MrJones

I believe I do need to post something here in the vein of the recurring "Have you made your appointment" thread. I noticed swollen lymph nodes three years prior to being diagnosed. The ENT did a CT and basically said "it's probably nothing". I went back to him two years later and said "Hey doc, these things are bigger." Got another "you seem healthy, probably not an issue". About a year after that I went to a different doc and said, "I don't feel right, what's going on?" That lead to blood work and a biopsy with the diagnosis. The truth is that with some slowly progressing diseases it can be easy to miss. I tend to not go to the doc for anything. I though that I was just gettin' old and needed to hit the gym harder. That wasn't working. I clearly remember being so tired at Nationals in Idaho that I was debating whether to go down the levy to watch my daughter ski before my event on the other lake due to how tired I was. Looking back that seems silly, but you really don't know what you don't know. The moral of that story is to get things checked out. Even then, be sure you feel good about the advice you are getting and seek elsewhere if you're not.

Hey guys. A number of your have already donated by mail and online. We appreciate you all! This is for a great cause and as a selfish dad a tremendous opportunity for my daughter to grow. At 16 I was a complete mess. She's presented her case for donating to LLS to individuals and multinational companies. She's volunteered in clinics treating lymphedema and tomorrow is visiting a children's cancer ward with the other student of the year candidates. (Those of you that know us realize this level of maturity comes from her mother!) Horton's right. A tank of gas is appreciated. Even it's for a lawnmower.

This thread really shows why skiing is a very difficult to break down and work on. Everything flows from one aspect to another and the intensity varies as the rope shortens. I've been shooting a lot more than skiing of late and am really enjoying it. One of the reasons is the ability to work on one specific skill in isolation, then add it back in to the overall picture. (i.e. shooting into/out of a position, then incorporating that into a full stage) In skiing your edge change is dependent on your body position behind the boat and will influence your turn after the fact. Then you have to alter this for your on/off side lean into the edge change going the opposite way. In a way skiing is very simple, but really hard to break down and work in the way other sports are....

Bought them both used and it's been a couple of years since the boat. If they were purchased at the same time it would have surely been the boat.

I'll have to look, but the Davis FSR is what I believe were used several years ago on a nautique we left in the water prior to having a lift. It was like magic. Leave on a few minutes then wipe off. Not sure that was the name but it sound right and was a blue gel.

So right now I'm in the Spring free skiing phase of the year, but soon I'll chase buoys and ruin most of the fun....

I clicked on this thread just to see what the new boat looked like. I'm amazed that people are discussing anything but the cost, and what this continuing trend is doing to an already shrinking market.

Believe that's correct on the Roberge-Perry article in WSM back in the day.

Agree that access and costs are killing it. (Competitive skiing) It will never go back to having clubs on open water public lakes and rivers. Partly because of that the number of people who even know it exists is very small. Out of those they have to have the interest, opportunity, and money to participate. When there are so many other lower cost/lower effort activities to pursue I just cant see it attracting new participants. Post college is tough. Not only are most people starting careers, starting families, buying home,...(see cost issues)

Flash forward 10 years... "Board approves name change to USA Wake Sports"

Yep. I have had a subscription since 1985. Really sad to see it go, but as most of you have said it's not a surprise. Had certainly noticed that although the pics and articles were good, there were almost no ads in the recent mags.

What not just have and "off topic" section. Seems common on other forums.

Have been on my prayer list since this started.

The US Open was with the Nationals for years. Should not have to redesign the wheel to have it back so long as the host's cost are reasonable. Trying to mix age based and ability based competition is going to be difficult no matter what you do. This is made worse in our sport as we change the competition "field" by adjusting speed (just talking slalom here) based on age. When you are trying to play the competitive conditions on one side (speed changes) and have both age and skill level based divisions on the other side it's going to be a mess. Speed changes are going to stay. I say pick one or the other on the athlete side. Simple is good.

Here is an idea for a great side show at Nationals..... the US Open.

Use the same Intuition (Aqua) liner as the front. Use a Velcro strap around the top. Forget about it. I've used the same one for the last 6 seasons.

Sounds logical and fair. Not sure that means it follows the IWSF rule book for a standings list score though...

I have to think that the main issue is time. In skiing you are taking up the entire lake while you are on it, you are burning gas and putting hours on the boat, and you are taking the time of your boat crew. I believe most see this and choose to actually ski in the course rather than do drills or free ski. Many tournament skiers are also on short man made lakes which aren't handy for long swerving free ski sessions. (I actually miss that a lot!) You can do dry land practice, especially for trick, but slalom dry doesn't seem to work for me. It is one of the things that make our sport difficult to train for. I was in the garage at 5:00 this morning working on dry fire target transitions and draws. One of the things I really enjoy about shooting is that I can do things like this which doesn't cost anything, depend on weather, or put me at the mercy of anyone else's schedule.

I use an Intuition Aqua liner for the R style rear. I use a Velcro wrap around the ankle to keep it tight around my leg. It's not an issue so long as you do that. Any other suggestions on thin liners are appreciated. My daughter's foot is growing. Her Reflex shell is fine, but she needs a thinner liner than the Intuition Aqua she is currently using. Was going to just pick up a Reflex at Nationals. I wasn't there, but my wife and daughter said that the have changed them and they are goofey/uncomfortable now.

You want the rope exposed so you can see that it's wearing. Otherwise your first warning could be a hard intro into the side of the first wake. Cross bar is your choice. I believe it's a good idea, but grabbed deep in a tourney once and caught the cross piece. Pocket knife removal and haven't gone back. Having said that the next one I order for the kids will probably have one....

Before The Ski Covington Ranch was a big deal, The Ski Ranch/Ski Scape weekend was the best tournament weekend around. I actually think the Ski Scape in Mandeville feels better than The Ranch. That's saying something.

The 1-3-5 side finish may be entertaining as the rope gets short.

Okay. Haven't been here in a couple of days. Posted this before scrolling further down. Disregard please...

Black and orange.... Hmmm... I was not at Nats, but I heard that Goode was offering a reflex release on their boot for people who like powershells, but don't like Velcro. Is this what they are using? Did I hear crazy talk?

Still in my daily prayers man. Keep on keepin' on.