ToddL

The black and blue goode fins were beat up by the bad fins.

@ShaneH has it right. I call this drill Narrow Wake Crossings. Required for ultimate success is the best boat wakes possible. Won't work on uncle Bob's I/O. Why this works... If the skier starts narrow, they don't have any time to get pulled out of position. Thus, they cross the wake in good position. This builds confidence. They develop muscle memory of leaning in good position while crossing the wake. Spotter must reinforce stacked body position. This drill is about wake crossings. There really shouldn't be any turns. Just stop the lean off the second wake. Chill. And then start the next wake crossing. Also, there should never be extra effort/lean past the second wake. Just maintain the lean across the back of the boat and through the second wake. We want to avoide the dreaded double-pull wake crossing. I tell students that you only get what you generate on the way into the boat path. To eventually run the coarse, you have generate enough momentum on the way into the boats centerline to cast you out to the buoys. But for now, just prevent any type of Harder, additional lean past the second wake. As the skier advances in confidence, they naturally cast wider. When they start to end up wider than the white wash water, you have to instruct them to start the wake crossing easier, then progressively lean a little harder as they approach the wakes. (We don't want turn and burn and get yanked out of the lean by the boat.) This is the foundation of a progressive effort to the wake crossing. Don't sacrifice this fluid, progressive effort for the sake of trying to get wider. Wider will come with confidence and body position. Those two result in efficient use of the ski to cross the wake with energy in an early and outbound path... Finally, muscle memory matters. Practice makes permanent. Keep the skier with boundaries where good habits are forming. Do everything possible to eliminate opportunities to create poor position muscle memory. Utilize the extra times on the ski to reinforce proper body position and weight distribution. At the end of a pass for example, ensure the skier is coasting in proper position. Anytime on top of the water on the ski should be in proper position. Ultimately when "resting" on the ski, the skier should be in perfect body position. These are the times when there is nothing else to get in the way of doing it correctly. Take advantage of them fully.

Oh, please no! No scales on the dock! Too complicated and completely unnecessary. As @Kelvin said, G2 skiers naturally desire standard ropes as they progress past long line and higher speeds. The safety concern is not really warranted. Plus, the population that this targets are unlikely to even qualify for regionals... @Than, the junior ropes are $45. If you have G1, G2, or B1, then you likely already have one on site at the event. People can share. Likely, mommy and daddy already have bought one for their little darling. Do we need to test these per AWSA? Probably. But, a simple act of visually comparing it to an a available std rope should suffice. Rules are always overly complex to ensure fair competition and integrity of our sport's results. This is a good thing when applied in the areas of records and national competition. But small, younger B2 skiers aren't likely skiing at that level. Solutions to these concerns? No records allowed in B2 with lighter rope. Maybe even, only allowed for long line use.

@richarddoane Agree. So why not make it optional for those B2 who ski LL or slower just like the other divisions? FYI, G2 already are allowed the choice of standard or lighter ropes. Same for G1, B1, and W6+. Why not include B2? Either skier weight is the concern or assumption of average speed in these divisions. So what if there is a 140 lb G2? She is allowed a choice of ropes. Why not the 60 lb B2 kid?

G2 & W6+ can use one. There is no specification about skier weight. So why can't a 60 lb B2 use one? Seems it is more unsafe with that heavy rope catching in the water for the younger, smaller B2 guys...

@JayG80 - yep. posted there, too. Thanks.

The glass on our site's 2008 Malibu's vented windshield is coming loose. I am looking for any hints/instructions, or been-there-done-that advice on repairing the assembly. It appears that the glass was attached to the frame using some sort of double-sided, adhesive and weatherstripping. Also, the frame appears to be attached to the gel coat with only minimal screws. Again, if anyone has rebuilt or repaired or reassembled this windshield, please let me know what to expect. I think this shield was present on 2006-2011 Response LXI's.

Looks like they are back up to $59 each.

This is something that I'm sure will get some use... Side by side video tool... http://youtubedoubler.com/ Brent, I can't wait to see what you make with this...

I have a D3 RCX where the front two inserts came out when I unscrewed the binding bolts. I know many folks work on lots of skis. Do you have tips or methods to best reinstall inserts?

Just random thoughts... 1. What if you need trailing arm pressure at the start of the wake crossing and leading arm pressure at the finish of the wake crossing? 2. What if the arm pressure prescription is a result of seeing a lack of balance. Thus, some skiers need more trailing, while other skiers need more leading.

Anyone else seeing this problem? I'm running Firefox 12. When viewing a post in the forum, the message seems to repeatedly "refresh" or repaint on the screen. Also, if I am scrolled down a good ways, it will jump back up to a specific point near the top of the page. It seems to jump to a level where the left margin ends... you know... where the donate buttons are. Maybe this is an undocumented feature of Hortons? Just kidding. But seriously, is anyone else seeing something similar?

Crashman, Try this... Ski an entire run looking completely at the pylon. NEVER take your eyes off it. Start standing between the wakes with your sternum (chest) pointed slightly up to the ski - almost military at attention. Bend your front ankle and feel pressure of your weight on your front foot more than the back one. Now glide out to the side in this position (pull out). Get into the glide in this position, but pull your elbows in tight and squeeze the sides of your vest. All this is to just get your chest up and arms in. Now the fun begins... While starting your first lean/wake crossing, think about leaning your shoulders away from the pylon, but point your ski across the wake. Thus, you will be somewhat twisted - feet pointed across the wakes, shoulders open to the boat. Again, keep your chest up, arms in, shoulders open, and eyes on the pylon as you simply lean away from the pylon. You should be in a very "strong" and stacked body position as a result of this. Don't look where you are going. Don't look at the wake, don't look for the buoys. Feel the wake, feel the rhythm, use your peripheral vision to just check proximity to the buoys. This open shoulder lean away position is even more beneficial in your offside wake crossing. Master this type of wake crossing, then start looking "down lake" during the edge change and throughout the whole turn. For example, while approaching 1 ball, you should be looking at 3 ball and 5 ball down course. Keep looking at them while your ski turns around 1 ball. Feel the ski complete the turn and feel the lean start on its own. Once the lean starts go back into the "look at the pylon" position. As you approach 2 ball, again look down course at 4 and 6. Keep your eyes up and looking down coarse as you round two ball. Don't look down at the buoy you are rounding. Feel it and only use your peripheral vision for confirmation. Keeping your head up during the edge-change and turn will keep your chest up. All of this will help your hips significantly. The next thing you can add is to think about pushing your legs a little straighter when you are leaning. That will help, too.

So, my local club is finally trying out the on-line registration solution with USAWS. We are using the on-line payments via Paypal account. I am very disappointed in the convoluted complexity of the fee setup. There is absolutely no way for our club to include all of our fees and discounted fees for our tournaments. I was thinking that this doesn't have to be so hard... Why can't they simply have about 30 rows with free-text description and then numerical fee amount? Then, each tournament organizer can simply describe each different fee option and specify the price... Standard 1EV Class C Standard 2EV Class C Standard 3EV Class C Junior 1 EV Class C Junior 2 EV Class C Junior 3 EV Class C Collegiate 1 EV Class C Collegiate 2 EV Class C Collegiate 3 EV Class C Mini-Course Fun Chief Official Entry fee (discounted) Promo Boat Owners Entry fee (discounted) Club Member 1EV Class C etc. Total flexibility, minimal complexity! If you agree or have had difficulty with the on-line registration, share your thoughts on this...

It amazes me sometimes how many different ways we can try to say the same thing... fingers up/down, this hand above that hand, this palm up/down... Just put two simple pictures of hands on a handle darn it! One with the caption "Left Foot Forward" and the other for right... Not rocket science here. A picture is worth 1,000 words... Google + Paint = pic...

http://static-cl1.vanilladev.com/ballofspray.vanillaforums.com/uploads/FileUpload/d5/61a511d6cd73ee976487e2853b6e37.jpg

http://static-cl1.vanilladev.com/ballofspray.vanillaforums.com/uploads/FileUpload/b7/f187f3d7516a02901b15dc0c64989e.jpg Buoy Wonder at Moomba...

Buoy Wonder at Moomba!!!

BOS - the first place I go... (credit goes to S. Sligar)

BOS - why go anywhere else?

BOS - more than just fin settings...

Or heck, use the graphic in my avatar... BOS - because if competitive skiing was easy, everyone would do it.

BOS - be in the know...

Wish said, "If the tourney is web cast that would bring a fare sized audience and the cameras will be on him and his ski." I hope Cypress upgrades their UPSTREAM Internet bandwidth for this event. Webcasting has always been a little iffy when "borrowing" a local homeowner's wifi... Maybe the event can get sponsored by some marketing-hungry internet provider who would put in a special feed for the event. Maybe Clear or some other WiMax 4G solution would pony up. Or a Time Warner Business Account with Gigabit LAN to the broadcast booth. Just some thoughts...

Wow... That's pretty unique to have a public lake so closely shaped like a slalom lake. At least you have a physical divider (berm/bridge) between it and the main lake. Maybe that's the gateway for education. Use this for signage and flyers, etc. Just BS-ing here, but wouldn't it be nice if there was a security cam taking pics of everyone who crossed under the bridge. The sign could list "safety" rules, Picture of a slalom course, info about what it is used for, invitation to inquire about the slalom course usage via web site link or email address, and a subtle warning that vandalism costs to the course will be pursued... I hate the punitive approach, but people behave when they think they could be caught. I much prefer the suggestion of scheduling a monthly "Learn about the Slalom Course BBQ" event. Publicize the even well in advance, or make it a regular event. Put this on a sign visible when people idle under the bridge. Make the information available 24-7. Use the threshold into that part of the lake as a way to distribute info.