Mini course buoys

[MNshortliner]

How far out are the buoys in the mini course.

[klindy]

This is copied directly from the AWSA rule book —

 

A. Mini course buoys, preferably green in color, are to be placed by the LOC at approximately 8.5 meters from center-line of the slalom course. However, there is NO required measurement or specified tolerance. NOTE: The slalom course for the disabled is 6.4m from center-line.

 

Essentially the collegiate course is at 8.5m and the adaptive is at 6.4m. So when we added the mini course to the AWSA rules the idea was to make sure it wasn’t too restrictive (depending if you wanted the course for collegiate or adaptive) and we didn’t want to require the buoys to be surveyed (which isn’t an issue since they are never used in a E/L/R tournament).

[Andre]

I would say put them where you need them to be so that beginners can run a complete course.Move them outward as needed when it become too easy.

[daryl]

mine are individually anchored, we just drove down the lake with the regular turning buoy on the other side of the boat, and dropped them in on the inside. So they end up a little more than the width of the boat narrow. Seems to work pretty well for our kids. Absolutely NOT super accurate.

[MNshortliner]

Thanks for the suggestions. Right now I have them half way out from the boat guide to the turn buoy. My 9 year old son is starting to run the course and that seems to be a good distance out for now.

[skihacker]

According to the insta slalom site usually 10 feet inside the regular turn buoys

[escmanaze]

@klindy Thanks tons for the authoritative response.

[The_MS]

INT is 13 feet from orange

[jcamp]

I think adding a mini-buoy course scoring option is one of the best rule changes AWSA has made in years.

[escmanaze]

@jcamp Wait, what? You can actually go to a tournament and get a score for running mini buoys? Serious?

 

[klindy]

@escmanaze ... sort of ...

 

13.04 Mini Course:

At the option of the LOC in Class C tournaments and below, skiers may choose to ski mini course buoys:

 

A. Mini course buoys, preferably green in color, are to be placed by the LOC at approximately 8.5 meters from center-line of the slalom course. However, there is NO required measurement or specified tolerance. NOTE: The slalom course for the disabled is 6.4m from center-line.

 

B. Each mini course buoy is scored as 1/2 point. To get credit, the skier must go through the entry gates, around the mini course buoy and then cross the boat guide line closest to the buoy. No partial credit is awarded for mini course buoys.

 

C. A mixture of mini course buoys and full course buoys can be used to attain a score. The mixture must be of consecutive buoys. Once a buoy is missed (either mini and/or regular) no more buoys are counted in the scoring of that pass.

 

D. Mini course scoring will only be used on the first pass in Class C.

 

E. A skier must make 6 full buoys to get a second pass in Class C.

 

Elsewhere in rule 3.06 it states ----

 

..."A class F (Grass Roots) score above zero may be included in the Ranking calculations if it does not exceed the Level 5 Cut-Off Average from the previous Ski Year Rankings. Those class F scores which “exceed” the Level 5 Cut-Off Average from the previous Ski Year Rankings may be included but the score will be reduced to equal the Level 5 Cut Off Average for the purposes of inclusion in the Rankings calculations."

 

So what that means is you can use (and score) the mini-course buoys in a class F or class C tournament. They are credited for 1/2 a point and, in a class C, are limited to only the first pass. So you can score a max of 3 buoys if you ONLY ski the mini-course. Likewise, if you are skiing the outer/full-width buoys in a class F tournament or event your score will count up to the level-5 cut-off in the ranking list for your age division.

 

These were added over the past several years to allow for more ways for beginners to get involved and generate a score.

[escmanaze]

@klindy That's cool!!! Can we check to see if I've understood it right?

 

So we find a class C tournament that has decided to go for this option. My son goes out and on his first pass, he gets all 6 green buoys, including gates, at 17.4 mph. Normally that would be 12 ZBS points, so instead he gets 6. then, on his next pass, could he stay at 17.4 and just go for orange buoys? Let's say he gets two of them, so then his overall tournament score would be 8? Did I understand that right? And could he even choose that path?

 

thanks

[MattP]

@escmanaze

In a Class C the mini (green) buoys are awarded 1/2 points. Rounding all 6 will equal a total score of 3 buoys to be put into the scoring system. Rounding 5 red and 1 green will be a score of 5.5 buoys. The skier needs a total score of 6 in a class C to return through the course. If a skier has elected to ski class F/Grassroots the sponsoring club can at their discretion guarantee 4+ passes.The sponsoring club can keep a paper score and do with it what they want for awards. (Note: Class F Scores can not be used for placement in a class C tournament i.e State Championships.)

 

This is my understanding about class F from talking with other scorers this summer.

A class F skier in a class C tournament should be skied as follows: The first pass can be anything they want (mini or full). This pass is just written down on paper. The second pass must be in the full course and the skier must get 6 buoys in order to continue skiing. However, only this pass is scored in the scorebook. No more is scored no matter how many more passes they get. This keeps the skier from never attaining more than a level 5 ranking.

[jcamp]

@escmanaze Any skier using any combination of mini course buoys cannot exceed 5.5 buoys (5 full buoys, 1 mini buoy) for a score, ever. Running a full pass that includes mini buoys does not give you credit for lower speeds/line lengths, such as in your 17.4mph example. And as mentioned above, when a skier elects to use a mini course buoy, they forfeit any continuation (second pass).

 

[RAWSki]

We originally placed our mini course about halfway between the gate ball and turn ball. It seemed too easy for skiers and didn't really get them into the "swing" of turning and crossing the wakes with any urgency. We now have them 8' inside the turn buoy. (this was the location recommended by Wally skier courses.). They look almost like boat red and green guides but work well for getting new skiers used to the course and they soon start go from just making the mini to shadowing the reds.

[escmanaze]

Thanks guys for the help. I appreciate it.