gjohnson

Did a post just get deleted?

The cheaper version is only $2490

The AWSA could fix the Regional tax. If a skier is qualified for Nationals and wishes not to ski Regionals, why not let a skier skip Regionals. It seems silly to have a qualification system that mandates a skier to "obtain a skiing position" in a tournament just to get to the "Big" tournament. If this were the case, at least Simpson would be skiing at Nationals.

Competitive water skiing is dying because members have decided tournaments are not worth their time. Other than a handful of tournaments, the only point of skiing in one is setting a top score. Once skiers tire of that, they stay home. Every other thread people prattle on about why competitive skiing is dying while missing the mark. Tournaments are boring. It's that simple. Bummer for Simpson.

Or you could come to Minnesota and not ski through 38. With a short summer and plenty of wind, we've got a two week window to set a good score. That's why I think ranking lists are a bit useless. Every site skis different. No score is the same. It should be about who skis best that day, period.

And that's the problem with tournament skiing. It's all about setting a score that counts. If you can't ski close to your max, what's the point of skiing in a tournament?

I had issues with freezing when the top three ladies hit the water. A bit annoying. Regardless of what you think of the announcing. The Masters does a great job streaming the event year in and year out. I’ve been watching it online since they started streaming it. It’s the best tournament of the year to watch.

@Dirt You ask a great question. To most people, that is enough. The downside is people struggle understanding the "how can someone do that" question. Which is a normal thought for most people, because, WTF, who preys on children? Now insert a person who is in a position of power over victims. A person who has great respect, everyone likes the person, they're important to the success and reputation of the community. This person has tremendous support in a community. That makes it very difficult for people to come forward and report transgressions. The powerful person will be defended their community and believed over a victim or whistle blower. Then the community will attack the victim. These actions aide the predator by ensuring silence of future victims. What society needs to start doing is understanding the abuse cycle. Have empathy for victims. Believe them and then and only then, can we enforce laws.

@wawaskr Safe Sport training specifically targets the root cause. Go through the training and you'll learn why victims stay silent, how predators win over people so they will be believed over their victims, tactics they employ, situations that may seem odd and are warning signs, impressing upon people to say something and why they should. Safe Sport is seeking to educate people so the past may, eventually, not repeat itself.

@MS rocks. IPA's make everyone smile more. By the time summer arrives, July, I may be able to ski because my boys soccer schedule will allow me to go to the lake.

My favorite Latin phrase describes the recently banned individual: asinus asimum fricat meaning: the jackass rubs the jackass (Conceited people flatter each other about qualities they do not possess)

I would if @MarcusBrown was in charge and it was something completely different than what we have now. I don't see how a different organization would make competitive water skiing better or grow. People are reluctant to embrace new ideas/change, especially the age of the crowd you see running tournaments.

@EFW are you suggesting we go back to the days where everyone stays silent and protects predators? You are misinformed on abuse, it's cycle, how people continue abusing, and how rare it is that accusations are false. SafeSport is a result of many abuses and failures of people to step in and believe children, the victims. Most victims say nothing, ever. It's unfortunate what happened to your friend, but that's an unusual case. SafeSport exists because people have protected predators for years. As I noted earlier, nobody cares about the victims.

Nobody believes the victims. It's an attitude that helps perpetuate abuse cycles. Protect the accused. That's how Nassar got away with abusing young girls for decades. In 2014, Michigan State University cleared him of any wrong doing. Parents, Coaches, and Police officers failed to do the right thing even as the reports kept happening. It wasn't until 2016 after a journalist wrote an investigative newspaper article shedding light Nassar, that he was stopped.

False allegations are rare. We live in a society that shames, blames, and attacks victims. Which is one of the reasons safe sport is needed. Larry Nassar abused hundreds of young girls for two decades because people don't believe the victims. And if it weren't for courageous Rachel Denhollendar, a victim herself, Larry would still be abusing young girls. I would rather not taken safe sport training, but I understand why it's necessary.

I have to take SafeSport training to be a manager for my boys soccer team. This will make it more interesting. I've kind of been putting it off. @Than_Bogan how long did it take to complete the training?

I agree with @Drago. Figuring out how to value performances at different sites, speed, weather conditions, type of tournament is a daunting task. If you really want to change the sport, let's hand the keys to @MarcusBrown and let him have fun. Or, give @JeffSurdej freedom to change things to make the sport more exciting to participate in.

She ran 10.75 in 2016 at West Palm.

I'm with Jeff, it's killing me to see the negativity take over all the smiles I saw for the week. As people bash lake three, keep in mind that lake 3 isn't part of Mystic Lakes. It was donated by a local resident for us to use all week. I think it's amazing that one individual, whose not a water skier, would open his property to the biggest nationals in years. That is a testament to how welcoming the people in Kansas are. You show up and you're part of the Kansas family for the duration. The America's Cup vibe was unbelievable. I woke up the next day wondering if I'd been at a massive party or a water ski tournament. Freddy jumping 220 was pretty cool. Watching runoffs for first place is some slalom events was exciting. Lastly, watching Chris Clark run 1.5 -39 to get fourth as the 17th seed, roughly, was outstanding.

@Chad_Scott lol. @MS eluded to my penchant for purchasing new water ski gear. If I skied on the same ski for more than a year, my wife would probably think something was wrong.

@Chad_Scott My wife isn't a big fan of new skis.

I’ll be rocking the mic all week

I watched, from the boat, Adam rip 10.25 while training for the Masters. He was so pumped. It was pretty cool to watch. Cool dude.

Yep. That’s a fantastic gift! It’s crazy how much smoother it is than the 12 year. #jealous

@MS judged a B2 slalom event at a MW regional tournament several years ago. That may have effected his attitude towards future swervers.