequently would overrun even when I was sticking to my initiation marker. I was putting a lot of effort into the pullout and would often be to fast when it was time to turn in. Today I made sure to focus my first bit of effort of the pullout into getting the ski pointed wide. This made a huge difference in success. When I got good angle I never once felt too fast at the turnin point and it really set me up for the positive things mentioned earlier in the thread....gradual turnin and buildup of angle, strong leverage position, and easy unload going into one.

[A_B]

I have run both gates and thought for a while it was better to be slow into one, but that was with PP. I found that gate loaded me up too much on ZO and I got hammered.

 

I now am pretty wide and try to keep that position by pointing to 11 o'clock then rotate to 1 o'clock then drop even more angle to 2/3 o'clock. Hit the second wake and hop onto my turn edge. This gets me free of the boat and allows the ski to run through the turn.

 

I am 265 running into 35. So a heavy load.

[Skoot1123]

@A_B is the 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock rotation a thoracic (upper body) rotation, a ski rotation, or a combination of both?

[A_B]

I keep my right hip RFF more left than straight with left arm pressure. I concentrate on keeping the tip down and not to be on the tail.

[Chef23]

@Skoot1123 you don't want to lead with a thoracic rotation. Start with skis, knees and hips. Your chest will come around some but you don't want to lead with it.