Distance from Center - Episode 1

[Horton]

[RazorRoss3]

Cool video

 

I gotta side with let the conditions be challenging argument. As long as everyone's got the same it's fair and I don't think anything provides a better opportunity for the podium we've seen 100 times to get a shock with some new faces. Tournaments are about who came to play that day, you might not be the best skier on glass, but what if you're the best skier in wind?

[Horton]

@RazorRoss3 Everyone has the same randomness but no one really has the same water as another skier.

[RazorRoss3]

I agree with that claim, I still side with “ski the conditions”. As a spectator I like the big scores but the podium shake ups are nice. The same way golden state vs LeBron year 4 is getting boring.

[ConPexEr]

cool

[skispray]

My thinking is: if you can’t accept the fact that skiers never really have the same water and it’s an outdoor sport where you have to deal with the conditions you’re dealt, then you should probably not be a tournament water skier or a tournament water skiing fan. Rather than trying to control for every little variable in a sport that occurs out in nature, there should just be enough pro tournaments so that, due to the law of large numbers, we are able to tell who the best skiers are by their performances over many competitions. And the tournaments should test skiers in different conditions, so we know who the best all-around skier is! Not just who is the best at skiing glass. There is skill involved in skiing chop! The attitude needs to be that inclement conditions, as long as it’s safe, are part of the sport.

 

The reason people think this is a problem is because water skiing is basically not a competitive sport except for at the professional level. Amateurs go to tournaments to compete only against themselves, so they think that when the pros compete that if they aren’t skiing to their PB then the tournament is of low quality. No. These guys are competing against one another and they are true athletes. They want to prove they’re the best in the conditions present (at least I hope that’s their mindset). If amateur skiing were ability based and there was a lot done to make the culture of tournaments about winning, then it would better reflect what’s going on at the pro level, and maybe amateurs would better appreciate what the pros are about and the amazing abilities they are displaying in tough conditions.

[thager]

No, no, no! Everybody should have the same handle, the same ski, the same conditions and ...........Everybody gets a trophy!

[vtmecheng]

That's right @thager, we are all special snowflakes. :p

[pgmoore]

@Horton - "Everyone has the same randomness but no one really has the same water as another skier. "

 

But isn't that the same with every single outdoor sport?

 

 

Alpine skiing / Nordic skiing - track conditions change during the race, it could start snowing, the sun could come out/go away, etc.

 

Golf - a gust of wind could come up just as you hit your drive.

 

Football - a gust of wind could come up just as your team attempts to kick a field goal.

 

Baseball - the clouds could briefly part and get in the eyes of an outfielder.

 

Track and field - wind could gust during your heat but not your competitor's.

 

 

Point being... isn't some degree of randomness inherent in ALL outdoor sports. I don't think there is a single sport where everyone has the same conditions.

 

And as someone involved in World Cup Nordic skiing, certainly the athletes know that some venues are more random than others. It's just part of the deal.

[Horton]

you are all wrong :-)

 

more important what do you think of the show?

[pgmoore]

@Horton - I'm pretty sure we are right :-)

 

More important, the show was awesome. More of that, please.

[thager]

Show is great but you need to be replaced!!!

[Jordan]

I don't like the analogies made about a gust of wind etc, in other sports. To follow up on the golf analogy, of course wind or rain can come up while you are about to hit your shot. that can happen in waterskiing too. That said, the course has to meet USGA/PGA standards regardless of weather conditions. So, to carry that thinking over to Robin Lake, you have to separate the discussion about the course conditions (ie backwash/rollers from the wall and the stands) from natural weather occurrences such as wind .

 

I think that there are things that could be improved at that site that would improve the quality of the site. In golf if you had greens that didn't drain properly, they would have to be fixed, my vote is to optimize the site such that it can handle what mother nature throws at it the best that it can.

[Kelvin]

More on the golf analogy. The majors (Masters and US Open) are notorious for creating much more difficult conditions than the typical PGA tournament. The rough is rougher, the greens are faster and sometime you get situations the really look unfair and the scores are typically higher than the weekly tour events. Occasionally, someone will complain, but for the most part, the golfers know what they are getting and the best one wins. Tough conditions are what the majors are all about. Same with water skiing. No need to make the conditions at the Masters the same as the purpose built back yard lake. Tradition needs to count for something.

[Kelvin]

By the way, great show. Keep it coming.

[lakeaustinskier]

Love the show. Just the right length. People just don't understand how thoughtful and great a communicator Trent really is. We have the luxury of receiving regular coaching from him and he never wanders into the weeds or in circles.

[ISP6ball]

I'm all for skiing in mother natures conditions, and dealing with the outcome. I don't know the masters environment, so can't speak intelligently on it. However, if random rollers were effecting skiers, I find it hard to argue in favor of that.

 

In my opinion, rollers are not a part of mother natures conditions.

 

Great scores were laid down at the masters, because at times, the conditions were great.

[pcmcon729]

I always taught my daughter, water skiing and snow skiing are perfect sports to simulate life. You need to be mentally tough to deal with anything that comes your way. Sometimes life tosses rollers at you, and sometimes you'll encounter glare ice on a 50 degree pitch. She deals with both quite nicely I'm proud to say. You get what you get, life isn't always fair. Was anyone at the US Open when it was held at Disney World? I was. I think it was 06,07, and 08(?) The conditions SUCKED! They had backwash, a 4 ball ball course, AND they held it in the dark!! The mentally toughest guy won. The last year it was there, the guy who won was far from the tallest, strongest, or most talented. It was none other than @Marcus Brown. He schooled the likes of Jamie B, and many other, "Giants". Legendary toughness!!!! The most important part is that there were thousands of spectators, ONLY ABOUT 25% WERE SKIERS. You tell me which type of location is better for our sport?

[savaiusini]

Good stuff! San Gervasio Pro Am... B)

[skispray]

Really enjoyed the show, it was well done. Keep it going!

[ALPJr]

 

[cvaught]

Great show. If possible please upload the audio as a podcast so that we can listen using any podcast app. You might consider something like podbean.com for podcast hosting.

[EricKelley]

Really like the show, keep it up!

Water conditions...... Feel is a test of a great skier to be able to deal with variables and win. As a public Lake skier, this allowed me to podium finish in a Big Dawg in Canada. The rollers and cold really freaked some of the technical skiers out. I can pretty much run through pwc wakes because of my background. Years ago when ESPN had their Hot Summer nights, venue selection was based on how to attract the maximum crowd and had little to do with conditions. TV audiences and local audiences, lay people which you must attract can get stoked with skiers at 32 off with a good announcer. There is no way you can drag a large crowd out to a private site in the middle of nowhere.

 

BigDawg at Masters.....I'm sorry but the Pros are just jealous of th attention that the BigDawg series gets. They need to quit whining and realize that success isn't mutually exclusive.

[Higleyskier]

I really enjoyed this discussion format. Please keep it up.

 

[The_MS]

@TFIN Starting to look like Alqaeda. >:) >:)

[Texas6]

@Horton would be the highest paid pro skier if he could get manufacturer sponsorship money from the pile of skis behind him. Trent has a great attitude, and is a fantastic ambassador for the sport. Easy guy to root for

[APB]

Really good listen. I agree w the podcast format. Cool to see weekly episodes. Having more access to events via podcast/replays, the wws website, bos, etc is only doing great things for skiing. Can’t wait to see where future episodes go.

[Horton]

In the future I will look at a pure audio podcast option.

[Ed_Johnson]

That was a really good start to what I hope becomes a continuing series. The sport really needs this. Special Thanks to John and Marcus, who are the only two in our industry, who have stepped up to give us these badly needed Podcasts.

 

[Horton]

@Ed_Johnson don't forget @TFIN

[APB]

Agreed. ^

[Drago]

I had podcasts a million yrs ago;)

[Horton]

@drago the kids just use YouTube