MrJones

I plan to treat this like most other laws that have no real impact.

My lake is 2150' x 180'. No islands. I would not do this again. For a really good slalom experience the length of set up is huge. I think 2100' with islands would be great. (2300' or more straight in) Then islands can be "islands" of anything that will break up wave action. Utility poles with 3"x12"s in a triangle. Pile of rock. Anything that does need to be mowed. You say you want beginner friendly. No lake this size is beginner friendly. They will get used to it. They will also have a much better time with a boat that is up to speed early and with plenty of time to adjust their swim suit, clear their eyes, whatever vs. up and in. Shore line. I was told 10:1 was okay and I was told don't do less than 15:1. You can make them both work, but they will take different types of maintenance. Less erosion with 15 but more grass issues. Vice versa with the other. Last suggestion. Consider future maintenance with every decision. Good luck and enjoy the process.

I have a BUNCH of VHS tapes in a drawer upstairs. Have to get those things converted one day.

Amazing skier. I am fairly sure he has been on every ski out there in the past 10 years. I'm sure he can give an excellent breakdown on the pros and cons of each...

It really depends on what you're in a sport for. If it's a big social part of your life that you enjoy as much or more than the actual activity, then you can limp along forever. If you're goal is "mastery" (to whatever level each of us can achieve), then once you can no longer train to a level to allow pursuit of said mastery it's probably time to move to something else.

So you're a guy or gal who likes to open water slalom and consider yourself pretty good. Has maybe even seen a water ski magazine in the past or watched a good skier on Youtube who you try to mimic. You see there is a tournament close by so you enter and give it a shot. You get there and realize that while everyone is really friendly, they have all been doing this for 10-30 years and are neck deep in it. Even the lower end competitors are -22/-28 off skiers while you can barely run a pass at long line or -15 at your minimum speed. The people at -35 to -39 seem to be in another world. So maybe you had fun and consider it as a sport. Let's see. Sell the IO and spend maybe $30-50K on a used tournament boat. Then to find a place to train, people to train with, get the proper equipment, devote X amount of years to it? I don't think it's attractive to the masses. Much more simple to buy a used set of golf clubs and play a muni course (or insert whatever low barrier to entry sport that you wish). I'm not saying that people don't make the jump into the sport in the same scenario that I set up, just that it's going to be a low number.

They came for a set at our place when here for Nationals. As luck would have it was stuck at work that morning. It sometimes hurts being a responsible (semi) adult.

That is soooo cool....

Osage Lake (aka "Jones Town" per Horton" NW of Lafayette is fine! Very full at the moment, but no damage to any trees or structures. I hear the New Iberia area where Sugar Lake is took a good bit of damage.

Could slap a Reflex boot on there as your upgrade and keep the ski??? That's not serious at all by the way. My first ski was a Shortline. After a few years I thought it would be fun to take out of the rafters and run a few passes on it. Almost killed myself at -22. Quickly realized it was more fun to look at with nostalgia than ride.

Horton... Don't you have some pics with skis laid out all through the kitchen and living room during the great Ball of Spray ski tests????

I will really miss staying at the Dawghouse. Can't count how many times we've hung out for the weekend. The back porch view when building my house was inspired while drinking early morning coffee here. Watching the sun come up before hitting Olde Oaks or Cottonwood.... Great times man. Won't ever forget 'em.

I'm number 842. Keep it rolling...

The strength, the skill, the mindset to stay with that pass..... amazing is a complete understatement.

I thought those Sundeck shorts were so cool! @eyepeeler Dave Benzel had an article in Waterski back in the real early 1990's making one line comments about a bunch of pro skiers. Carl's was something to the effect of "if I had to pick one skier to make six mistakes at 38, and still run it.... Carl Roberge".

Have used her for years. The spectra rope holds up forever.

What I envision is just a change in how skiers are grouped. Score would go into your age division as normal. This was done in North TX/OK 25 years ago. Group was based off your two best scores in the past 12 months. (similar to Klindy) Not suggesting head to head. It's cool, but a pain.... Cottonwood in September sounds great, but 7 sets in a day? That's like a month of skiing for me these days.

Horton: Your idea of the cut off being 2 buoys is excellent. At 36 mph I maxed out at 2@39. Pretty consistent, but that was it. It does seem that 2 at whatever pass is the common cut off point. On Matteo's podcast interview Will Asher mentions ability based skiing in England and how much he enjoyed it as a kid. Does anyone on here have knowledge of how that's structured?

It has been two years since I've skied a tournament. Partially due to injuries, but also just due to a lack of interest. Being at regionals and then Bennett's for Nationals is giving me the itch again. Why? I think because there is actual competition vs. just going to a lake for the weekend to ski with your friends. Nothing wrong with that, but what we call "tournaments" could realistically be called "classifiers" as there is no actual competition involved. It seems to me that having tournaments with ability levels would be good. In example all 32 off skiers regardless of age or gender ski against each other and there is a "winner" of this division at the end of it. How great would it be after a tournament weekend to actually give a reasonable answer when someone at work asks "how'd you do"? (I'm not saying change regionals/nationals by the way as there are enough skiers there to make age group viable and competitive.) What do you guys think? Those of you who ski local tournaments and those of you who ski the course but don't bother to go?

Just want to compliment all those involved. This is a great thing to be implementing and I hope it continues on. We had family members watching in multiple states. These weren't "skiers", just family who wanted to watch my daughter ski. I hadn't expected this but it was great for them and her. As for improvement.. It's been mentioned, but bios mandatory for everyone. I admit to not filling one out in years. Figured we all know each other and it seems kind of silly. In the case of the webcast it should likely be something that has to be done as part of registration. The roving reporter sounds like a good idea, as long as it's someone who know when not to talk to people. Start lists and leader boards. Again, this was great. Keep up the good work!!

The site and vibe are really great! Bennetts’s and Nats crew has done it right. Hope they get back in the rotation of sites that bid to host in the future.

Buxrus Did you try your Pro build fin numbers on the CC?

Money-no Hobby-yes

Agree with Bruce on all points. Starting with the boom is really for kids. (Even if Horton is afraid of scuffing his new MC with one) Hard shells are the way. My youngest has been on a Reflex since almost the beginning. Bigger skis are a help as well. BTW... Make sure you teach her some trick stuff while she's in you area Mr. Bruce. You know that knowledge can not come from me...

"Flush"