Jordan

Interesting stuff in the advanced topic thread on gates. Clearly there is a problem if it is that difficult to judge gates and to come to an agreement about how they should be judged. Seems like: 1) Often the judges can't even see the gate ball due to spray 2) There seems to be agreement that there is not an advantage at short line if you are too early for the gate 3) There seems to be no apparent advantage to being late for the gates 4) Delays in the current judging system are bad for the skiers and the crowd So, time to think outside of the box a little. What if the orientation of the gates were rotated 90 degrees? So the gate was in line with the left side boat path buoys. Advantages: 1) Gates could easily be judged from shore 2) Skiers would still have to pull out to the left to set-up the pull to one ball 3) Easier visual cue for beginners 4) No complicated wording required for the rules Disadvantages: 1) change is hard 2) need to change existing courses 3) would have to modify portable courses by adding one more short arm Discuss folks...

Sorry Chuck...that would only be 32 off. You might be tough, but you stink at math! LOL

Bottom line is that you must have the ski on edge....as far as possible. 1) weight even on both feet 2) elbows in...ARMS STRAIGHT....hands low near your waste 3) lean away from the boat....lean away from the boat...and finally, LEAN AWAY FROM THE BOAT If your hands are out in front of you...you aren't doing it If you are bent at the waste...you are not doing it If your arms are bent...you are not doing it If your ass/hips are behind your feet...you are not doing it Practice pulling out hard to the side of the boat from foam over and over will help you get used to the position. The great thing bout this drill is that it feels safer while you find that strong position. And, use video!!!!

BINGO!!! The Butterfield article is for me the best explanation of what to do. After reading it, I looked at tons of pro video. It became clear the not only kept their elbows ticked in, but they stayed on the handle with two hands longer than I was. Once I got out of the the habit of reaching too far and way too early things improved dramatically for me. The edge change and the pre-turn suddenl took care of themselves. The turn naturally flowed from being in good shape entering the turn. Finally, more often than not, I could then ski my hips back to handle at the end of the turn and get into a nice stacked position. That article is da bomb! PS. My body doesn't curve into Nate's reverse C rubber spines position. It never will- but the rest of it helps immensely.

I would try the Seth Stishr Whips drill. Maybe even a modified version where she went edge to edge repeatedly on one side of the wake, then the same on the other side. The point would be to get her to trust that you can go from edge to edge continuously... And to trust that the ski will come back underneath her. I suspect that the flattening out thing is because she doesn't really trust that the ski will be back underneath her at the end of the turn. Encouragement and more skiing will get her there soon enough.

Wow! What are guys putting in the water down there? Congratulations to the skiers on an outstanding performance !

@Horton...we need some Prophecy video!!!!

@AB. GREAT TIP!!! Cocking the ski to side helps a lot of people get things balanced while being dragged. The ski will straighten out immediately once the driver accelerates.

I have had success teaching the deep water start, with one key idea. Keep enough of the ski out of the water so that the front toes are nearly at the water's surface. This starts the ski planing very quickly and prevents them from being pulled over the front of the ski. Also, I think it is really important to break the start up into two stages. 1) skier tells the driver "in gear"...drag them a little bit until they have their balance sorted out. 2) second command is "hit it", they will pop up from being dragged almost instantly with a gentle progression of the throttle Beginners can't handle a hot start, or even a medium one...a nice gentle progression on the throttle. The other keys are knee to chest, arms straight and don't stand up until you are past the spray. Good luck...your kid will get it soon!

I agree whole heartedly that leaner is better....but.... I also think that proportions matter also. Attributes, like long arms. The ratio of thigh length to shin length will affect strength, and the ability to remain stacked against the boat's load. Leg length versus torso length at a given height etc. Just saying that anytime we extrapolate from an "ideal" I think we are getting off of target.

Went from a Maherajah woody to. Taperflex Apex. It was like moving from a Chevette to a Ferari- instant love.

Horton said in one of his videos that something new was coming from Radar...pretty certain that he knew all about it. I'm also pretty sure that he agrees to keep things quiet until certain dates required by the manufacturers so that he can keep those relationships positive.

Any Horton video? Of either skiing on the prophecy or of drowning in some Kilo Kai on the road trip? :-0

What did you expect him to say? You would get the same answer either way.

Family first...there are a ton of good companies and opportunities in the world. You mention that your boss sees you taking over his position after more experience and obtaining an MBA. Why not talk to your boss about going back to school at the same time as your wife goes; all with a vision to returning to your company? You may find that there are a lot of opportunities for you that you prefer once you graduate.

50% of this sport is mental, the other 50% is being mental.

For a perspective about the scale of the flooding, apparently in the Saddledome (where the Calgary Flames play) the water is up to the 14th row of seats. The dressing rooms are completely underwater

I learned from the video that Nate is made of rubber !!!

@bobgboy, I only post this to preserve historical accuracy and to maintain the validity of this thread.

Wow, that is great. I was at that event in Toronto. It was held out at Long Pond at Center Island on Lake Ontario. A friend of mine had a job of running competitors back and forth from the mainland to the island. I had a Joel McClintock poster on my bedroom wall in those days, right next to the Farah Fawcett bathing suit poster. Too funny.

Not a geek-like observation but what I think it really does is allow you to remain in a controllable position. When your hands and arms get too far away from your body, it is very easy for the boat to pull the top of your body forward and cause you to break at the waist. When you break at the waist not only is that bad for balance, it transfers the load from your skeleton to your muscles - and they don't stand much of a chance against the pull of the boat. When your elbows are tucked in and handle is near your hips, it is very difficult to get pulled forward or to break at the waist. I know, I know, not physics equation was even mentioned....sorry guys :-)

Oh no!!!! @skibrain....I see a huge Panda in your future!

I also notice (particularly with your pictures of Nate) just how tight the skiers keep their elbows to their vests ( a la the Bruce Butterfield article on handle control) and just how long into the turn they hold onto the handle with both hands before feeding out the line. Some amazing pictures. Oh yeah, one other thing these guys can do, is that they can have a crazy out of control turn with huge tip rise, and maybe even have the entire ski jump out of the water, but almost instantly recover into a strong stacked and balanced pulling position. They are amazing.

I think at -15/22 the pull phase feels like a tug of war, while 28 and lower it feels like a pulse. I also think that the speed changes and edge changes are more distinct making you ski more efficiently.