9400

So did he answer how wide he skied? The answer above doesn't say how wide he skies, just that he wants to get there quickly. How wide do you shoot for at 32 off? I agree there's more than 1 way to ski, and I've tried the narrow approach at all lines and I've tried excessively wide at the earlier lines. I personally shoot for somewhere in the middle. I try to think of it as "run this pass with enough room to run the next one"

No disrespect intended to your position and you can ski that way if you want, but I think skiers intending to ski more than 32 off are seeking to run 32 early. To answer your question, I don't have pictures to support my position.

Dan, I'm pretty sure most people that can run 39 are 5'-7' wide of the buoy LINE (not the ball....they are finishing at the ball) at 32 off. Their width comes early.....before the ball.

35 members? that's a small tournament!

If you read some interviews that Schnitz did years ago, one of the questions he often asked was where do you want the buoy in your turn? beginning, apex or end. I believe they all wanted the buoy to be at the end of the turn while acknowledging that at super short line (or their max pass) the buoy would have to be in the middle/apex of the turn.

I hate to be the dummy here....but that never stopped me before. What is VHB tape? thanks

Ah ha! Thanks Jody, That makes sense....seems like they might want to explain that in the article. Thanks again.

I"m trying to figure out something that confuses me....or I read something wrong. How does Regina J win slalom, trick and jump at the Pan Am and get silver in overall? Did I read something wrong or is that possible?

Austin is a regular ski partner of mine, and as good a ski partner as you could ask for. He works very hard on his skiing and has added 6 buoys to his score every year I've skied with him which has been about 3 years. He has a great attitude all the time, I have never seen him down. If any of you out there are looking for a super person to represent a product in the water ski world, you won't go wrong with Austin....I promise. The 6' - 6" height estimate is low.

So how do we get reality TV and waterskiing to merge. There are some great personalities in waterskiing. Jamie, Seth, CP, Marcus, Natalie and Fred, Lucky and whoever he's yelling at are just a small sample of some of the great personalities in water skiing. I know there are tons more. Look at how famous crab fisherman are in Alaska now. Anybody know any TV people that can make this happen?

I learned that being in better physical shape allows me to ski more, which allows me to try more things, which allowed me to find things that work better, which allowed me to ski more. It's not easy to find the time/energy to get into good shape but it was worth it last year and I'm trying to do better this year. I came in 10 pounds lighter last year than the year before and I'll try to get down 5 more before this year. I would like to add 9-1/2 more buoys to my score this year (but who wouldn't!)

aaaaww....Ballofspray is a toddler now, next thing you know it will want to borrow the car.

No doubt, I think that's where all the people with huge scores get it done. I think these last 2 39s where she set the record looked better than the 39 I saw where she tied the record.

I want to be smooth, because at 50 you feel hits more (or they don't go away as soon). But I want buoy count more and longevity. I rode in the boat when Regina was barely a teenager and she was tenacious then. Her skiing doesn't look a whole lot different but the buoy count has gone up a few buoys. I think Shane may have said it earlier...she gets it done in the white water, no matter what happens at the buoy. Hopefully one day, people will say that about my skiing. I've seen a few skiers over the years where I think "how does that person get that many buoys"....but Regina's not one of them, she's gritty on a slalom ski!!

I would have to say Terry Winter, it just looks so consistent and smooth. But in reality I just want to run the next pass, I don't care what it looks like.....I'll take Regina's or April's skiing

You know, reading this makes me glad I don't have the experience some people have. This makes knee surgery not seem so bad, except that later in life when you ski in cold water all the 'itis makes it feel stiff later in the day.

TeamWally - you sure look young for 60! It's impressive to run 32off on those trainers!

Roger means never more than 0.01 seconds off, I have also performed the test with times never being more than 0.01 seconds on any segment.

I thought the issue was that it was to hard on big guys....I'm not sure it could be softer than PP. I felt like big guys had it easier with PP because they could throw a big ol pause at PP if they needed to. For the record I'm 160 pounds and I would like something fair for everyone. I think ZO is the best answer so far for the spirit of the rules as they are written. Everybody gets the same time pass after pass after pass. I don't like that not everyone has access to ZO and wish that all older boats could be upgraded

I'll go one step further than RAL did....I think it is THE best article ever. Since I've been trying to apply it, I don't ever think edge change and I don't ever think about counter rotation. Now all I have to do is not overturn. Like RAL, I believe it is the reason some skiers don't look as good but run serioius buoy counts.

A variation of your Zero Off question JTH.....What ZO setting currently and why? What ZO settings have you used and why did you change to what you are using. Do ZO settings feel to you the way we the masses understand them? (Scoke's chart, etc.)

Bruce's article should be required reading for all aspiring slalom skiers....I think it's the best slalom article ever....can we give a Nobel prize for that? How about the BALLOFSPRAY prize! Simple yet highly effective.

What tells you where to turn in for your gates (2 hand or 1 hand)? Do you try to apex at or near the ball at all line lengths or prefer early and wide? Where do you look at the apex...turn finish....behind the boat....approching the ball? At the centerline, scale of 1 to 10, how hard are you loading ? Arm pressure - leading arm, trailing arm, balanced arms - does it change from one side of the wakes to the other? How many sets a day....a week, what's a typical set? Knowing what you know now....how would you tackle learning to run the next line? assume 38 or 39, would that be different from how you would approach 28? Where do you try to reach and why? When turning a buoy, is there a specific spot (going to the next buoy) that you try to point the ski at to finish the turn? Is there a thought most prevalent in your mind when in the course?

I guess I need to ask the question "what is an inflated score?" When I think of inflated score, I think of something I may not normally be capable of, but that T&B would allow me to get that score. That's not going to happen. If we're talking about a better score in round 3 than in round 2...that could happen with or without T&B.

I personally don't see inflated score as an issue. Most people can run what they can run under the rules in place, whether they have one shot, 2 shots or 5 shots. It might help some people who get a little freaked out about tournaments, but what's wrong with that?