Along the same lines as what @Jody_Seal said above:
I've never been to a tournament, even as a spectator, so these may seem like dumb questions, but here goes...
1. Why does a brand new $60-80,000 promo boat need to be present to pull an event?
2. Would a 10-15 year old boat not work or is it because everyone is accustomed to ZO boats?
3. If everyone is skiing behind the same 2001 or whatever Ski Nautique with PP, is it not just as fair as if they were behind a 2014 Prostar with ZO?
4. Do boat manufacturers and speed control companies front most of the money to put these events on?
5. Who will be the first put $$$ into a cable tow system on their ski lake instead of buying a new boat?
Pardon my ignorance as I am new to this aspect of waterskiing, but these are the questions someone on the outside might have.
Tradition may need to relax a bit if we want to grow the sport or at least bring some visibility to it. Maybe "tricking" becomes wakeboarding at some events. Maybe the first ski lake with a cable system charges $25/hr and has to start taking reservations to keep it from getting too crowded. Maybe we come up with some new events in addition to slalom, jumping, and tricking.
I understand that we can't alienate the companies who are bringing us technology to advance the sport, but it seems that as the cost of boats and equipment increases, participation and number of tournaments decreases. The strict adherence to the old, old, old 3-event setup is hindering the sport as well and keeping it locked down into small communities of people who live on narrow 2,000 ft long lakes. Most people outside of these communities (who haven't found BoS) have no idea that tournaments exist, and that they could practice, develop skills, and eventually compete if there were places to do so. That might be exactly what many people actually want, but the sport will die if it can't adapt.