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Slade Cole has a lake in Savannah

I didn’t think it was possible but they keep getting better. Love the personal stories, love the interview style. Awesome job with the podcast.

Yes, trying to learn what sensei is teaching. Rewiring my reactions takes reps. Working on the fundamentals.

I liked the idea @aupatking had and just did the same thing. I was already a DeWalt supporter before this but felt the need to let them know I appreciate the Moomba/waterskiing support.

We were at 66 a week ago, I expect we will be in the mid 50s by this Saturday.

When putting on and taking off a Camaro suit, make sure to use your finger TIPS and not your finger NAILS. Little things can puncture your suit easily and compromise the warm. Besides their fragile nature they are fantastic.

1) would trade the driving skills for the skiing skills in a heartbeat.

2)I couldn’t ask for a better ski partner.

3) I love the video.

4) I love the C-75 even more.

Makes the conditions at the last Worlds look pretty good.

@Bruce_Butterfield , I guess the point I was trying to make is that I'm not a fan of the current system. Wasn't looking to rank the drivers, it was more of an incentive to have the drivers strive to be centered and straight. If every driver was a "Level 10 driver", I think that would be great. I realize that the skiers have a voice to tournament organizers, but skiers also like drivers that give them good scores. There are more than a few drivers out there who can manipulate a boat path to the benefit of a skier. I like your idea about retesting senior drivers but I think more review of path during tournaments might reel it in a little quicker.

Thinking out loud here, why don't we have a rating system for drivers? For example, a panel of trusted slalom officials in the US who might consist of drivers (and it doesn't have to be drivers) such as Chad Scott, Chris Eller, etc., who could rate (but not necessarily RANKING) the drivers much like our skier rating Level 1 through Level 10, being based on things like minimum deviation at certain line lengths.

 

Somewhere along the way, the system is kind of broken. There are drivers who think they're role is to help the skier (I personally think that has a place, but somewhere there has to be a cut off). I'm sure I'm part of the problem here, but I have helped skiers run a -28 for the first time in a tournament.

 

One of the main reasons I didn't maintain any driver rating is the maintenance and the promotion system for drivers. I don't go a lot of tournaments but almost every day I drive, I get to drive -38, -39, -41 and sometimes -43. My problem is that if I'm driving -15 through whatever at 21mph to whatever, my attention span is very short after a few skiers whereas if I'm driving-32 to -41, I focus much better most of the time. I don't see how drivers can stay in that seat for hours at a time, hats off to them that can.

 

 

 

With the record tolerance for slalom as noted above, what gets a score downgraded? I'm curious about the threshold for what's considered unacceptable (ability wise) and at what point is it considered "helping the skier" (ability wise).

Excellent reporting, thanks for the info and the opinions. Let’s make straight and centered the standard.

Nobody wanted it more than Dr. Jim Michaels.....built a lake, hired the best coaches, did the best PEDs (just an assumption on that one), took any of the best cheaters in water skiing and topped them by a mile.

Very happy to see Taelon nominated, my favorite poster ever.

Base on what @klindy posted on the rules, the 3.5 becomes a 3, and the 4.5 (which is much harder to see) probably becomes a 4. Although "sinking vs. grazing" is probably going to be open to interpretation....does sinking mean the top of the buoy goes below the water surface?

@Horton good question but to me there's no difference. If this were someones first tournament -28, I probably don't put as much thought into it. I can't imagine seeing anything harder to call than that one @Kelvin just put up. The fact that it's a World Record call doesn't change how I look at it.

They don't get any harder to call than that 3.5 from 2013. My first gut reaction in slow motion was that is no piece of 4. After watching it several times, that's as 50/50 as it gets.

In my head, 50/50 goes to the skier.

Per Adam Caldwell’s suggestion, heat molded Radar liner in a powershell 2. Best fit ever.

trophylakes@gmail.com

(843) 790-0615

https://www.trophylakesports.com/contact-us/

John, I don't think that number is still valid.

She ran a bunch of buoys in Charleston last weekend.

We have timed the tropical systems perfectly this year. One did a driveby last week and looks like a smaller system will do a driveby next week. Winds will be generally the right direction since the jump can only fit in one spot and be good for spectating. I get to watch from the office for an hour then drive 25 minutes to the site and get my fill of great skiing for the next 2 days. Hope to see yall there.

Y'all should just order a large and a small. I have not seen a person yet that decided they didn't want to stay on it once they took a ride.

My guess is the new "stretchy ropes" vs "stiff ropes" debate.

Every time I've crossed paths with Joel, it's easy to see he would be a great representative for any company. I still remember talking to him at the starting dock before I had ever seen him ski and nobody knew who he was except for the Coble Ski School group and his mates in Australia. He straps his helmet on and goes out and runs his first 39 in a tournament, then comes back to the dock and says "that's the first 39 that I've run and didn't think I was going to die!"

I love watching great skiers in less than ideal conditions especially when something big is on the line.

 

To me the benefits trump the dangers. When I look at others my age that aren’t active in some physically demanding sport, many appear to be overweight and heading to an early exit. Some of them half my age. Figure out how to clean up deficiencies and it gets a lot safer.