TonyLightfoot

Beatrice was actually well enough to attend the award ceremonies on site and then the final night party at Lake Maggiore after they x-rayed her. Broken bone in her shoulder, so it'll be several weeks before she gets back out on the water again. She was still happy that her brother Matteo skied to a silver medal position - and that she has new claim-to-fame. She actually wanted me to get the video out sooner than I did. She's certainly a trooper and I look forward to seeing her compete again in the near future. Tony Lightfoot P.S. I make no apologies for adversely affecting Mr. Horton's hearing.

I skied at a site in the Netherlands called Rooye Plas, just outside Handel (check it on the Google Earth file) . That had an 8 Buoy overlap slalom course and it skied real well. I'm sure that it was an absolute stinker to survey and certify for record tournament use, but it worked on the lake which was 1550 feet long.

My Bad! See my amended post above.

As shown in the "way back when" video, there is room for a 6 4-buoy course on Lake Eola, possibly an 8-buoy overlap. From as far as I can tell, it should actually be easier to slalom there now because: 1. It'll be more into the middle of the lake. In 1986 the courses were located on the south shore, on the opposite side of the fountain. 2. Zero Off. Even with the relatively tight setup, the boat will be up to speed quicker. Back then it was all hand-driven by the likes of Les Todd, Ian Staples and the late Jack Walker. It would be nice to have tricks there but, from the perspective of the organizers and the investors of the event, it would be a hard sell to have it in anything other than a exhibition capacity.

There was quite a bit of buzz created with the media announcement of Soaked, a new pro water ski festival to take place September 7 and 8. There's going to be quite a bit of money at stake (around $100K) for the athletes, but the best part is the venue - Lake Eola in Downtown Orlando, which will see pro water skiing make its return after a near three-decade absence. The website is up and running at http://www.soakedorlando.com and so are their Facebook and Twitter presences. Local TV stations in the area were there to capture the action during the media day, which included Freddy and Tom hitting the ramp and Breanne taking a few slalom swerves. Much of the footage used on their newscasts can be found at this playlist: One of the clips includes an archive from WFTV of the last time pro water skiing appeared on Lake Eola: That clip brings home how much the sport has changed since 1986. The opening shot of Carl Roberge jumping with the Yamaha-Powered MasterCraft OB, hand-driven to RTB rules is priceless. This event is certainly a much-needed shot in the arm for the sport and I for one will be looking forward to it. Tony Lightfoot

Another one to consider: Aaron Larkin - #1 in the World Elite Rankings on the back of some great slalom wins, including two impressive back-to-back wins at Princes and Diablo Shores? Tony Lightfoot

How about: The first ever YouTube tournament water ski video to go over 150,000 viewers (Kyle Dammeyer - featured on ESPN's Sportscenter and Around the Horn, Big 12 Network and soon on TruTV) ? Tim Bradstreet - last jump heroics at the World U-21 Championships to win Overall and undisputed best jumper in the world at 1.65m ramp height? Natallia Berdnikava - world jump record, three golds at the World's? Jacinta Carroll - coming through with several pro jumping wins this season? Stephen Critchley - all or nothing on his last jump at the European Championships, and coming through with an impressive win? Adam Sedlmajer - well-deserved overall-double gold at the World's and European's, and taking down two slalom giants to win the Europeans in Slalom? Ryan Green - all but forgotten about among the World's elite skiers, achieving a dream overall podium finish at the World's? Rodrigo Miranda - first ever World Open Championships medal for Chile, in the Men's jump? Delfi Cuglievan - first ever World Championship Gold for Peru in the World U-21 Women's slalom championship? Clem Lucine - first women over 10k in tricks? Regina Jaquess - new World Record in Slalom, further down 41' off? That's just a few I can come up with at the top of my head - I might have more.... Tony Lightfoot

Yeah, he was fine after that set and was certainly alive and well at the banquet - not even contemplating the possibility that the video of his crash would become quite possibly the most watched water ski video in recent times. Here's the clip from ESPN's "Around the Horn" - yes, THAT ESPN.... ...and from a nationally-syndicated news magazine show called Right This Minute..... and that interview that was being eluded to earlier on the Big Ten Network? Got that too.... Just for his ambassadorial role alone in that interview on the behalf of the NCWSA and especially the schools in the MidWest he should be a shoe-in for an award at the NCWSA Mid-Winter meeting come the new year. He gets my vote for sure....

.....and here's the video. Click on the little screen icon on the bottom of the player to show the full playlist.

Men's Jump Final Women's Jump Final Men's Slalom Final Women's Slalom Final Saturday's Elimination Round Action + Men's/Women's Tricks Finals Friday's Elimination Round Action Thursday's Elimination Round Action European Cup Action

A lot of factors can contribute to bad ice: 1. Surrounding Humidity 2. Refrigeration system 3. Condition of the Ice Resurfacing Machine If any of these at least are out of whack, then you've got problems.

In recent times The World Championships hasn't exactly had a plethora of venues wishing to stage the event. It's a huge undertaking for anyone concerned, with logistical and organizational headaches aplenty. When they do eventually have something close to their ducks in a row, they then realize that getting the level of media coverage from television that an event of this stature warrants is pretty much a non-starter if they want to stay within budget. Russia was the only one to submit a bid for this year's edition, so they got it. End of story

With all the talk going on this discussion board about who they believe will win the respective titles, the fact that they have to advance out of the elimination round is almost forgotten. Based on that, here's an interesting question to ponder: How many skiers do you think will be tied for a last place(s) to get in the finals after regulation and how many places will there be left? There are 12 spots in the finals each for men and women - what say you? Tony Lightfoot

Two names - Des and Kuno. They're the ones responsible for having the World's in Russia. We'll see if their goal bares fruit...