sunperch

I have skied behind it numerous times, and also driven it. We played with the micro-tuners at every line length at 34mph. The micro-tuners being engaged or disengaged did not make a difference at -22 , the hump was still there but manageable. We moved the passenger closer to the driver and no more than 1/2 tank of gas for the best ride. If you had a passenger >200# or a full tank of gas, the hump was not friendly. All of the other line lengths and speeds were great. Both of my kids skied behind it the most (promo at our lake, thanks Todd!) as they were training for their boat draw for Regionals and Nationals. They both liked it a lot.

@klindy You are right - having you as ACJ while dock starting was a pleasure! Also, getting to be a tower judge at Nationals was awesome!

I wonder..........

I loved the advance practice scheduling, almost perfect weather for KS in August, seeing our "Nationals" friends from around the country, close hotels, awesome willow tree shade at the east of the slalom lake, junior banquet on site, HAVING A SWIMMING AREA !!!!!!

FROM MY HUSBAND (who is not able to post in this thread): "Well, I was the dock start for W4 and I will confirm that they driving they received was poor. The driver pulled the women up at extreme angles and often did not have the boat lined up prior to the 55s, making last second corrections. Some complained that he did not have the boat up to speed when entering the course. The driver hit the dock 3 times, and would have been more if I had not pushed him off. When I alerted him that the women were voicing concerns about his driving and that he needed to have the boat lined up with the course prior to the 55s he replied that he knew what he was doing. The ACJ and ACD were alerted and they came to the lake, with the driver having to have his boat path corrected 3 times, they saw the crazy starts and then told the women that they all had the same poor conditions so it was considered fair. As far as the lake conditions, it was very busy water despite the wind. The main lakes had almost ideal conditions while Lake 3 had windy, busy water. Almost every woman came back to dock mad and complaining about the poor driving and poor conditions they had to ski in, especially since they were the only group originally scheduled to slalom on that lake."

@Horton No drama???? You must not have visited the starting dock on Lake 3 during the W4 slalom event......

Is there a copy of the "matrix supplied by Nautique"? How do we know if the pull received in a tournament is within the matrix?

My concern with putting my ski in a Thule box on the roof has been about the heat. Has anyone had a ski get too hot in the middle of the summer?

@JeffSurdej My husband and I are both active members along with our 2 kids, and 3 of the 4 of us are officials. Trust me I understand the "pay to play" model. Every time we need new skis it is x4, tournament entries x4, flights to go to Nationals x4, boat gas for practice x4,etc... now it is AWSA membership x4. Why on "pay to play" model do single event skiers have to bear the brunt of the cost for participation, but the 2nd or 3rd event cost only a fraction more? Nationals cost $165 for single event, $192 for 2-event OR 3-event skier.

@JeffSurdej Under the new membership pricing structure, it looks like a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids) who all ski in tournaments will have a price increase of $55 per year. Is my math correct? Is there an additional surcharge to be an official or is that included in the active membership?

My daughter has said she will quit skiing tournaments if the divisions are changes to ability based. She wants to ski with her friends, she does not want to ski against "old men". This sport is male dominated, which is fine, but I don't want to ski against men either. I have learned the most when I have competed against better skiers, gives me the motivation to strive to get better myself!

Our ZO had episodes of surging and backing off in several passes yesterday. Seemed like GPS problems. Curious that several people had the same issues yesterday.....it was around 3:30 central time.

So what will the actual COD be? 2018 tournaments are already starting, with people entering them thinking they could this weekend's scores to try get above the COA and thus qualify for Nats that way.

@JeffSurdej You might want to take a look at B2 - I see two 15 y.o boys ranked 3rd and 4th......

@eleesk So does that mean that you still only need one score above the COA after the COD to qualify? Anyone have the new COD?

Does anybody know the details of the qualifications for Nationals for next year? Heard multiple reports at Nationals that it was going back to the EP standards.

Success for who? Practice was a fisaco. Everyone I talked to was mad practice being limited. Kept waiting for all fun..... didn't see any at Radar lake. Off to the rope swing we went.

I noticed that the lakes are numbered in the Nationals scheduling. Can someone please identify which lake is which? @Moskier3ev

In 2014 we spent most of our time at the river, walking distance from the site. The kids had a blast there with the rope swing and damned up swimming area. I have heard that the rope swing has been removed, though.

@JeffSurdej Isn't a member of USAWS staff a webmaster? Michael Newth?

I just ordered a new mainline from Brenda at Intow. I had to ask her to wait a few days longer to ship it because it would beat me home from vacation. I have never had to wait longer than one week for any product I've ordered from her.

+1 @Chad_Scott My kids said they will quit skiing if they have to compete against adults. They said it would be no fun . There are far too few kids skiing as it is, all my kids want to do is ski hard and have fun with their friends at tournaments. We traveled to Alabama from KS so our kids could ski with friends over spring break, friends they made from attending Nationals. The question has still never been answered - what are we trying to accomplish by changing the rule book? I don't think that these changes will increase membership, all it is doing is making the majority of current active core of skiers mad. A lack of a real answer leads me to believe that it is a way for some to increase their rankings by getting rid of some of the better competition. Same with ZBS, a way to increase bouy count by overspeeding because they could not get it done with traditional scoring.

When I had ski damage from SWA, the claim had to be made before you leave the airport and within 4 hrs of landing. Since that incident, I unpack (PITA) my sportstube and inspect everything prior to leaving the airport.

@Mrs_MS I don't want my M5 skier to go 36mph either - we will be the one who have to take care of them if/when they hurt themselves. Besides, I don't want my boat driver to be out of commission!

@JeffSurdej @Bruce_Butterfield I am a Kansas skier. My family and I are all against ZBS scoring and have sent emails to our directors and EVP for the Midwest region. I have done a straw poll of fellow Kansas skiers and only know one who thinks it's a great idea. I have talked with B2, G3, W4, M3, M4, and multiple M5 skiers. For the last 16 yrs, I have skied at a lake that hosts a collegiate ski team. I think the changes that have been made for NCWSA are great! I think your Alumni Regionals are a fabulous idea. The funny thing is, the other rule change for Level 10 will ensure that a lower level skier will never sit on the dock in the same division with Nate or Dane, Regina or Whitney, Ryan or Zach at a non-collegiate tournament. We have seen collegiate skiers come, some stay and some go. What works at the collegiate level does not correlate to continuing with the sport after graduating (or running out of eligibility). From what I see, the collegiate skiers are given most of what they need to compete by the university or extremely generous parents. The ones that have the drive and dedication allocate their own resources towards skiing and continue on with the sport. Those who don't drop out.