jdarwin

@Razorskier1 - when it drops below 60, I check my mink out of storage....

@Mark_Matis - BINGO!!! That would mirror the IWWF. My 2008 SN w/ ZO can pull a world record (L,R) in any other country but NOT in the U.S. Why? Because USAWS is in bed with the boat manufacturers who are doing NOTHING to support their promo programs. They are having their cake and eating it too. USAWS needs their sponsorship money and the membership pays the price. I say dump the sponsorship and raise dues $5/year on the membership and let us use whatever boat is available.

@BRY - I agree about boat video/judge and gates. That's why there is gate cameras/video. Otherwise the view from the boat is preferable thru the entire course. It's the best determination if the skier got outside the buoy. And with video, it can be reviewed unlike the instantaneous / irreversible call from towers.

@Edbrazil - boat video judging? What a concept!! Too bad the uninformed at USAWS can't realize what the rest of the world has known for years!! I'm convinced that judging from a boat video is superior to ANY shore judging if done properly. For one, it's reviewable. And, the view is the SAME for all judges. And, the distance from the judging point to the buoy is ALWAYS 37.5' give or take a few inches - not half way across a lake. We use gate video, why? Because the view is better (angle and proximity) and its reviewable.

@dbutcher - If I can get @skidawg off his, I will. I haven't shed the winter fat yet so I'm like a pig riding a toothpick at the moment....

This discussion illustrates once more how dire the promo programs' current status is. It's time USAWS accepted the reality of the situation and eliminated the 3 year rule for towboats.

Going to try a 68" next week (thanks @skidawg - never thought I would be trying a Radar but its hard to argue with the results....

@Jody_Seal - I am aware of the exception and receive one for each of my C tournaments. That said, putting 8 hours on my personal boat just eliminated any ROI for hosting a Class C. The boat manufacturers pitched a fit when USAWS went from two years to three for Class C. And yet, they've done NOTHING to enhance or expand the availability of their product. I suggest EVERY site make an exception request for an older boat to pull their event. Maybe this will get the boat manufacturers off their collective asses to support their respective promo teams. The promo programs are a logistical nightmare and a financial disaster for most. Promo boats will be a thing of the past in 5 years. We had better start preparing for the inevitable.

As an LOC, the Class C's are simply to have fun. The stress level is much less than an ELR - as is the technology investment. But, as a lake owner, I SHOULD expect a decent rate of return on my investment. That said, let's take a look at the economics of running a typical Class C that is "affordable" to the average skier. $50 entry for 3 rounds. 25 skiers total. After comping the chief officials and two promo boats, that's $950 in entry fees. In the SCR, we pay a $60 sanction fee (in addition to the AWSA $150 sanction fee) AND $2.50 per skier in head tax. Fuel at $2.15 gallon is $162.50. Food/drinks is another $125.00. Portable toilet is $90 for the weekend. A good rope is $90 (yea, you can amortize it over several tournaments but we always end up buying a new one for each tournament - you need at least two anyway). So, the LOC ends up with $210 for the day assuming they didn't have any other expenses. USAWS (thru sanction and head tax) makes more off the tournament than the folks actually doing the work. So, if you want affordable tournaments, make it affordable (and, economically feasible) to host one. Lower the sanction fees and dump the current year boat rule - no need to have a $60k boat pulling a Class C event. My 2008 SN w/ ZO does the job well.

Actually, he should have run it - freaked out at 5. Miller should have run 41 as well. Great skiing this weekend

The tort laws differ from state to state. In Louisiana, if someone comes onto my property uninvited, falls into my lake and drowns, he's SOL. The laws in Louisiana were modified some years ago to protect the timber industry from frivolous lawsuits brought by trespassers. Also, there are certainly ways of setting up the corporate structure of your lake to insulate the owners from liability. Insurance is an instrument to transfer risk. The lower the risk, the lower the insurance premium.

We host 6 record tournaments per year and our ropes get used all the way thru 41. The three ropes we designate as tournament ropes become our club ropes the following year. I estimate we have approx. 175 sets on each rope when it migrates to club use. Another 150 sets of club use per rope and then they are done. Typically by that point, there are wear points, the ropes are becoming out of tolerance (typically short) and are stiff as a cable. With $2000 skis and $60,000 boats, the price of a new rope each year is minimal.

Lake wind advisory....

@klindy - thanks for the pics. I hope @teammalibu doesn't see this fine engineering....he'll have a stroke!! Yes, it seems USAWS/IWWF practice selective indignation when it come to video for judging vs. video to approve world records. Perhaps if they created a good STANDARD for video, this wouldn't be an issue. My biggest issue with mounting a fixed camera to a pole is that the zoom becomes useless. Therefore, the camera aspect is the same for 15-off and 41-off. And, at east/west sites, the sun can become an issue early/late in the day. Hardly preferable. I would rather have the camera in the hands of a capable operator who can manage the zoom based on line length and the back-light function for dark/light settings. In the end, I'm a firm believer that video feed from the boat is FAR superior to tower judging due to the view afforded the judges and the ability to review each pass if needed. There have been far too many bad calls from towers over the years. And yet, it remains the standard.

@bigtex2011 - anything for you, Chris. You're my hero, Big Spray :)

@skiinxs - I have an FTP site I use at work but not available for receipt of personal information. Perhaps youtube? I know that degrades the quality somewhat but it's the perspective I'm after - not necessarily the quality.

@skiinxs - I would love to see a video clip using the pole and compare to hand-held. My gut tells me there are advantages/disadvantages to both. IMO, having a competent camera person in the boat seems preferable over having some Beaver Knievel manipulating a joystick.

@skiinxs - thanks for the photo. Wow, that's quite a set up. Begs the question: if the camera has to be 4-8' above the waterline to adequately judge the slalom pass, shouldn't the boat judge be at that same height to determine same? (sarcasm). Simply illustrating the absurdity of the lengths we go to simply judge a slalom pass when there are easier (and less costly) means to achieve.

@skiinxs - this was recommended to me in lieu of hand held for slalom judging. Sounds like a lot of work and still requires human input (control camera position from shore). We've used a hand held camera w/ wireless the last couple of years with no issue but the powers-that-be believe the "pole" option is preferable. Not sure why. Again, this is for slalom only. I can see the benefit in tricks of having a higher camera position. Why don't we just have a drone follow the skier. Each skier is required to have a chip attached to their vest and the drone follows them thru the course and sends a video of the pass to judges on shore.....I'm just kidding but it would not surprise me if the day is coming...

@Horton - it's a pole that mounts to the front of the towboat to which you attach a camera to record/view slalom and trick - judging.

@OB1 - take a pic and send to me. Seems to be the only way USAWS will give an exemption to use boat video judging.

Anyone have some good pictures of this pole? Thanks in advance.

Thanks @skidawg - same rope quality but no marking sleeves and take offs to 39. If you run 39 on a regular basis, this is not your rope. Also, the white rope w/fleck is not affected by the sun as much (IMO). Just wanted a quality, record-capable rope for club use at a better price point.

Want to fund international competition? Eliminate the publication of the magazine and the $190,000 (paper) loss it incurs each year. We could fully fund every team.

USAWS Foundation and USAWS are mutually exclusive - and, the funds to support these teams would come out of AWSA's $40k it receives from the parent organization