ScarletArrow

That's a real bummer. There's no good time to get injured, but it seems to hurt worse when it happens right when you feel like you're peaking. Not that anything can totally prevent injuries, but do you do any in-season or off-season conditioning or workouts? You'll get 101 different ideas on what to do, but doing anything consistent in my opinion is only going to help. Rest up, attack that PT and get ready for spring!

What helmet do you recommend for jump? Where do you buy them? Buying for my G3 skier. Thx.

I was on the starting dock at Midwest Regionals waiting for practice to start immediately OM skied - Nate vs. Cale. They tied 3@41 and needed a runoff. Cale was totally loose and having fun. I should try this ski.

I have a Phx trailer... no transom tie down, no issues even towing 9 hrs. to NC. Best trailer I've owned.

Choosing a ski is a very personal choice - it's going to take some trial and error. One thing for sure is that 69" is too big. I'm assuming that you're taking a couple of passes at 28, 30, 32 before you get to your hardest pass of 34mph. Each ski manufacturer is going to have a ski that can handle that. Do your research and narrow down your choices. Do a demo program from @perfski and try a couple of different skis and find the one you like. I personally like to wait a year before jumping on the latest and greatest model. Find a proven design and work on your form. Or you can just buy a new ski because it's fun to try something different!

I find the GoPro creative but challenging to use. 1. From a POV mount, I think the head strap is the way to go. It feels awkward, and you're not going to set a PB with it on, but it by far gives the best POV perspective. The "chesty" POV is obstructed by your arms/handle and not very interesting. 2. I think it's good to put on the end of a long extension (e.g. paddle, pvc pipe), take off your bimini, stand behind the pylon with the extension up and get overhead shots with the GoPro pointing at a downward angle. 3. You could also put the extension on the gunnel in a stationary position and catch the skier coming off the second wake and rounding the buoy. Using it this way sort of makes it a poor man's drone. 4. You could also jump in the water and get some traditional action shots of the skier. 5. If you want the best pictures possible, finding a way to mount it to your handle bridle for selfie stills is the way to go. I think the POV from a ski mount is boring and has been done a 1,000x already.

Just for comparison... here is Seth.

With the success of the Arc, I'm surprised they came out with a new ski so quickly.

One great thing about doing skimmer boards and knee boards is that you can start them from the back of the boat off the platform. This allows dad (or mom) to have a close personal connection with them during the scariest time - when the boat starts up. I often make kids look me in the eye as I talk to them when we start rather than allow them too look down at all the swirling water that can spook them a bit. Once they get on plane and stable, they learn to just enjoy the ride.

What knee braces do you recommend for jump? Where do you buy them? Buying for my G3 skier. Thx.

I'll be driving past your lake tomorrow on my way to Regionals. I think this would be a perfect spot for a Buckeye Buoy Tour!

@OB1 I totally agree with you and I'm very comfortable with bailing out; however, with regards to my incident on Saturday I have no memory of what actually happened between one ball and the first wake. I specifically remember having a good gate and good hook-up out of one (confirmed by others). The next thing I know is Miller is in the water helping me out. Did I pre-release? Did I come off my edge? Did I get pulled out of my stack? Who knows? Freak accident.

Another alternative format I've been playing with is called "Six Shooter" - basically a double turn & burn that guarantees skiers receive a minimum number of passes and full value of time on the water. A skier skis their normal up the line score that gets recorded in the record books. From there, they are allowed additional passes to improve their score up to a maximum of 6 passes or 2 falls. So if someone runs 34/15, 22, and 3@28 they would get 3 more shots to improve their 28off score that would go into the handicap scoring spreadsheet. Alternatively, if someone ran 5@15off on their opener, that score would go into the record books; however, they could still get up to 5 more passes to improve their handicap score. This goes back to my 5k or 18 holes analogy in another thread. I know my official score is up the line, but give me the full value of my time on the water. I realize that a major downside to this is everyone's set takes longer thereby potentially increasing the length of the tournament day. I think the solution is similar to @OB1 ideas above and elsewhere - tournaments should be small (`20 skiers) and require fewer officials (Driver, Boat Judge, Scorer).

I understand that as a non-CGA vest it's not going to keep my face above water. I know it's not a substitute for a CGA "life jacket". I think the main role of an impact vest is to provide padding and minimal flotation (more than just a convenience). I think it's reasonable to expect it to stay on, not disintegrate or come unzipped in a catastrophic fall (assuming equipment was in good condition - which I believe ours was). While my head may not be above the water if I'm floating unconscious; if I'm skiing in 15 feet of water I'm counting on the vest to keep me afloat until the boat and/or safety crew responds (it only takes seconds to sink beneath the surface). Obviously there are risks inherent to the sport and I always have the choice to wear a CGA vest. I'm just pointing out that our impact vest have become so minimal in recent years that I'm not sure we've evaluated their effectiveness in catastrophic crashes. For instance, based on these experiences I would tend to think that a rear half-zip pullover design would be more effective in staying on the skier than a front zip even though it's less comfortable and convenient. It's sort of like the arm through the handle thing... it hardly ever happens so people tend to forget about it. But when it does it's a big deal. Maybe I'm overreacting to my own incident. I just want to know what I can expect from my vest, and previously I had expected it to keep me afloat. It did, just barely.

I'm talking about the tight fitting "competition style" non-CGA lifevests that the majority of us wear. (Some time ago) One of my ski buddies took a major OTF. When I came back to get him his life vest had been completely torn on top of both shoulders and was partially unzipped. The life vest was literally hanging around is waist. Fortunately he was in water shallow enough that he could stand up in and was not knocked unconscious. But if that were not the case he would have been in trouble. His vest was only 2 years (3 max) old at the time. Yesterday I took a major OTF. I had the wind knocked out of me, was concussed, and momentarily unconscious. Someone had to come into the water to get me. My life vest came completely unzipped. I don't know how I stayed on top of the water for those first few (10-20) seconds. This is the second season of my vest. I know these vests hold up fine in routine falls and some "non-major" (i.e. no injury) crashes. I know major crashes are a rarity. The majority of us are on small shallow private lakes which gives the perception of safety - but in the case of a major crash that leads to a physical injury where the skier can't help themselves the life vest obviously has to stay on the skier to be of value. I've now had two experiences where this type of vest has failed and I'm wondering if anyone else has had or seen similar experiences?

Here is a discussion I had with another skier at this weekend's Ohio State Championships... If I go play 18 holes golf, I get to play all 18 no matter if I shoot 70 or 120. If I run in a local 5k, I get to run all 3.1 miles no matter if I'm at a 5:30 pace or a 10:00. If I play a tennis match, I get to play a minimum number of sets against someone ranked at my same level. If I go to a ski tournament and fall at 1 ball, I'm done. One of these is not like the other. Now I understand it's the "rules of the game" for skiing, and there's a bit of a breakdown in the apples-to-apples comparison, but it's binary thinking to just make this practice vs. competition - it's also about perceived value. I hosted a cash prize tournament ($450 total) at my lake this year, using handicap scoring (BBT rules), and a "pick your partner" team format. Only 17 skiers showed up and the vast majority were the guys I ski with every week. 2 were from out of state who just happened to be passing through. On the one hand, it was nice because we started at 9 and finished at 4 with a 30 minute break for lunch. It was low-key and fun. On the other hand, it indicates there's not enough perceived value even in an alternative format. My point is that what others have already made, it's hard to beat the value of a day at the lake with my family where I can get unlimited skiing. I'm a competitive guy, I like the tournament scene, my tournament scores generally reflect my practice scores; but I scaled my tournaments back this year and actually skied more (relative to the bad weather this spring in the midwest) than ever. When I jump in the water for practice I know I'm going to get "full value" every time - 6, 8, maybe even 10 passes if I'm feeling good. Time on the water is the most valuable thing to a skier - not a score, not a prize, not rated officials - and a tournament can't give me either the quantity or quality time on the water.

The Ohio State fan in me says I could never ski behind that boat! /s ;)

Earlier this year @Horton put out a challenge to host a tournament in a new fun format, i.e., one that "doesn't suck" (can't find the thread). Our club (Glassy Waters) is hosting a tournament this year where we are bringing back the "Pick Your Partner" format which was a huge success the first time. People really liked this format because it was an easy way to create a "team" format for skiing. Pick Your Partner is simply the opposite format of the longstanding and also very popular BBT "Pick Your Poison" format. This year we where able to secure a sponsor and added a small cash prize for the winners - (1st) $300, (2nd) $100, (3rd) $50. So the winning team gets $150 each! Format details: Round 1 Skiers will be seeded in ascending order by their AWSA tournament average. In Round 1, Skiers will be bracketed in a H2H competition. Buckeye Buoy Tour handicap scoring will be used to determine the winner of H2H competition. Actual scores will go into the AWSA recordbook. The losers of Round 1 will go into a pool to be chosen from for Round 2. Draft At the conclusion of Round 1, we will break for 15-20 minutes to conduct a "draft". The draft allows the highest ranked skier to choose a partner to ski with from the group of losers in the H2H match-ups of Round 1. This pair will ski together in Round 2 and beyond against other team pairings. The draft will progress with the next highest ranked skier choosing a partner, then the third highest, etc. Round 2 and beyond In Round 2, "Jim and Bob" will ski as a team against "Mary and Tom" in a H2H match-up. The combined average score will be used to determined which team wins and advances. Again, actual scores will go into the AWSA recordbook. Depending on the number of skiers, we will go 4 or 5 rounds.

I did leave it up to him and he would randomly put in a foot each set. Eventually started asking him while he was skiing from the boom which one he liked better. The "skateboard test" seems to apply here... LFF. He can run the mini-course now at 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. Skiing will be on hold for a couple of weeks as he decided to smash his face into the corner of the granite kitchen counter top requiring 10 stitches. :'(

So my kids have returned from Coble Ski School again and are in love with jump. This was my daughter's (13 years old - last year G2) second year and she was so proud that she made every attempt over the big ramp. My son (11 years old - first year B2) landed about 10 jumps over the mini, but wasn't quite ready for the big ramp just yet. I need to buy them their own jumpers. Since buying used jumpers is next to impossible, I'm probably going to bite the bullet and get a new pair. I'm hoping that my kids can share a set for a few years as right now they are about the same size (about 100lbs). So my question is this - what size jumpers should I get?

When you say "heel block" do you mean the plastic block on the back of the front shell that the release mechanism locks onto (see pic)? If she were releasing from frequent falls (either slalom or trick), then it would seem logical, but she hardly falls and releases even less. This past week, while vacationing at a lake, she took a very long open water trick set with maybe one release. When she got back into the boat she complained of the "cut" on her shin from the binding and showed me on the platform. I guess one is all it takes?? Totally agree with the shin guard solution - I've seen others wear that too. Where's @eleeski !? There's a legit trick ski conversation going on and no input from him? ;)

It definitely comes from the release mechanism and occurs when she is standing on the ski. She doesn't fall much and when she does they are usually not hard enough to require release. Edit... Looks like it was called an "Eva Release Cover" . Here's a pic. Edit x2... Started calling Reflex dealers and Miami Ski Nautiques had some in stock. Put in order #fingerscrossed.

My daughter uses a Reflex for trick skiing. Her shin gets cut from the Reflex release mechanism. I thought for sure I've seen someone have a padded cover from Reflex for this very purpose, but I can't seem to find it online. Any thoughts or ideas here?

Why did she stop skiing professionally? I remember a while back she tore her achilles at Crossfit.

I did some testing this weekend and here are my results... (BTW, for those of you who think I'm nuts and overthinking this - I'm just having fun with it. We're almost ready to ski in Ohio and he'll be in a rubber binding to start off so we can go either direction.) If you use the push from behind test... LFF If you use the Razor scooter test... RFF If you use the jump and land on one foot test... LFF If you use the stand on a chair test... RFF If you use the pick up a combo ski test... undecided - to weak to really lift of any significance. If you use the slide across the kitchen floor test... RFF (though I made him do it LFF and he couldn't decide what he like better) When I straight up asked him him on the dock - which foot forward do you want... LFF Clearly my son is gifted! B) (or confused) I'll probably force him to go one way for a set; then switch on the following set until he starts voicing an opinion.