A different view

[swaterkd]

I don't even know how to start this, but here goes. Been skiing tournament for a long time. Been to nationals and qualify every year but haven't gone in a long time. I'm also on the promo team. There has been a lot of threads about building our sport and also the promo boat system. I feel like WE have to come at this from the other side, both on the building our sport and the promo boats, but I feel they are linked.

When I started skiing there where 2 tournament near me that were not AWSA and on public water. 50% of the skiers either never saw a course or the only time was during this tournament. The had about 100 people at the tournament. Also my first tournament was on open water. Pretty nice spot for wind and boats, but still had them. Now every tournament that I go to is in a private pond. I and all of us love skiing on a pond. Perfect water, no wind, warm and soft. Usually in the middle of a field but always with nobody watching except skiers and their family's. So if we want to build our sport we need to have events where the people are.

Next is the boats. I hear a lot of what are they going to do for us, but what are we doing for them? I did a factory tour last week. It was very cool and I loved it, but was very sad to hear how few "ski" boat are being made. They are mostly wake/surf boats. So what are we doing in our sport to support the manufactures and dealers. The biggest problem with the old Promo program was that it bypassed the dealers. All of us skiers would never go to a dealer to buy a boat, we would look for a promo boat to buy. Also we now do all of our tournaments on man made ponds with no spectators or TV coverage why would any of them want to have a promo boat there.

I have this place in my town that would be a good site for a tournament and there is a summer festival every July. I think about running a tournament there all the time, but I know all the skier will hate the current, backwash and wind, including me. The one tournament that does this is Moomba. That is what we need to do. Just my two cents.

 

[MISkier]

We had a non-tournament skier contact our board in Michigan to ask about hosting a 3-event tournament on his public lake. He remembers the heyday of water skiing and even competed some way back then. He’s willing to do some leg work and work on the financials of doing it. We are having one of our board members collaborate with him and visit the site this summer. I hope we can make it happen, just to bring it where more people are.

 

There will be challenges with permitting, especially the course. The lake itself may be conducive to reasonable conditions. It’s nothing that will happen this year, but I think it’s worth trying something - especially if the actual interest originated outside of our existing membership.

[BraceMaker]

The Malibu open when it was in MKE was also something cool. Better coordination to put in on during summerfest or a different festival with some promo tv spots and maybe food trucks you'd have a crowd.

Get that algae treated.

 

What other cities have a downtown body of protected water? Special access to use a wake boat?

 

 

[2Valve]

As much as I appreciate skiing on dedicated courses on ponds in near 100% conditions, I could never live on one. A private lake, with all it's diversity AND a slalom course just offers so much more IMHO.

[The_MS]

Prime sites in the MSP area

[bsmith]

@2Valve you meant to say "a public lake" rather than a private lake, right? And you said that because you like the diversity of activities that happen on a public lake versus the much more controlled activities that occur on a private lake. That's an interesting take on things, but I bet most of us would prefer to live on a private lake.

[Jody_Seal]

This is an interesting topic.

Lake David in Groveland Florida used to hold a big event called the superstars.

Public lake, easily controllable and already has structures in the water and shore.

I just wonder if public water tournaments could make a difference in the sports success or renaissance..

 

[mmosley899]

I agree that we need more events in public venues, the average person is never exposed to the sport any more. I am working on returning water skiing competitions to a State Park in the Birmingham area. Next year we will host the World Games event there. Hopefully more events will follow.

[DW]

Many years ago Michigan offered the following:

1. Night jump at a local park so everybody on the beach and in the water had a great view of a really interesting jump event - night and tight quarters

2. Malibu open on a public lake in conjunction with 'Quake on the Lake' - a hydroplane race event. Spectators able to watch from the beach area.

 

Those were pro events, not sure the average public cares whether top pros or a really entertaining ski show is the form of entertainment, either provide exposure to the sport.

[MISkier]

@DW, a few years ago, we also had a MasterCraft Pro event at Millennium Park in Grand Rapids. That same site also hosted the Meijer State Games. Great public venue, but the park would get concerned about not being able to rent out pedal boats for the day.

 

Here is a photo of the Pro event, with the park beach house in the background. The park has 5 lakes. I always thought it would be a great Northern Okeeheelee.

 

 

 

[2Valve]

@bsmith I was referring to my own private lake which is pretty diverse in terms of daily activity. Tubing, Wakeboarding, Wakesurfing, Fishing, Scuba, Parties in the bays each weekend.....

What's nice is that they're all your neighbors so everyone knows everyone, and most even stay away from the course early in the morning. :)

[floridagm]

@BraceMaker . Lake Ivanhoe. Lake Ivanhoe is in the shadow of downtown Orlando. One ramp that can be closed and no other access or resident docks. Thousands of residents within 1 mile. A city park along the edge of the lake for spectators and food trucks. A surveyed course along that shoreline that just needs buoys put back in, I thinks it a 4 ball.

[MattP]

Agreed that going to public water can help the efforts to grow, but don't you think that the large influx of wake and surf boats have driven us off of public water? I would be all in for a big lake ski tournament, but a rouge large roller would be unsafe in my opinion. Needs to be controllable.

 

I loved the Grand Rapids event and went there in the last year. I think we need to look for more sites like that. We have a similar site near Atlanta. The Malibu Open site was great.

 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8wsG5sBeav/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[lazzn]

The pro tour stopped in Madison, WI a couple times back in the 80s. Monona bay is protected from all directions of wind except one, and it has a park across the shore so it's a great spectator spot. (its also not used by wake/surf boats) There is no longer a course in the bay (theres one outside the bay though) but i'm told the anchors from the pro tour are still there. I would imagine getting permits from the city would be the biggest hurdle to hosting an event there.

[DW]

Unfortunately, we are all listing events in the past tense...

[Wish]

They used to have tournaments at the Central Florida Fairgounds back in early 90s on Lawne Lake. Just 12-15mn west of Downtown Orlando and very well known locally. Always events going on out there from gun shows to sports events to the actual fair taking place. Lots of room, parking, facilities, ramp, and long straight shore for viewing. Roll the dice on the weather but sorta that way with most venues. Could even run parallel slalom courses making it almost to easy to know who won what round for Joe public who never understands "line off"

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[Jody_Seal]

@DW yes that is correct yet how many of these old sites are still viable? Where are they located? Is it plausible to reinvent, reinstate or implement in today's time frame?

[liquid d]

Best site around Central Florida is in Altamonte Springs right beside I-4. Cranes Roost Park. We had a tour stop there for a few years. Combine it with an art festival and you've got tons of people seeing skiing. It could be a regular tournament or a pro style event; you'd get a ton of eyes on it. The City of Altamonte is very receptive to events, and even gave us an employee for the day to help set up one year.

Water conditions were not that bad either.

[Wish]

@liquid d I think that site has change dramatically in the last 20yrs. LOTs of sea walls now. Last event there was a junior event if I remember. Pretty bad conditions. And the city no longer allows events to take place on the water last I heard. Probobly has a lot to do with the new high rise of condos at waters edge and noise levels. But yes, in its day, the perfect site. .

[disland]

Idea, Flag tournaments that are on public water on the rankings list. Color code them red or something. end of the year crown public water ranking list champions and send out medals or something like that. It gets big enough you could have a public water division at Nationals, you cant enter unless you have 3 scores.

[swaterkd]

I’m not sure what pro said this but he said there should not be a world record. There should be a course record. So seawalls,wind and current should not matter we need to go where people can see the sport.

[BraceMaker]

@swaterkd - in that theory there is still clearly a world record, it would be the highest course record on file of any course record. Not a bad idea and some people do have an idea of what a record is at places like moomba or the masters.

 

The issue with a course record is that even a single course has variable conditions but there is always that bar to be crossed.

[UWSkier]

Have the organizers of Malibu thought of trying to get back to Milwaukee? How hard can it be to treat that algae anyways?

[BraceMaker]

@Wish not sure the head to head complexity sorts anything for an audience. If you are worried about that just drive a post into the ground with a ski rope laid out and a ball mocked up so people can play with it.

[Chad_Scott]

@UWSkier I check with Veterans Park Lagoon every year. They claim to not have a handle on the Algie. I would love to return

[UWSkier]

@Chad_Scott they were talking about installing some deep-rooted vegetation and some additional gutters to prevent phosphate-rich runoff from getting into the lagoon, but that costs $. Any thoughts on moving it earlier in the year? Believe the blooms aren't usually bad until the summer heat becomes a factor. Early June the water still probably in the mid 70s.

[Wish]

@BraceMaker that's a good idea and may have stopped a lot of the Joe public from walking away from the Orlando pro events. It could even be a smaller model on a vertical sign board where the rope (string) could be shortened with rope sections labeled. Of course that would just further prove how idiotic it is to announce the event in rope piled on the floor of the boat. Side by side courses; all they need to know is the rope is getting shorter and whoever misses or falls first lost. Simple. Almost as simple as jump. And looks badass wilh dual sprays heading down the lake. Chics dig big spray x2 ? . Finding a public venue for that would be tough but the Orlando area fairgrounds may work.

[Chad_Scott]

@UWSkier they aren’t willing to let us use it until they have the situation solved with the Algae. They haven’t entertained any option for us to return regardless of the date

[Luzz]

@MattP just to give a bit of context to the IG post you embedded, that was Mediterranean Games in Tarragona, Spain. In the middle of a port with walls :neutral:

We dropped to 34mph for men and 32mph for women for security reasons, and it was still super dangerous. I guess what I am trying to say is that "there's public water, and there's public water".

 

@MISkier I absolutely loved that event at Grand Rapids!!

[MattP]

@Luzz oh I know. Just making a bit of a point. ? but agreed there is open water and there is open water.