boarditup

Marketing skiing is difficult because it is so distributed. The skiers themselves are the main marketing tool of the sport. USAWS is just the orgainized side of the sport. Most skiers don't even know the organized side exists - they are involved in a physical activity, not a sport. So, I think Krista has a really big job out there is she is marketing the sport. She has a much smaller job of marketing the organization to active skiers. My advice to her would be to pick one of those with the support of the board and run with it. I would say that the magazine is not an effective communication tool outside of the avid tournament skier. So, the decision has to be made whether to change that or keep its narrow focus. That said, if the board listens to Krista and lets her run with a focused approach on one specific area, she will excel and the sport/organization will be much better for it. If they force her to shotgun out there with unrealistic expectations, they will be wasting an incredible talent and asset. I am optomistic and looking forward to what impact she will have on our sport.

Fanstastic! Kudos to all who supported this family.

I have a very good trick boat - an X-2 with 2,100 lbs ballast and a trick release on the tower. Of course it is not allowed into 3-event competition. However, to the public, the real tricking is wakeboarding. I have not seen a trick ski on public water since the 80's - and that was under my foot. Now, I have a single and a pair on the racks and have not ridden them for years. The ProStar's 26 mph wake is soft and very low. It will definately make a huge contribution to many novice skiers progression in the years to come. As I see it - MC has made an awsome slalom tow boat for the novice slalom skier. That is a huge accomplishment. That is fits well with an active family with the interior finishes is a big bonus. This will force the other manufacturers to design better platforms in the future. It is a home run.

I am a novice, but avid, slalom waterskier. I live on a slalom lake, but only get a handful of sets a year. My boat is an X-2 and the kids and I spend most of the time wakesurfing together. I'll get a slalom boat after they are done with the surfing - my limited time with my kids trumps my slalom sets. I ski at 26-28 mph on a Radar Theory and weigh in at 255, so I am tall, but much heavier than most slalom skiers. Today I took a set behind the MasterCraft 2014 ProStar with Action Watersports Jerry Brower driving and Freddy Kreuger rope handling. I had not made a full pass at 26 mph for a couple of years until this morning. Yeah, I know, don't mock me too much - but I only get 4-passes a few times a year - so about a dozen passes a year. I had skied behind a 94 PS, a smattering of Malibus, and a CC 196 without success. This morning, I had success and was able to keep the ski down on my off-side through the wakes without feeling it bounce or launch. The wake at 26 mph was flat enough and soft enough that I did not have to plan for a wake crossing - I could keep a stable body position all the way across the wakes without noticing the wakes or their effect on the ski. With my very limited exposure, my summary is this: the 2014 PS has the easiest wake crossings of any boat I have skied behind at 26 mph. From another perspective, the boat with the 5.7 was able to get me up and to speed over 200 feet in front of the greens at 26 mph. That is not usually the case with a 5.7. That hull is very efficient. I wish I could afford two boats right now, but that will have to wait for a while.

I'll post on Sunday with my impression.

I have skied on 1950 and that was tight. 2150-2200 feet is perfect for slalom and trick. Some have been on 1800 and made it work, but the boat is not up to speed until just before the gates.

Live in Lake Placid - boat on the water, in the yard and ready to go in 5-minutes.

Water takes up a lot of space. Iron weight, being much denser takes up a lot less. I have an X-2 with both hard tanks and Fly High bag ballast (2,100 lbs total). It makes the compartments unusable and makes servicing more difficult. A 45-lbs plate is easy to handle and takes up very little room. What has been shown here has my attention and likely approval. I cannot wait for Sunday when I get to see it in person.

Handle control is a big issue for kids. Sometime I see them trying to "steer" with the handle. I have them practice on dry land and on the water keeping the handle low at the hips and moving the handle from one hip to the other. This also teaches them proper stacked body position - especially while approaching the wakes where they tend to get intimidated and want to go into the fetal position. I also teach them that when they fall to let go of the handle and hug themselves. This reduces the tendency of an arm to get pulled around when they first enter the water.

Bluegills work. However, you want the variety that will not nibble on your body parts. Check with your local Natural Resources office. You will also need a top predator to keep the bluegills in check. We have Largemouth Bass and Northern Pike. Otherwise, the lake will get out of balance very soon. Only 4-5 pike for our 40-acres.

There are not too many sports that run until failure. My daughters in field events are (were) high jumpers. Same kind of event. It messes with your head and very few athletes can deal with inevitable failure. Slalom is only that kind of event. Every time you go out you fail..... What kind of people are we, really?

Specify direct or V-drive boats with a permanent factory engineered and installed pylon mount forward of the motor. Exclude boats with more than one built-in ballast tank. Exclude add-on ballast in excess of 500-lbs. Outboard boats with factory engineered and installed tracking fins may be allowed. That eliminates most wakeboard boats, stern drives, outboards. You still could get a 200 Maristar without a ballast system, but that won't create lake erosion issues. From a lake design perspective, there is a way to shape the sand to prevent erosion issues. It is very difficult to do and it takes computerized GPS equipment mounted on the dozer to work, but it can be done.

One time in setting up for an INT competition, we failed to fully extend the buoy arms on the course. The first skier figured it out quickly. As a joke, we put a couple of gallons of gas into a buddy's car every work day and listened to him brag how his VW was getting 90+ mpg for a couple of weeks. It got really quiet after the late night gas station runs stopped.

How many miles put on the body since the CR7?

Materials science has come a long way. Skis produced more recently have better, more consistent materials for the intended use. CNC machined cores are relatively recent. Epoxies and resins are better than in the past. Every supplier is looking for competitive advantage and it shows up in the more recent skis. Same with the latest generation of bindings. Every generation pushes a bit forward. The design is tweaked just a bit every generation. Just look at rocker shape over the years - continuous to blended to 3-stage to 5-stage, etc. Some of the designs work better for different skiers, but coming off of a 10-year old stick, I am sure you will find something out there that feels good underfoot.

Prayer for the family and friends. As a parent, I cannot even imagine the heartache. Going to hug my kids now....

Add the MC PS 209 to your list. Skis decently well and can handle big water.

Update - first meeting - 3-kids - it was only 66F at the start and it went down from there. One new slalom skier! She is a 6th grade student who always wanted to learn how to slalom. More to come.

The entity with the dollars for marketing are the ones who sell the sport. Other than the INT, we don't have a sport marketing arm. It is up to Radar, MasterCraft, MasterLine, etc. to determine how best to connect to the potential buyer. My latest marketing is a direct appeal to school-age kids to learn how to ski (and yes, wakeboard) and they really did not connect with photos of athletic bodies - they wanted something to do and other kids to do it with. So, the best marketing, in my opinion, is whatever swimsuit you are in throwing the potential skier a rope. As for the photos, as long as they are tasteful, I am on board. Some of the Reef and Abercrombie ads are tasteless. The photos I have seen from the waterski vendors have been decent.

Marcus is dead on right. My marker idea is like a patch of grass thin enough to not grab a ski (think of a kush ball with rubber band spines, but a bit thicker spines to hold air). Requiring all of the judges and technology definately scratches the common slalomer OCD itch, but does nothing to preserve the sport for future skiers. Keep the cost down, keep the requirements basic, and we will survive. As for cheaters, the truth always comes out. A "win" based on a lie is never a true win.

Thanks - 7 high school, the rest middle school kids. About 80% boys. I am not sure how I feel about that one.....

No, but they will help. This is the brain child of my 13-year old daughter who wanted to share the sport with her school. She wants a new Lyric or Strada and I told her she had to ski more before I would spend that kind of cash. This was her answer to getting more kids to ski with.

I bit off a bit more than I can chew - 42 students signed up for a ski and wakeboard club. I figured that about 15 would be the maximum we could handle on a 3-hour session. I know that most will not follow through, but there was a lot of interest in behind-the-boat sports. Most were interested in wakeboarding, but several wanted to learn to slalom through the course. We will see how this develops - the first session is June 3. That will put a bump into the Grassroots program at USA Waterski....

Federal Regulation - July 1st is the new model year for boats. If there will be a new hull, it will be ready for production then.

Depends upon engine rpm. Can be as low as 20 and as high as 80. 40-70 for skiing speeds is typical. You are more concerned with low oil pressure.