Spencer_Shultz

@BraceMaker yes.

Fellow waterski enthusiasts, I’m trying to find the noise level of a 2016 SN 200 5.7L. Would anyone happen to have that info? You’ll see why I need it in a few months hopefully! Thanks, Spencer

Just took my first set on the Ion (red). I wasn’t expecting much because one, it’s a new ski and two,I haven’t been on the water for almost 3 weeks. I went out at 22off 36mph. Immediately I’m like this ski feels to good, it’ll suck at 32 and 35. Couldn’t have been more wrong. Stroke 35 and run 3.5@38 off the dock. Give 38 another shot and get around 5 ball. Best performance ever in practice. I’m coming off a 2019 Evo. What blew me away was how the ski just keeps moving towards the centerline. First 38, I thought I was going to blow the tail out at 2 ball. Second 38, thought I was done at 3 ball. But the ski just gripped and kept going. Old ski hesitated some when finishing the turn. It also took awhile to fine tune how it reacted in the pre turn in regards to deceleration. I’m riding a 67 and I’ve got my boots at 29.5625. Fin is at 6.949 length, 2.476 depth and 0.747 DFT. Wing at 8.5.

@papp101 if you can make it happen, going to a ski school for some coaching would be huge. If you start with the right fundamentals now, you’ll get to where you want to be faster.

@Horton This thread is fine. I just wish the “AWSA South” Instagram account had used some different wording. Myself and many other people in south Florida lost a friend yesterday. ?

@Jody_Seal I genuinely share in your grief. My own Father broke his arm in a ski handle. I’ve now lost a friend because of a ski handle. I have a net in my handle. Is it enough to stop me from going through it. I don’t know. I pray that at the very minimum it stops my head. ? As much as I want our leadership to mandate a handle safety mechanism in the tournament realm, they never will.

George was definitely a special one. I met him about three years ago when I moved to Port Saint Lucie. He was one of my ski buddies. Pulled me into 38off on Wednesday. Helped me adjust buoys that morning. I will miss his dock talk, fun loving nature and overall outlook on life. If you guys don’t have a handle guard, please get one. I was just telling George about mine on Wednesday. I was just to late ?

@Spineofgoo @Horton So 20% of your summertime average traffic wouldn’t support a pro ski circuit for the yearly price of a new Masterline rope and handle? Not buying it. They are interested in skiing or they wouldn’t be here.

PPV events are the future of sports. MLB network, NFL Sunday Ticket and especially MMA and professional boxing (how many PPV buys did McGregor and Mayweather have?) I pay $6.99 a month for Disney Plus, I also have Netflix and YouTube TV. If some waterski broadcasting site said, “hey Spencer, we will give you 2 pro events each month from April until October for $20 a month for 12 months,” I would be all in. If we could have 1,000 subscribers that’s $240k for a 14 tournament circuit. The industry is already footing the bill on the events that we have. The skiers are the ones supplying the prize purse. For us as enthusiasts, if we can step up to the table, and turn these events into reality, we could give pro skiing the platform it so deserves.

I’m at risk for another panda, but at this point, I really don’t care ? Some of you might not know this, but people are actually making money streaming from a website called Twitch. It’s mostly people playing video games, but regardless, cash is changing hands. One thing I’d love to see in 2020 is a Swiss Pro style tournament utilize Twitch and allow people to throw money into the tournament winnings pot. 500 people throw in $20 each and you’ve got 10k. You split that between the top 3 male and female skiers and you just helped somebody pay a mortgage and you got to watch some incredible skiing for your contribution. Another idea is a 50/50 raffle. Now this would be a tough one, because a raffle is technically a form of gambling. But what if some lucky fan walked away with half of the pot and the other half of the pot went towards the prize purse. Just some ideas...

@Horton I’m honored ?

If you guys want money in skiing, start a brand that not only targets skiers but the general public. Hurley is a surfing company. But I’d guess that 80% of their profits come from people that don’t even own a surfboard. And have you seen the money that those guys dump into surfing?!? A major surf event might have a few hundred spectators, but the payout for the athletes is crazy high!

I skied at Okeeheelee this weekend. So I can’t say I miss Summer because the water temp was 68. Here is a pic of @FWinter though. I guess he did something exciting.

I like 28 because the whip side to side isn’t fast enough to be a complete blur. I enjoy breaking down skiing into zones and actually feeling my movements!

I for one, hate not having the INT League. It was how I got hooked on tournament skiing. On a positive note though, I just got back from a super fun tournament at Austin Abel's ski school. It was called "PB & Fun". You basically had 4 passes and if you fell on any of them, you got a mulligan. If you ran your last pass, you came back at a shorter rope length or faster speed. Just a super inviting tournament that anyone at any level could enjoy. Very INTesque. The real highlight for me was the "wide ride" portion of the event. ZO is set at 30.4 mph and you ride a little bit wider ski. Austin actually did a cash prize for the open division. I didn't compete for any of the cash, but I skied twice and was just inside of 6 ball at 39 a couple of times! Had a huge smile on my face the entire time!

Strictly my opinion, but this sport isn’t capable of supporting 100k boats year in and year out, if the only thing a “good” ski boat needs is ZO. Yes, we have promo owners. But those people and the dealers taking over those boats have to sell them. And as the prices climb, that’s going to be more and more difficult. Especially outside of Florida where boat use is limited to a shorter period of time. If I’m a prospective buyer the only thing that’s going to get me into a new boat is bling. And if that’s your thing, fine. The used market needs you. But to what I feel like is the majority of skiers, the only thing that matters is the pull and the wakes. And if that’s the case, convincing someone that they need the latest model year vs. a “insert 2008 or newer model here” is going to be tough imho. The same is true for wakeboarding/surf boats, just on an even higher scale. Everything has gone to creature comforts while performance has basically hit a plateau. You can only strap so much crap to the back of a boat.