Grow the Sport??

[gpcarson]

We lack leadership in that area. Take Florida for example. Suppose to be the mecca of waterskiing but few to no grass root tournaments. Then the sport requires a speed control for tournaments that only work in mostly 50k plus boats. Brilliant incentives for newbies.

[gpcarson]

Why not require a fun division for all tournaments with a guaranteed 4 passes? The requirement could have an option to cap the division to 6 skiers which would take maybe 30 to 60 minutes per round. Wouldn't even need to discount the entry fees, but I think most hosts would. That might help bring in more skiers to the sport and better than doing nothing.

[The_MS]

People have no clue of the expense and time needed to maintain a lake. Here are just a few of the issues with outside memberships.

1. Zebra mussels and other invasive species.

2. No skin in the game. Not taking care of little things. Show up ski and leave. People tend to take care of things when they own it

3. Someone has to organize the club, pay dues and keep up to date.

4. Home owners should ski whenever they want so how do you manage a guy driving out to ski and home owners are skiing.

 

In Minnesota there is not an issue with access and if you think there is you are just plane ol lazy.

I live in a county with no natural lakes and there are still at least 5 possible sites within 1/2 hr of my house.

Put in the effort to find a hole and get a course on it. Pull up google earth and start knocking on some doors. Kinda like finding a place to hunt.

 

[vtmecheng]

Check out the event that @h2oSkiJunkie (Corey Vaughn) does over memorial day, The Buskey Cider Cup. It's a for fun tournament where you get 6 passes and they have additional awards, like scrappiest pass and best outfit. Includes food trucks, hard cider, a concert, and other fun stuff. That's a fun way to get people out and try something new.

[Chef23]

@BraceMaker I think M2 gets thin because at that age people are out meeting their spouses and starting families. It is really hard to be committed to tournaments at that point. I really didn't ski much at all between 23 and 37 then got back into it with my kids.

 

Regarding growing the sport there is a club around here called the Nipmuc Ski Club that do an awesome job of it. It is inexpensive ($165 a season) and open to all on a public lake. They have members that are super committed to it and I can't see a way it breaks even for the usage of their boats. I do know some of the people that help run it and they are some of the nicest people I have ever met.

 

The financials particularly on private water are very hard to make affordable.

[swc5150]

I may be the odd man out here, but I think it's the recreational skier (non-course) who'll drive growth...depending on the definition. Tournament skiers will drive technology forward, but it's the rec buyer's dollar that pays for the lion's share of the R&D. I think of my home lake, where there are dozens of DD tournament boats, and not a single tournament skier to be found.

 

I understand tournament participation is way down, but how does that really translate to the health of the sport as a whole? Ski companies continue to produce high-end gear, and CC has TWO tournament boats on the market. I've sold 4 boats in the last few years, and not one went to a tournament skier.

 

FWIW, when I was an impressionable kid, it was a water ski show that really made me want to ski. To this day, the show scene here in WI is still strong.

[BrennanKMN]

We need public access to grow. Hosting a grass roots tournament will hep, but that isn't going to do much for general exposure to new eyes.

 

I don't think skiers complaining about access to private water is going to get us anywhere either. If you're not willing to throw a portable in and ski on the weekends if other options are not available I think you're part of the problem personally. Harsh, but I stand by it.

 

Some people have the drive and the desire to make it happen and some want easy access.

[ski6jones]

As @swc5150 said it's the recreational skier that will ultimately drive growth in tournament, if that's the goal. More courses on public lakes where the rec skiers are would drive that interest. Sounds like permitting is problematic in many cases, something USAWS could be helping with. More public sites like Okeeheelee would be helpful retaining those new rec skiers by making it more convenient to get out and ski once they get the slalom bug. Understand cost on the later may be prohibitive.

[BraceMaker]

@Chef23 I agree - but it really is a huge target market. Its also the exact target market that waterskiing used to have, it is the target market of wake surfing, wake boarding etc.

 

People in that age range are HUGE into all sorts of recreation, and heck almost every city has a sport and social club to sign up to play and hang out in the evenings.

 

We all talk about the way collegiate skiing goes and then we lose 90% of those skiers until 5% of them come back when they turn 40?

 

[andjules]

Sport involvement grows through kids.

Getting them their first experience, and then giving them (their parents) a route to grow. A summer camp, or a ski school nearby that offers an affordable package of sets, etc, or if they're lucky, growing up on public water with parents who encourage them to work at things that are fun-but-difficult, vs flopping on to a tube.

For the most part, parents are waiting to see what their kids gravitate to and then (going broke) supporting it (or, pushing their kids to do whatever sport they prefer).

[ToddL]

Regarding younger adult divisions, and also collegiate skiers leaving the sport after graduation...

 

I have said this before:

AWSA needs to capture the names, emails, addresses of every collegiate skier from NCWSA and every M1/W1 skier and put them into a database. Then, each year query that database for skiers who were active 10 years ago but aren't currently and send them a personal invitation to rejoin AWSA as an active competitor for $20 or as an active family membership for $50. Do the same for any skiers who were active 15 and 20 years ago.

 

This way a former active skier will get contacted about the time they have their career and/or family underway. If they aren't ready to re-engage at 10 years, they get contacted again at 15, and lastly at 20. If they have any love for the sport left in them, they will likely bite and get involved again. If they have kids old enough to begin skiing the invitation may get them to re-engage for the kids' sake.

 

What do you think, @JeffSurdej ?

 

[Buzzy22]

I agree with @jhughes. I had the fortunate experience of meeting a very accomplished junior water skier at the age of 12 who one day became my roommate in college at ULM where we both skied. Back then it was called NLU. When I became hooked, I had to find a way to ski. My parents had a 21' SeaRay for a boat and that is what I skied behind. Imagine no speed control and trying to maintain a speed of 36 miles per hour through a public ski course behind that! We moved to Alabama when I was 14 and I then had the very fortunate experience of being introduced to @mmosley899 who took me in as a young skier and took the time to help coach me. Thank you @mmosley899! I can remember waking up before sunrise on school days (High School) to drive 20 minutes in a boat one way to a public course where @mmosley899 would give me a pull. Then after school, drive in a car from the East side of Birmingham all the way to Tuscaloosa, where Seth Stisher, Chris Strong and myself would get a pull from Lyman Hardy. This is the dedication and desire that we had to put in each day to get better on the water. Once I became an adult, I actually quit skiing to focus on my career and Family. I did not ski for over 14 years. Once I became 35, a good friend of mine told me about the Big Dawg water ski tour. I was living in the state of Indiana at the time and was put in touch with some people in the water ski community there. I can tell you that the entire water ski community in that state of Indiana welcomed my come back to the sport with open arms and were so helpful. Numerous people at numerous private ski sites allowed me to come ski. To @jhughes point, I showed up at every tournament early to help, pull practice, judge, either payed to ski or brought fuel for the boat. This was my way of showing them my appreciation of them allowing me the opportunity to ski. I relocated to Phoenix, AZ in 2016. Unfortunately, my job has not allowed me the time to ski since moving here. I will say that I have reached out to some of those listed in earlier messages on this thread and they were all kind enough to extend an invitation to allow me to receive a pull. Just like yourself (Person who started the thread) I too worked at ski schools at a young age during the summer months. I worked for free to allow myself the opportunity to train. I cut grass, pulled kids all day, did their laundry, fed them, etc... At the end of the day, it all boils down to how hard your willing to work and how bad you want to get on the water. I intend on trying to find the time to get back on the water, and with any luck, perhaps we will have the opportunity to meet. You never know, we might even have the chance to ski.

 

Oh, and there are way too many people that I would love to mention that helped me reach a certain level of water skiing. There are too many to list and are located all over the US. But I must say that @Horton was also a huge part of my skiing as well. Thanks John!

[dbaconaz]

@Buzzy22 Anytime you want to ski let me know! Always hitting pleasant and Saguaro!!