Waterskiing

[jah81592]

I would feel confident this question has been asked but here it goes...What is going on within the waterskiing sport? By sport I mean in general. It seems to me that if you can find a direct drive boat now you are lucky. I agree you still have SN, MC and Malibu along with a few other ones. It seems to me that everything revolves around big wakes and even bigger boats! I am a bare footer and it seems to me the ability to find a worth a crap barefoot boat is next to impossible (the lone ranger-Sanger) let along a good outboard BF boat. I was away from boating for around 8 years and darn it-$100k direct drives now and the lack of them was appalling to me. I am a barefooter but still mess around with slalom on days the water is a bit too choppy for my bare feet. Where does this stop (big wakes and even bigger boats)? Are that many people actually not skiing anymore? I go to a river/lake many times a week and rarely see anyone even free skiing anymore. Any explanation would be greatly appreciated.

[RazorRoss3]

The big boats can hold a teenager and 10 of his friends and pull sports that are easy to pick up. Wakesurfing is so close to the boat you can talk to the person doing it.

 

Waterskiing/footing have smaller boats, are higher skill, and you want few people in the boat for wake reasons.

 

The pigs are simply better party barges. Not to mention the average ski walks into the dealer and doesn’t know what they want but all the dealer has on the floor are pigs so it’s easy to sell one to them. You don’t always even get to see the slalom boats anymore.

[Ski_Dad]

i agree with what you are saying - it seems that all these wake boats have appeared in the last 15 years. At the local MC dealer they had one prostar and like 10 wake boats.

 

And the prices are ridiculous to me. 15 years ago you could get an awesome new slalom boat for 40k - those days are no more it seems. The good news skiing is alive and well - we have 9 skiers in our immediate family.

[BraceMaker]

Skiing tricking skurfers wakeboard wakeskate kiteboarding wakesurfing....

 

These days even wakeboarding is a flat market compared to surf.

 

I've never felt as if a ton of ski boats were sold, I just feel as if the companies that make them are now busy with other things and need to be bigger/more prosperous.

[JAS]

In the day boat companies built and sold boats to skiers with dreams. Today it is to skiers with obsessions.

I grew up with 7 friends and combined we have purchased 15 boats. We together have 15 children and my guess is that none will buy a new boat in their life. Good news my kids still love going out with Dad!

[DW]

@jah81592 : My casual observation is the iPhone is the sport of choice these days.

[lpskier]

@DW Coming soon: combine your iPhone and your water ski!

[DaveD]

I wouldn't be surprised if Tony Klarich has already skied on an iPhone.

[eleeski]

Tony was at the blimp T-Mobile Samsung 9 ad. So he had to ski on a Samsung, not an iPhone.

 

Eric

[RINLE]

Kids today grow up seeing Shawn White and Tony Hawk. A board whether surf skate wake or snow fits their identity more. A lot of their fashion revokves around boarding and surfing. They have never seen A Coors Light ski tournament but have seen Red Bull sponsored X-games.

 

And .... surfing is easy.

[ISP6ball]

@RINLE your last comment hit the nail on the head.

 

Tubing and surfing......unfortunately

[Ilivetoski]

If you are new to water sports, and someone takes you on the lake and you see a big beautiful 23 foot MasterCraft with a huge tower on it, some guy surfing doing 11 mph, with 10 of their buddies drinking beer having fun. Then there’s us, our ski boats can’t fit more than 3 people comfortably, we worry about .002 of an inch on a fin, worry about the boat path, if the rope stretched, is the ZO on the right setting? Is the boat mapped correctly? Asking our buddies to shift around so the boat is weighted properly... oh and by the way, if you want to become a really good skier it takes years to learn how to do. I get it, one of my buddies has one of the 23 foot MasterCrafts, and when we go out on it I absolutely love it... not enough to quit skiing and start surfing, but I understand why people moved that way

[MISkier]

I know I am in the minority, but I don’t see the attraction of going slow in a boat or riding slow behind one.

 

I like music, but not in the boat. I hardly ever run the radio and never do while skiing or driving skiers.

 

I prefer drinking the beer after the skiing is done.

 

 

[swc5150]

Having 10 people in my boat would drive me insane. I'd have to follow each person around with a bottle of Babe's with my MCOCD.

[DW]

The speed and challenge of slalom (and all my other vices) are a main attraction and slow is simply not in my vocabulary. @Live2ski - the videos posted on the MSU (see the Michigan State waterski team thread on this site) might be a great tool to attract the very people you note and steer them to 3 event, the videos certainly provide footage that shows people having a great time...thanks to Marcus Brown and Flowpoint for creating the collegiate piece. Agree with @jah81592 finding a combo slalom / barefoot boat is harder than in past decades, Malibu SV23 hull is still one of the best DD combo footing/slalom hulls.

[braindamage]

Surf: social, easy, any water, any time, no pain when falling

 

Waterski: isolated, physically demanding, calm water only, early mornings, hurts when falling.

 

Do the math. I love skiing, but I get why the masses love surfing.

[MISkier]

Regarding skiing: “we choose to do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard” and doing them “will measure our skills and energies”.

[BraceMaker]

@braindamage - but there is nothing that compares to ripping a nice morning ski session on big open water - the falls usually only hurt a few times a season ;)

[braindamage]

@BraceMaker totally agree!!! Not much better than a sunrise set on glass with nobody around to make wakes other than a stray duck.

[vtmecheng]

Don't forget the rare but awesome evening ski with the sun setting and glass water... Followed by a margarita.

[DW]

My favorite motto - If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space.

[dchristman]

@skibrain is the CG Fin app integrated with the FinDB app to self-adjust?

[Andre]

True that surfing is easy ,friendly and no hard fall but...what do they get their adrenalin rush from ?

I need a sport that give me a challenge not one ''...on the water activity...'' that you can do with a beer in one hand and a fat one in the other!

[TB29]

It is 100% on surfing. I've grown up on a lake by Edmonton, Alberta and I had the opportunity to work at a local pro shop during high school and university, and have seen the shift. 7 years ago there was a bit of surfing on the lake, skiing from the purists, and a ton of wakeboarding. The lake I have a cabin on is mostly full of tournament boats, and all of the families that had boats were wakeboarding and tubing.

 

Then, something changed. I don't know what caused it exactly, but I hardly even see tubing anymore, and practically zero people wakeboard. The ones who own these massive boats (mostly Mastercrafts) surf and only surf. They'll get in their boat on this tiny lake and drive in circles in front if their cabin, it's insane. They also have 0 lake etiquette, if you can't tell, this topic gets me riled up.

 

I have noticed one thing though: families who have history on the water slalom skiing stick to it. For example, I have a good group of 5 guys, all around 22, all of us from families who grew up watching our moms and dads ski. We all had our little stint of wakeboarding when we wanted to be different from our dorky dads, but all ended up coming back to skiing. Now we all try to get out during the week, and thankfully have parents who love it and allow us to use their boats. And I think this is where the heart of the sport lies and why it will never die. Skiing is in your blood.

 

And the dorky dad thing? Guess what the next generations of kids will be doing after they grow up seeing their dad going 11mph and want to be different? They'll go to wakeskating, they'll go to wakeboarding, they'll go to slalom skiing. Watersports may be in a strange place at the moment, but watersports will prevail.

[UWSkier]

Want to see slalom skiing thriving? Take a close look at Korea. Seriously. Its popularity there has exploded in the last ten years and their numbers continue to grow. The bulk of the skiers are 20 and 30 something and there are LOTS of women doing it as well as men.

 

Why?

 

Because they've captured the social aspect and fostered it! There are a number of ski clubs in Korea that have large covered docks complete with restrooms, on-site storage, tables, grills, microwaves, fridges. People go there to hang out with friends and socialize, then take the occasional ski ride. They might have two or three boats going at once. Most have courses, but they're also mostly on public water like the Han River in Seoul. They post videos online all the time and more often than not, they're skiing in rollers. But they're having a blast! I know @JoelHowley, @NateSmith43 and @FWinter have been guests of these groups in the past and have had great experiences as well.

 

Skiing in the US is alive and well on waterways where there are groups of families and friends that still enjoy it. But I think the technical side of the sport as well as the move to private water has turned many off to it...

[jah81592]

I appreciate all the responses in this thread. The statements have merely confirmed my suspicions. I told my wife the other day people are wimpy. I understand that this is primarily a slalom site but my heart is with footing. I foot 90% of the time. Footing hurts, falls hurt, learning hurts, the thought hurts and the speed? Well....you know how that is with footing. I have taken no less than 20 people on my boat in the last few years and all are in awe when they see me do it but NONE are willing to put in the time to learn. The first time I saw Tim foot (the guy who taught me) I knew it was me. I put in the time and learned all the tricks (without shoe skis and at full speed). The falls and pain were worth it. I am 44 and to this day it is my waterski of choice. I look for glass water and well the drinks come afterwards when the boat is anchored down. I really wish I could find a bare foot site as active as this site is. Oh well, thank you guys so much for the responses and I will continue lurking in the background.

 

Just FYI-we purchased my daughter her first slalom and hopefully she will rock out. She has been two skiing for the last two seasons and I told her it is past time to learn to slalom. I feel she will thank me once she gets up and learns. I almost cannot tolerate two skiing-if I am going to be on a board it will be a slalom.

[Tbone71857]

We just purchased our new "used" bowrider 19 Chaparral earlier this summer - I'm a long-time slalom skier and have echoed the exact same sentiments to my wife and kids this summer...about the loss of the sport and the huge $150K wake-surfing boats. We own combo skis, three slalom skis and two wakeboards. I will not entertain the thought of wake surfing (because my boat can't do it and I purchased it for a reason). The huge boats are "ruining" the lake with the 3' rollers and creates a dangerous skiing environment and boating environment. I feel like a teenager when I see another boat pulling a slalom skier- chasing it down just to watch. Our lake is oftentimes too rough (wind and boats) to slalom but I really enjoy the challenge and opportunity to improve.

[sunvalleylaw]

My thought reading through this. skiing for me was always a 3 person max thing if done the way I wanted to. Ever since starting years ago. We were a little self absorbed and obsessive, and skiers are. BUT, skiers always watched out for their impact on other skiers (boat path, access to our public course, wake thrown when coming in around moored boats on public water, etc.). By comparison, the self absorption today seems to be social media, selfie, phone based, "Hey, look at me with my buddies cranking tunes drinking beer on a big boat! Aren't I at a great party?" Without regard to impact on others. Boat paths, massive wakes possibly damaging floating docks and piers, or banging up boats moored in a harbor or bay, massive speakers blaring whatever tunes so that anyone around is subjected to whatever musical taste the driver has, etc. And it is easier, I suppose. Though I have not done it.

 

Other sports have moved more to an amusement park/artificial environment model as well. Surf boats create artificial waves. Mountain biking has moved to bike parks and prepared runs at resorts that have lifts to do the climbing for you, rather than billy goating up a steep trail in the backcountry or woods to get your downhill. Snowskiing struggled at first when snowboarding came along as it was easier to pick up, until shaped and wider skis make skiing physically easier. And now we have human made features in a "park" taking up lots of real estate rather than people getting further out on the mountain to explore. Seems to be part of an overall trend. (In fairness as I read before posting, waterski slalom has moved further over the years to artificial lakes that can sometimes be like private parks as well, somewhat excluding more general participants.)

 

BUT, the there seems to be some hope with younger people starting to be interested in slalom skiing, based on things I have seen at grassroots tournaments, etc. Can't say I have seen much about barefooting though. So, those are my thoughts.

[h2onhk]

@jah81592 many of us here feel your pain. Surfing is easy. People have fun showing off how big of a wave they can make with 100,000lbs of ballast, surf gates, wedges, brackets, widgets, and gizmos even though 90% of the ones in our area still apparently need a rope to surf with.... a.k.a training wheels. The only thing more boring that surfing is watching someone surf - especially with a rope. That's why these boats have mega loud speakers and 9 million cup holders. So the rest of the 15 people on the boat don't get bored out of their mind and can be entertained by something else. Go to any of the big 3 boat companys forums on the web and all you will read is, prop it this way, list it that way, bag it here, put lead there.....The surfing fad will eventually pass just as wakeboarding has started to. The unfortunate piece is the large boats will still remain in the used market.

 

The other item that I'm not sure if anyone has touched on is the boom of the super-pontoon. Tritoons especially. Huge floating living rooms with large outboards capable of taking 15 people while still pulling Johnny and his buddies on a tube at high speeds. Thank god they haven't figured out a way to surf behind them yet...

 

Water skiing has always withstood the test of time. The more of us that promote it, engage our kids and our kids friends in skiing, tricking, barefooting, etc the better.

 

Surf and Tube are 4 letter bad words in our house!

 

 

[aspski]

In my opinion, waterskiing will always be alive and well. Everything is cyclical, just look at the rise and 'fall' of wake boarding. For a few years that was all you saw. There are still a lot of people that do it, but its not nearly as prevalent as it used to be. Water skiing may be the next big thing in water sports once surfing starts to die down, who knows. Just look at the saying "Whats old is new again!"

I think in terms of difficulty it goes (from hardest to easiest) Slalom, wakeboard, surf. This is why we saw the rise of wake boarding 10-15 years ago and now surfing in the last few years.

I think getting people out on the water and experiencing behind a boat doing whatever activity they want is the most important thing. I still have memories of first getting up on skis, first time cutting hard on a slalom, first time jumping the wake on a board, first time surfing rope-less. People will gradually work their way up in terms of difficulty and I would not be surprised if a lot of these people surfing right now find themselves on a slalom ski in a few years time!

[PacMan]

There are just so so many reasons but I agree that a big one is that the dealers just don't bother stocking the slalom boats, my local mc dealer hasn't had I prostar in easily 10 years. That combined with lazyness and the fact everyone wants to drink all day everyday and sleep late kinda makes slalom not even an option. People just don't care enough to even try learning to ski at all it's too hard or skiing is boring is what I hear from many people.

 

My big thing against those boats aside from everything already said is the impact on the shoreline! I live on a 256 acre lake and I want it to stay that size. I have spoken to people on other lakes in the area and some of the shoreline have expanded More that 50 feet in the last 15 years! Cue DNR!!!

 

On the bright side I have seen more people skiing or learning to ski on my lake this year than i have in the last 5 years combined. That has me excited! Hopefully this trend continues.

[klindy]

Interesting thread. Forgetting the actual activity (skiing, wakeboarding, surfing, etc.) for a moment, all the trends have all centered around the social aspects of the activity.

 

Think about it, towed watersports got it's start with waterskiing. It took an effort to do it but people were curious and interested. Shows were popular and people participated which sold boats and other gear. Then waterskiing migrated toward better conditions like private sites while the public lakes found more recreational things like wakeboarding, any number of inflatables and, more recently, wake surfing. In basically every situation the actual activity became less technical, a step change easier, less reliant on pristine conditions and more geared toward a group activity.

 

The big towers and loud speakers that came with wakeboarding are still here with surfing. Boats are still configured to put 10-12 of your closest friend inside and you can burn up that gas and party until the beer runs out. It's been progressively less about the achievements and more about sharing the experience with your buddy.

 

Looking at snow sports, the shift was from skiing to snow boarding and now back to skiing. Shaped skis have made it easier and more enjoyable. But as has been pointed about above is that the ski parks may be bigger but they are full of man made features that allow for people to congregate, socialize and give it a try. Makes sense with the changing demographics and what's important to millennials and society in general today.

 

Look at the most popular local level tournaments today. Most have unique formats (handicaps, multi-event series, teams) and other things to bring people together and keep them on the site - BBQ's, bounce houses for the kids, fireworks, bands, etc. Frankly, while I enjoy skiing, it's a much fun seeing old friends at regionals and nationals as it is participating or officiating.

 

Point is, there's no reason "traditional skiing" can't be popular again. Perhaps a focus on growing the social elements of HOW we participate is equal or even more important than the specific rules on the water. Don't get me wrong, I'll always be impressed with the accomplishments of the Regina's, Adam Sedlmajer's, and Freddy Krueger's (and a bunch others!!) of the sport, but maybe we need to continue to find innovative ways to celebrate and emulate the rock stars.

 

[escmanaze]

Ha ha ha!!! I feel you brother...but you're kinda reminding me of this guy right now.

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q2OfA7Firz0/TCEm-NFJ7yI/AAAAAAAAAAM/2JWrc8Jb66s/S1600-R/get+off+my+lawn.jpg

 

For real though, I don't know what to tell you. It's just kind of how it goes. Not a super high percentage of people seem to have that crazy hardcore adrenaline seeker in them anymore. I go far enough in that direction to slalom, but man, the few times I have barefooted, I was a lot younger, and I really did just decide I didn't want to take those risks.

 

As far as boats go - shoot just be super glad that Sanger is still building something. That's awesome. They probably only sell 5 of those per year, so count your blessings that they keep building them for you crazy barefooters.

 

As for outboards, I know @DynaSkiPete has been hanging around these parts lately a lot. Maybe he could put together a barefoot specific outboard?

 

Anyway, I can't speak for barefoot, but slalom skiing seems to be a market that is at least healthy enough to draw several ski manufacturers and several boat manufacturers and I think that is what is most important. Hopefully we can all keep buying enough equipment from them to keep them motivated to keep making good stuff for us.

[wski247]

Really enjoyed reading this post from start to finish. Im not going to add anything new from my experience, but hopefully just put another data point out there (a long winded one at that).

 

I grew up behind an I/O in the early 90's skiing, kneeboarding, tubing, footin (on friends boat), etc. Didn't matter as long as we were on the water with family and friends. The more social it was the better the memories we had. As i got a bit older into my teens, that didn't change but i happened to take to slalom more since well, we could only foot on our friends ski boat that we saw occasionally. It was also my mom and dads go too. I eventually got into it enough that my parents found me an instructor on a private lake about 45 minutes away, and i was forever changed lol. Skiing a ski boat vs. I/O on a private lake with someone who knew how to ski was the best. Did that for 3 or 4 years through high school, but ended up going to a college that had no ski team and well, social life took over.

 

Every year since then i would at least get 1 ski in to say i did it, but we would still boat half a dozen times. The social part of boating never changed from when i was young, but we just enjoyed hanging out with friends and family. We would stay out late (no kids yet) so by time we got out on the big lakes, i would just get mad at the rollers and not enjoy it. So it just became social boating.

 

A couple of years ago i finally bought my first boat (MC X30). The wife did not grow up skiing so the only sell i had was the social do everything, but i required it be able to still ski. I love the boat, and i still love the social get togethers. That will never change. This year we couldn't use the boat as much (wife was due yesterday), so i have been taking lessons and starting to do some grassroots stuff. I can honestly say that that has re-invigorated my passion for slalom. But the reality is, the only way it will truly continue is with the private lake lessons early in the morning. I may do an open run with everyone if we get out early, but the drive continues to be what appeals to the masses where everyone has fun.

 

Long story short, i will continue the tradition my parents taught me to teach everyone on the boat to ski, but for those people to take it further than that, their only good option is to find a local ski club (few and far between). I really liked the post about the Korean Club idea... get a massive dock and a few boats and hang out, but that takes a lot of capital and a lot of people to up front commit to more than just one July 4 vacation week. If there was something like that around me it could spur more interest, but then it would also need to be marketed better to get enough interest (which seems to be an issue as well). If there is one thing i have noticed, the skiing world is terrible and marketing to the casual boater. I have really had to dig, to find what is going on out there earlier this year. Things like this should be hitting the casual boaters in the face to entice them, not the avid skiier searching to find what is out there. My .02.

[vic]

Most new people starting water sports are not in good enough physical shape to water ski so they go for the easier things wake boarding without doing tricks, tubing or surf boarding on a controlled wake. Some skill required but very low expectations and more drink and noise.

 

[Stevie Boy]

Water skiers are a little spec in the ocean, go to Orlando water ski capitol of the world, walk into a resturaunt or bar chat to the waiter/waitress when asked what you are doing there mention water skiing and then look at the blank expression on there faces or some times the reply what,s that ?

Upsetting but true, the water ski community is made up of great people, determined to master a sport that is technically and physically demanding, no such thing as a easy ride, but there lies the challenge.

I have to question the safety of large numbers in a boat with beer and loud music whilst towing and driving a boat at some point somebody is going to do something dumb, it really isn,t my scene at all.

[skialex]

10 years ago I was at Orlando airport car rentals and the guy noticed my Goode skiing bag and asked me if these were alpine skis.

At the time I thought he was deranged :)

[lpskier]

@skialex Better than being asked if they are “really long golf clubs.”

[HighAltitude]

How many people here have surfed? If you haven't, then maybe you need to try. Before you say it, I live on a small private lake with a SN200. I love to ski, but...I love when my neighbor's are surfing and I have time to join them. It's super fun and if you are trying to improve, not necessarily easy. (try a 360) Also, try surfing in the ocean, that's a serious workout! Personally, I found it fun to "practice" surfing behind a boat to improve my ocean surfing. I'm not sure why we have a natural tendency to bash others that are different but it's slightly disturbing.

 

Bottom line... skiing is alive and well, but it's always been a niche sport. Enjoy a truly awesome sport but embrace the fact that other people are outside enjoying being on the water as well.

[TB29]

@HighAltitude I've surfed plenty, and I agree its a great activity for when I have a lot of friends on the boat and want to do something social to enjoy the lake. But I disagree that its not easy, its quite easy in fact. Sure, trying spins like 360s are harder, but I've had a number of friends who had never been pulled behind a boat get up on their third try and are letting go of the rope by the end of the weekend. Now, that's a great thing because I see them have fun and enjoy themselves, but its painfully obvious how easy the sport is. And when it comes to trying tricks, its so low risk that anyone can try it (you don't have to have guts like on a wakeboard).

 

All that said, I don't bash people who are out having fun surfing. I will however, bash many of the surfers that I see on the small lake where I ski. Families and partiers alike, many of them have 0 lake etiquette. They drive in circles, get too close to your boat, and outright cut you off if even if you have a skier/wakeboarder being towed. Hell, there's 1 guy in one of the bays who has outright talked about his hate of skiing, he says its "too fast, dangerous to others in/around the lake, and the boats are too loud". So, if he sees someone skiing in the bay (might I add the best place on the lake to ski) even if there's nobody else in there, he'll lower his boat off the lift and deliberately ruin the glassy water (he'll just drive in circles in the bay, not even towing a surfer).

 

I've never once seen a boat full of skiers or wakeboarders have such low lake etiquette like surfers. It's hard not to pass judgement when you have people in their big surf boats ignoring everyone else on the water.

[ToddL]

I have surfed, and it is fun. I also remember learning to ski on combos as a kid. It was fun, too. Wake sports aren't hated by skiers because they are too easy or "not fun." Wake sports simply disturb the water to the point where a beginner can't easily ski on combos on that rough water, and forget about slalom skiing on that water.

 

Honestly, if there were no "wake sports" and no tubing days on public lakes, then recreational skiing would have an opportunity to resurface. It is exactly that desire for smooth water which contributed to our sport moving to private lakes. It is exactly that abandonment of public lake presence which further causes the lack of awareness of traditional water skiing by the general public. Ask any random person about water skiing and in their mind they are picturing a wake sport.

 

Pathways to our sport:

1) Someone teaches you to water ski on combos, then try slalom, run into a skier who knows about private lakes, get some lessons, try a fun/GR/novice competition, get hooked...

2) Be born into a family with an existing competitive skier, follow in footsteps

 

The first option is getting less frequent each generation.

 

This is why AWSA/USAWS had the pass the handle and other programs to encourage those of us in the sport to volunteer their time and resources to focus on pathway #1.

 

BTW, Scouts have a water sports merit badge. Every private lake could find a local scout troop and schedule a few merit badge days where scouts learn to ski and check off the tasks required to earn the water sports merit badge. Some of those scouts could become competitive skiers, but only if they are made aware of our sport.

 

[The_MS]

Why does it always come back to the evil private lake skiers having to foot the bill?

[customski]

Today on our local lake in Western Australia.

[Dacon62]

Face it, a lot of kids these days are lazy and have a short attention span. If something takes too much time to learn or takes or bit of physical exertion (Slalom, etc) they won’t do it. Surfing is easy so they can be successful quickly. Also some of the older Dads aren’t in as good a shape so again surfing is easy if you are not that physically fit.

Enter the Lake Barge.

[ToddL]

@MS Sorry, didn't exclusively intend to "put the bill" on the private lake skiers.

 

However, ski clubs (private or not) should recognize that pathway #1 no longer viably exists in the public, recreational space to the same degree it was when us M/W4+ skiers were kids. Acceptable pubic water for learning to ride skis is an endangered condition due to the popularity of wake sport boats' disruption of water conditions.

 

Why should private lake owner's care? Why would anyone who has worked and achieved the holy grail of a current competitive boat on a lift on a private lake where they live in a gated community, every want to take away from his or her portion of ski time on that water? That took hard work, commitment, and a serious financial investment in the dream. I get that. It is even more precious if the site has a higher density of active skiers per lake. So, why take away "my" ski time for someone else to experience skiing and by a long shot possibly get hooked enough to take up slalom and eventually competitive slalom and then want to join my lake/club and take up more time from me?

 

I totally get that.

 

So why? Well, if the average older M/W4+ skiers have fewer than 2 kids (on average) who actually take up and make the same commitment to the sport, the sport will die off. Eventually, there will be not enough rated officials to hold tournaments. Then, eventually there will be not enough skiers to partner for ski rides. Maybe this will not happen as fast in the water ski dense areas in TX, CA, FL. What about other areas?

 

We all know the ski families with 1-3 competing kids. But how many adult skiers do you know where they have only 1 or even zero kids interested in our sport? How many adult skiers' kids stopped skiing before college or shortly after college? If pathway # 1 is nearing extinction and if the procreation pathway #2 is not sufficient to replenish the current adult population, then the sport will decline when the adults end their skiing careers.

 

Maybe many private lake skiers have done the projections & forecasting and have determined that their ski "lifespan" will end before the lack of sustaining competitive resources becomes dire. So, they are personally not worried.

 

Maybe there will still be enough competitive skiers in the next generation to justify a decent sales price for that house/lot on that private ski lake. Or maybe it will sit on the market for months trying to market to a shrinking target of buyers. Or maybe the lake will turn into a retirement community for people who just want a gated community with lake front lots so they can fish off their dock and feed ducks. It can happen. It has happened.

 

It just seems to me that paying it forward to some degree is needed if we want to sustain our sport beyond our lifetime.

[jimbrake]

@Dacon62 - that's their parents' fault. A lot of kids aren't lazy and get really good at pursuits that are really difficult (but also fun and rewarding). Usually those kids have active and supportive parents that want to share their love of something with their kids.

[igkya]

@MS good set up for @customski :D

[Drago]

I find a lot of parents are lazy...