Breaking News - Regina is out of the Masters

[Horton]

I am sad to report that Regina has a torn ACL and will not be at the Masters. I have no further details.

[DonT]

oh man, that really sucks for her. I was looking forward to the fight for the podium.

[ral]

Bad news. Crappy injury, 6 months out after surgery…

[ski6jones]

Terrible news, sorry to hear it. Does this mean someone else will get to ski? If so, who?

[lpskier]

Well, that changes the equation, both Masters and Worlds.

[coach3]

Regina is an amazing athlete and her presence will be missed. How did she do it? Jump practice?

 

[Andre]

https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Water-Ski/News/2021/May/27/Jaquess-Suffers-ACL-Injury?fbclid=IwAR3Qk5lcuhM9IWOoW7Kb96Wn9qG2T0yPnsh2ntOt-rX0713B8_srsGG9Jhc

[kmenard]

Expects to be out 3 months...if anyone can it's her

[slow]

ACL replacement takes 6-9 months for the tendon to regrow as a ligament if she snapped it completely. It’s the weakest at 3 months.

[LLUSA]

She’s out of surgery and will be going home tonight

[Horton]

been there done that. it sucks.

[lhoover]

I was thinking about starting a thread AFTER The Masters (so as not to jinx her) about why in the ever loving world would the greatest female slalom skier of all time risk it all by jumping competitively? WHY???

 

Every time Regina straps on her slalom ski in a tournament she is odds-on favorite to not only win, but also possibly break her own world record. Why, then, would she strap on 2 seven foot long boards, approach a 5ft., icy slick incline at nearly 55mph, and expect for everything to just be peachy? WHY???

 

I get the love of jumping, I really do. But Heaven knows, all of us are ex-jumpers, and for a reason. Jumpers own their own set of crutches, don't you know. And there is a reason that professional athletes in team sports sign contracts that prohibit engaging in any other activity except tv watching.

 

Regina is a former World Champion in tricks, for crying out loud. What about tricks, Regina? You know, a single, 4ft board at 15mph. Good Grief, I'm just sick at my stomach reading this article. Sick.

 

Best to you, Regina, and it has been a wonderful ride. Thanks for the memories as I just can't see her ever winning another slalom tournament. Competitive? Perhaps. I hope I'm wrong.

[slow]

ACL surgery can provide 100% recovery. She will be back and dominant as ever.

[Broussard]

Why, then, would she strap on 2 seven foot long boards, approach a 5ft., icy slick incline at nearly 55mph, and expect for everything to just be peachy? WHY???

The ramp is 5.5' for Open Women

Jumpers own their own set of crutches

I have actually never been on a set of crutches, nor do I own a pair.

Regina is a former World Champion in tricks, for crying out loud. What about tricks, Regina? You know, a single, 4ft board at 15mph. Good Grief, I'm just sick at my stomach reading this article. Sick

There is this thing called Overall - considered the paramount event in water skiing. Don't forget that Regina has set 4 overall World Records and has won 5 World Overall titles.

[Horton]

@Broussard as an ex-jumper and old slalom skier, I have owned many sets of crutches.

[LLUSA]

I know he’d as well as anybody, she will be back stronger and better. It’s five months to the Worlds, a 65% Regina will beat most anyone

[dvskier]

As others have stated Regina is a 3 event skier and that alone sets her apart from all of her competitors at her age. Sure there are younger 3 eve terms but Regina has consistently performed at the highest levels.

Also taking a page from alpine skiing many racers have come back from ACL surgery with excellent results. The key is a great surgeon and dedication to rehab. Regina can do it but maybe not in time for the Malibu Open or Worlds.

[klindy]

Gee @lhoover you sure take a dark view of things. Perhaps you don’t get the passion of an overall skier. You’re right she’s the odds on favorite to win slalom in any tournament she enters. She was the favorite in jump in jump this year too.

[matthewbrown]

@lhoover I tend to agree with your assessment. If all she did was ski, and she didn’t have to run a business as well, I’d say go for all 3. But when half your time is at work, it’s hard to then do it all on the water in 3 separate events without upping your risk of injury substantially. That being said I can’t blame her as she’s always trying to be the best she can be, but even wonder woman has her limits. Wishing her a speedy recovery, if anyone can do it she can.

[APB]

Wow that is sad to hear. I wish her a speedy recovery and looking forward to seeing the women’s field shine this weekend. Let’s go Jamie Bull!!! ??

[75Tique]

Hate for her that this happened. Hate it for me as she is so much fun to watch, she is such a competitor. That and her 1/4 speed youtube video is my go to video whenever I need inspiration.

 

[JackQ]

Like Horton, I was former jumper with what I though was a required set of crutches. I still have scars from a lost battle with the side curtain, but that is a long story. I do say if you learn to jump properly your much less likely to get hurt, unfortunately I did not.

[MickeyThompson]

She has one of the best if not the best doctors in the world. Great determination and a second to none work ethic. She will be back as strong as ever.

[UWSkier]

How many times did Lindsay Vonn have her knees rebuilt and still dominate? Reg will be back. Slalom is not all that hard on the ACL. I could see her on slalom in a few months for sure. Jump otoh...

[aupatking]

Like a bunch of people have said, she is a dedicated 3-eventer. The best. She’s also the best slalom skier the world has seen. I’m praying for her and her full recovery. She’s an awesome person too.

It changes the entire complexion of women’s slalom this year.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

@lhoover "why in the ever loving world would the greatest female slalom skier of all time risk it all by jumping competitively? WHY???"

 

Did you stop to think for one second that she is also one of the greatest female jumpers of all time? Not to mention overall. Kinda hard to get to that level if you don't hit the ramp from time to time.

 

You also said ",,...professional athletes in team sports sign contracts that prohibit engaging in any other activity except tv watching" Huh? That is a highly dubious claim on its face and the last time I checked, waterskiing is not a team sport and the "professional" waterskiers "contracts" are lucky to get a free ski and some travel money.

 

Elite level athletes in almost all sports have higher risk of injury than those of you that stay in bed and hide from the boogeyman.

 

To be polite, your post goes way beyond a triple panda.

[matthewbrown]

@Bruce_Butterfield I think a good point to take into consideration is that if she was 27, and had no job but to ski everyday and she was at her current level, then by all means go balls out. Plenty of time to recover from the unknowns. The tide changes as we age and availability becomes our greatest asset. So, now you have an athlete well beyond the optimum durability age of 27 so the question is how does she tweak her training to minimize her risk? If she is doing that already and she still blew an acl out while jumping, which although great still pales in comparison to her extreme slalom prowess, then a second look at the gameplan would definitely be warranted. If she is not doing those things to mitigate risk then maybe some changes should be made.

 

If she wasn’t on the precipice of being untouchable in slalom, this wouldn’t be a big deal. She is well on course to run 41 and get something at 43 which would be akin to jumping 200’ which she will never do. Something at 43 is right with the best 34mph men. I don’t have all the answers and I know to be great you have to redline it a lot, but there also comes a time for reflection. Maybe I’m selfish because I want to see the big slalom score, but it is her life and I’m sure she’s doing exactly what she wants to do. Again, I wish her a speedy recovery.

[Stevie Boy]

Record Holder Jason Seels, has got a really dodgy knee, that bad he has been told not to jump, but he still is a strong contender in his age group, when he prepares for a event , he doesn,t go over the jump, he just practices the cut and approach, to get the timing and position into the ramp correct.

 

I wish Regina a swift recovery

 

[rockdog]

Like it @matthewbrown . This should be 12 months ordinarily for an athlete, if she comes back earlier in say 4 or so to make worlds etc she'll be taking a huge risk.

[chrislandy]

@matthewbrown Regina is an overall skier, not just slalom, it just happens she is one of the best slalom skiers AND best jumpers in the country/world. I'm sure the jumpers will be asking why she practices slalom so much rather than jump.

 

Modern approach to jump practice by the looks of it is very much setup & approach practice rather than hitting the jump each time - but you still need to hit the ramp every so often!

 

WRT 200ft, no female has done 200 in a comp yet, the world record is 197' 10" off a 5'5" ramp! And to be fair, she's not that far off circa 180ft. It wasn't long ago that the men, off a 6ft ramp were jumping similar distances.

[6balls]

Of interest many female athletes I've taken care of tear one ACL, the other is not far behind. Women often tend to have a little more laxity in the ACL so it snaps a little more to engage--not true for all but true for many. A word of caution that I never would have listened to at her age.

I'm sure she will rehab as fast as one could, hope her doc keeps the reigns on her long enough.

[lpskier]

@dvskier Seems like Whitney might jump and trick on occasion.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

@matthewbrown I fully agree a little more caution is appropriate for an aging athlete with a day job.

 

My comment was objecting to the over the top handwringing of the prior poster and the fact that you will never eliminate risk of injury at any level of sport let alone world class level. How many slalom skiers have been injured at the intermediate and national amateur level? Injury is a fact of life - we can be smart and try to minimize it but it’s a fool’s errand to completely eliminate it.

[Keith_Menard]

It is going to be interesting to see if it changes the mentality of the other skiers going into the event.

[dvskier]

@lpskier For sure Whit is (or certainly was a 3 eventer). Not sure if she’ll continue jumping. I seem to recall Regina jumping 189 feet recently. She would likely have taken first place in jump if the accident hadn’t occurred. I’m confident Regina will fully recover, no one can out work her and she is driven for success.

[The_MS]

Best of luck Reggie

Prayers are out for successful recovery

[robmollysilverlake]

So sad to hear this news, hope she can recover quickly!! Love watching Regina ski!!!

[buechsr]

What a bummer.

 

My young'ns were sad to hear this. Regina has never been anything but gracious, encouraging, and nice as can be to them. While this is a setback, Karma will hopefully speed her recovery.

 

[RazorRoss3]

Sadly nothing can change tendon recovery time. 9 months to full tendon strength can’t be sped up. I’m at 12 months right now, can ski at full intensity but wouldn’t have dreamed of it at 9 and you couldn’t have paid me to try at 6. My docs told me I was ahead of the curve in strength every step of the way, it’s just a long road.

[Zman]

61-1/2 years old when my ACL surgery was done. Worked hard with a Physical Therapist that rehabs local HS and college athletes with similar injuries. Passed a series of Biodex isokinetic muscle tests at 6 months. Skied a week later, first tourny a few weeks after that.

Regina, although competing at a MUCH higher level, will crush my timeline.

But, as noted by @RazorRoss3 and others, the body mechanisms for rebuilding a tendon graft from elsewhere in the leg into a strong ACL is 9 to 12 months. Big key for return to skiing is strong muscles all around the knee, which Regina already has, and will quickly rebuild in her rehab.

Best wishes for a quick and full recovery, Regina!

[matthewbrown]

If it’s her left knee, the recovery timeline will be longer than if it would have been her right knee.

[bsmith]

@matthewbrown Regina is a RFF skier. I would have guessed that a RFF skier would take a bit longer to rehab a right knee since skiing puts more stress on the forward leg. Why do you think rehabbing her left knee would take longer?

[ral]

ACL recovery critical path for a high level athlete is not rehab/regaining strength. Cellular replacement in the grafted tissue is.

[matthewbrown]

@bsmith the back knee bends so much more than the front knee, it’s the range of bending that will be the weak point. Front leg being straighter will under less stress.

[The_MS]

From my experience with the graft, @ral is spot on

[ral]

@matthewbrown , ACL does not work at all or get any stress when bending the knee.

[Nando]

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is whether it’s a partial or full tear. Recovery from a partial tear is much different. At least mine wasn’t bad compared to my ski partner at the time who had a full tear at the same tournament where I partially tore mine.

[6balls]

@nando if the ACL is replaced it's replaced--if they did so on partial or complete purposes it's the same, and as some who post above mention...no amount of dedicated rehab speeds the cellular healing with the grafted ACL--it has it's own timeline and blood supply is not great.

 

Rehab is great--stay in shape using exercises that don't strain the graft but allow for leg strength/cardio etc when cleared for hose activities...then when the graft heals fully you can get busy more quickly.

 

@RazorRoss3 is not a world record holder--but a driven, high-level athlete. I'm sure he did the rehab right on his ACL, followed the doc's recommendations, and probably went to some degree above and beyond.

 

In the end I'm sure Regina has the best doctors who work regularly with high level athletes who--like most--want back in the game as soon as possible--but their job is also to temper expectations and make sure that all turns out well in the end based on their expertise in field.

 

When she comes back is between she and her doc, and my guess is she has a very good one. Unless we are in the room for their conversations--the return timing is speculative on our parts.

[matthewbrown]

@ral great point. I should have clarified and said that because the back knee bends and twists much more than the front knee, at a lot higher load, especially in a high wrap boot which limits heel movement, it will require more attention.

[gschorr]

I'm relatively new to this forum. I'm not new to skiing and definitely not new to injury. From a few of the posts, it sounds like many of you are in the same place as me.

 

Why does that matter? Because this thread should be NOTHING more than people wishing an elite athlete a speedy and full recovery (and good on you for those that did just that).

 

If this was a post asking for a bunch of people's (men's?) opinion on how long it would take to recover, or if she should be jumping given her dominance in slalom, some of the posts might be relevant. However, that's not what this post was/is (thanks @Horton for sharing).

 

So the comments pontificating on how long it takes to recover are not helpful to an athlete trying to recover. My recovery (and yours) from ACL surgery means nothing compared to hers--everyone is different, every tear is different, every repair is different, and every rehab is different. As for if she should be jumping? Don't you think (and the evidence of her career, both on water and off, clearly suggests) she's considered all these factors? Are you really in a better position to question her choices?

 

Regina, if you read these, I wish you a speedy and full recovery. Ignore all the antidotes about how long it will take you to recover, and what you have/should be doing with your career choices. You're an inspiration, an incredible athlete, and I have no doubt you'll come back stronger having learned whatever lessons you feel are important from this.