TravisNW

Wally burr

Personally skiing three events I don't take any practice rounds and feel I get enough skiing, maybe more people should indulge in other events aside from just slalom. Also volunteering and participating as an official increases engagement at events and improves the overall experience for everyone while adding value to your time. In Boise the night jump was awesome, and so was the regional team competition, this is an important piece of the social aspect. Competition is great but there's a lot more going on at a ski tournament, the selfish me attitude that's only concerned with your own run and winning adds stress and takes away from your surroundings and the fact that these events bring other likeminded people to the same place and that overall the event is something greater than yourself is gold. Don't get me wrong I love to win but there's a lot to miss if your overly fixated on it. The event itself should be celebrated as should all the people, there's way more non winning skiers than winning skiers and the 'if your not first your last' attitude can cause an entire trip to turn south real fast. Fixating on the individual aspect takes away from the the sport and the social/ humanitarian aspect of our Is what should really be treasured.

I Ski and my girlfriend doesn't but she helps out at tournaments and has become a rated scorer. Two things come from this, first off we aren't married but have been together for 7 years, our generation just doesn't look at marriage the same way but our relationship is just as meaningful and from this organization there is no membership option we both have to get an individual membership. Secondly she has to pay the full price and doesn't even compete. In fact an active individual membership is required for her to judge therefore she has to pay in order to help us run our tournaments! I think this should be up for review, I know there are others in similar situations.

With ski season quickly approaching in the northwest it's time for some drysuit seal repairs. Ive done it a few times in the past, and I will call the results functional by utilitarian standards but not pretty. I'm curious to hear your methods for doing an A+ seal repair.

I have always wondered the best way to drive. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Firstly I noticed that the reference point for center course is dramatically different. Driving nautique I practically feel like I'm riding center course whereas MC I feel like I'm sitting right on top of the right gate ball. Second I feel like the time to make adjustments is when the skier is hooked up and favorably when they are approaching the wakes. Lastly I am unsure whether it's better to be proactive and lead the skier as @Chad_Scott put it (I know your an amazing driver) or to be more reactive and save it for after the hook, maybe that's dependent on the ability level and consistency level of the skier.

Ouch, probably be okay but yeah slow to heal but shouldn't have much if any impact on skiing. Use a foam roller across your chest work towards various sized balls starting larger (softball size) then working to smaller (lacrosse ball sized). Maybe even a focused deep tissue massage. It will take a while. Avoid bar to chest incline and even flat bench press if you lift weights. Good luck. Remember it's your injury don't be afraid to explore what exactly hurts it, movements pressure etc. it's better to know limitations first hand plus Its valuable to the body to understand and to be aware.

Haha fazers! Old school wakeboard technology, theorized to reduce impact during landings. If you wear shoes with shocks or air cushions these are a must! Not sure they actually help but they should not hurt either. Pretty cool really ride it!

@dbutcher I have looked at 10.08, and the third option Looks promising. It also says to refer to iwwf rules which of course I can and will look up but I'm more curious if anyone has experience using configuration 2 or 3. For the regionals nationals and r capability tournaments I have attended and judged I've only seen configuration 1.

@LeonL we have 18 owners at the lake with 15 houses. I haven't run the idea by anyone yet but considering the fact that only 1/4 of the owners ski and even less than that ski tournaments I believe it's the most viable option. But an attractive tower like the one drew posted would be amazing. The other factor is a permanent structure would end up in someone's yard. Fortunately Houses are on one side of the like. Ultimately I would like to be able to host L and R tournaments which leads me to another question, with the right combination of towers on the same side of the lake and camera is this feasible.

Hey all, looking forward to the 2017 ski season and I'm interested in constructing some judging towers for our lake. Anyone with experience constructing these and maybe even have plans they would like to share? Mostly looking for something simple that I can put up and take down would be ideal.

Awesome, great responses! Sounds like skiing in general is great motivation to stay in shape. @jjackkrash I'm a little guy @ 150lb. I am stronger in my pulls than squats. I like the big six but I also enjoy the family of cleans and snatches, with most all thingsbad reps, I've been a trainer For 8 years I don't compete in lifting just use it to help skiing and to prevent boredom. @lpskier I would love to be able to just snowski and rock climb like JB but unfortunately the day job gets in the way of that.... @skibug I think TRX is great, I love combos of exercises and the constant engagement of core. @skifan crossfit is fun, great community and I think your right the nature of the metcon work does wonders for sustaining strength through a pass and then again from pass to pass and set to set. @ktm300 I think your spot on about how excessive pulling strength becomes counter productive, a strong core and perceptive/reactive/efficient approach equals big buoy count. Ever try to teach a really strong dude to get up and just fail miserably then his tiny girlfriend just pops right up

Sharing of a rant and observation from my perspective. Every off-season I partake in training with the goal to keep in shape for skiing, prevent injury, and hopefully improve my buoy count. This has been going on now for 15ish years and throughout that time I've had mixed results. It's funny you can really work on something, for example strength through weight training, And it helps to a point but Somewhere along the line you achieve max results that transfer and the rest just makes you better at the training method and no longer helps skiing maybe even hindering. Skiing and sports are complex and most formal exercise is rudimentary. Movements such as squats or deadlifts are imperative to understand and be proficient at but endless cycles only benefit to a point. it's as if the basic motor patterns overdrive the inate reflexes we develop within our sport through practice. Genetically I think we respond differently to the same things so for some weight training is best others cardio and others yoga for example so I think there is no best training program for everyone. For me I respond best to some trail running and a variety of exercises but I think mostly an offseason where I learn something new and identify and challenge a weakness. Skiing is precision, balance and reaction. acquiring a leverage position upon completion of the turn and resisting the forces of the boat for acceleration all the while staying submax in order to stay in control allows you to manage and navigate the course. Essentially we connect the dots get in a good position and hold the force while we make adjustments to set up the next set of events. I realized last year that doing tons of reps and developing lots of power as is the objective for so many other sports isn't conducive for skiing. In response I've been focusing on holds using parallettes as in gymnastics, it made me realize a major weakness in core strength and flexibility. I can deadlift 3x body weight but a 20 second L-sit was very difficult. Additionally I've been spending some time bouldering at a climbing gym, again it's core strength, holds, problem solving and transfer of energy. We'll see what next year has in store.

Looks good, but as I mentioned earlier the settings to try are the ones formerly mentioned. It has been said that the focus is actually on tail slide, as it is believed to be an important factor for running the shorter line passes. The testers and by testers I mostly mean the tester whom I'm sure you could guess has been running shallow long settings as a constant from ski to ski throughout the development of HO from VTR on. The ski worked for me at 34 with typical shorter deeper settings or near stock settings but it definitely wasn't coming back to the wakes without some work at 36. It was like a boomerang that wouldn't come back. The increased length gave the ski a subtle bite throughout the turn and you know this ski was designed to run passes. Gate needs work, get that turn initiated and over with, its so long and slow that your not getting max direction and space into one. Just my two cents.

Loving the super long shallow fin set up that I never thought I would love. I was having trouble on the vtr I felt like it didnt want to come back to the wakes at the finish of the turn and instead would run down the course making it feel really fast. After changing to these settings this will definitely be my ride for regionals and nationals. Magic numbers for my 66" 6.990 2.470 .735 measured with calipers from tail to wherever it makes contact on the rear bevel. On a longer ski you might try forward more to .750 Wing 8 though I'm thinking of dropping to 7 or 6 Bindings stock

I like to keep the handle level during backwrap and reverse, for me it helps stay consistent and on axis and provides better control with edging. Also during most tricks keeping it level for the initial stage of a rotation or flip helps with handle pass consistency and it really carries the load thats been generated through the wake and up into the invert. Tie a line to a tree or post, something solid and do dry land practice.

The correct score is 6 no continuation regardless of before or after the gates, the skier failed to complete the pass since he didn't ski away from 10.75. The score 6 @ 11.25 is correct so really the system worked. You can't consider this running the pass, being in a stance on the ski and being on the ski in skiing position ie (towed by the boat) are two different things. In one case you go to the next pass, the other your swimming. The rules used to be that in order to get a full buoy at any point through the course you just had to make it back to the wake or nearest boat guide but that was changed to the current standard in consideration of safety. Opting up is great, it brings excitement to the sport and allows for strategy as a skier, its a gamble that can save energy and provide a conditions advantage. In order to win this bet needs to be completed fair and square.

Thanks @LeonL that helps a lot, exactly what I was looking for. @Chef23 that is exactly the reason I would like to have a handle measurement device, local tournaments should allow skiers the opportunity to see if their training is working and their equipment meets the tournament standards.

I run a few tournaments a year and I want to make a device to measure tournament handles. I've seen a few different designs and I'm wondering what you think is best. Links, pictures, plans, feedback, etc is all valued.

Good feedback, Thanks!

Just wanted to hear from others regarding experience with different camera mounting systems. All feedback is appreciated ex. how smooth is the system, does it pan with the skier effectively, how much does slack line effect the footage, does it need to be removed in order to shorten the rope, does it work with jump and trick etc..

Eric I was just explaining the influence of water depth to someone earlier today your absolutely right there are so many factors. I believe Broadside Harbor is rather deep 30+? Also rumor has it lake two is deeper on one end than the other, true? I believe there is an optimum body position, The further from this a person deviates The more variables are present and the more factors such as these matter. If a person has very consistent timing and reflexes, has optimum body position, leverage and balance than these factors don't really effect the end result. Certain elements matter to make it further and further down the line these we may consider as skills. Technique is possibly just refinements of these skills. You can't substitute time on the water, and atheletes need to understand how to be mentally prepared. This stuff is great to turn gears and develop products or new theories but it can definitely effect performances negatively when handled improperly. Just have fun.

As the water gets warmer the viscosity goes down, the result is the ski sits a little deeper it makes things seem slower but remember the molecules don't have as strong of an attraction providing less support as a seemingly solid surface at speed. This less supportive surface with warmer water makes the attitude of the ski more reactive therefore your movements on the ski may be more dramatic. More pressure on the back foot and the tip will rise more, more pressure on the front foot and the tip goes down more. For fin setup I tend to run the fin a little longer and a little shallower in cold water the depth adjust allows the ski to slide in the denser water and the increased length helps the ski initiate the turn and drag some speed off. I keep dft, wing angle and binding placement the same. I know that @AdamCord has the exact science down and so it seems many others do also but remember you can't substitute skill and determination.

thanks @klindy !!!

I wonder if competing in Moomba means he will not compete in Big Dawg? Though I believe he competed last year and still skied big dawg which makes the rule regarding 36mph open rated skiers and there eneligibiliy to ski big dawg for two years unclear to me.