@ntx @MS What I am getting at is introducing ''new'' skiers and spectators to the sport to make it grow. If you are getting 30 + local skiers to your tournaments thats great. But I'm guessing they are made up of mostly club members, kids of club members etc. Not new blood. The biggest complaints I've heard over the years regarding tournaments and newer skiers who tried to compete is the lack of site familiarization and only 1 fall / miss. Drive an hour or so to the tournament site, wait on a dock, boat pulls up throws you a rope, hit it and go, then fall or miss and you're done for a few hours. It can be an unwelcoming feeling for a newb or non club member. I think that culture needs to change but thats a club by club issue maybe.
The first tournament I skied in the early 90's was awful, not a sole talked to me on the starting dock, the boat hit so hard out of the hole I barely made it up lol, cleared the water from my eyes pulled out and fell on 1 ball, and my day was done. Took me a while to gain the nerve to go back. I think this happens more than not. Skied many tournaments since just to measure myself, but our core group has opted out and prefer to battle it out on our home lake and take as many passes and falls as we like, no pressure, no cliques, just laughs.
Just observations, don't really have the answers.