Nando

@Brewski , I HAD to give you an awesome, because the products absolutely ARE, but the market potential of a $2,500 slalom case, ???

I've been using an O'Neill Slasher and got a Radar Drifter this year (both kinda sound like serial killers) and have had both roll up or get pulled up. I'm thinking @BraceMaker and others are right that a vest needs a belt. Anyone got a good suggestion on a comp vest with a belt? Ronix has one that might be a good one. Any recommendations?

Such a bad name- I consider myself just kinda fat but "SuperFat" seems to have a few negative connotations... My ultra-marathoner coworker swears by the stuff, though.

The Boating magazine that was substituted served only to remind me that WaterSki was generally really well-written- the writers in Boating just string together cliches and try to impress with obscure nautical terms without any substance. (The boats are cool, though.) I miss WaterSki, but no way starting a water ski magazine could make financial sense. Just glad we have BOS :)

@KeithMenard- except in the sense of being funny...

Not "hit it" phrases, but take too much time getting ready around the guys I ski with and you'll either hear "tick tock, laddie" or "pitter patter". @motoroxr knows the origin of the latter, but the former is a little more obscure.

86 degrees here today a couple of hours south of @bananaron- water has cooled quite a bit, but no wetsuit today. Not going to last even until tomorrow, though.

Ran into a guy I hadn't seen in years- couldn't remember his name at first, but could remember that in tournaments his prompt to go was always, "Yabba dabba do!"

Yes! the tick-tock- that was the way you ended it if you were really hot in the '80s. Tried that once- found out I wasn't really hot...

I timed and judged in a couple of pro tour events and can't recall any rerides. Timing was only mid-course and full- course. A good drive can pretty much nail hand driving. As @thager says, there were some pretty bad drivers in the hand-driving days that could get good times with crappy pulls- and a few that would give crappy pulls with lots of rerides. Check out the old-school jump meters- those were pretty primitive. Did that at several pro tour events, too.

I voted for 39s, but it is amazing how late some skiers can keep posting great scores.

Not to be a small-minded person, but it is a wakeborder...

Years ago a jumper I know blew out of his skis before the ramp, held on to the handle, and rode over the ramp on his belly. When he was back on shore, I said,"Well, that was pretty scary, what were you thinking?" He said, "Sox (his ski partner and coach- and a really good jumper) told me to never let go of the rope". I told him that I thought he meant in the air. When Sox came by, he did confirm that he didn't mean to ride over the ramp without skis :D . I miss those extremely entertaining days...

Makes my back hurt just looking at still photos...

Ouch- thanks for the info, @lpskier. Good to hear, she'll be okay, but that's a bunch of injuries and recovery won't be fun. Any info on Freddie? He seemed fine announcing, but he doesn't pull out of an event lightly. If they said what happened to him, I missed it.

A couple of questions and comments: Any update on Marion? It didn't look good. What happened to Freddy in the prelims? It looked like he took a ski to the face. Love hearing Freddy do jump commentary. Regina was her usual amazing self. I've only crossed paths with him twice, I think, but the Nate who was interviewed was the guy we always expected- relaxed, humble, willing to give credit to Will- if not for the absence of Nautique stickers on his ski, you'd never guess about all the other discussion going on here. Finally, Jacinta is truly an amazing athlete- what's a shame is that when she breaks 200' (and it will be soon), only die-hard ski fans will know what an amazing accomplishment it is. Not many guys have gone over 200' on the six-foot ramp and she'll do it at 5.5'. Her winning streak and margins of victory are amazing.

Well, the follow-through will tell, but the first step in solving a problem is admitting there is a problem.

Agree with @jcamp on April. A long and distinguished career.

Thanks for the information. @Luzz, appreciate the input on one vs. two buckle cuff. @Bdecker, what cuff do you use? My thought is that the added flexibility of a single buckle is the way to go, but am not sure.

Well, it's at least acknowledging there's a problem...

After a couple of minor injuries from my Reflex boot hitting my hind leg, I've been thinking about changing my setup (Reflex with R-style rear). Anyone out there on the Fluid Motion EVOs? I like the simplicity, but am a little concerned about the release and durability of the cuffs. Also, their Quattros seemed really heavy. And the boots seem wide, based on trying my brother's that is way too short for me. Advice?

I was in doing PT after knee surgery following a jump crash and the therapist (a barefooter) asked how it was going. I told him the knee was great, but my back was killing me. He gave me a simple exercise to stabilize the SI joint: simply lie on your stomach, clasp your hands in the small of your back, and slowly arch your back as much as you can, holding it in the arched position for a second. I do these in sets of 30, at least three sets a day and usually twice a day and before skiing. I had severe and chronic SI pain for years and since he gave me this exercise, it's been under control.

There must be a disturbance in the force- I've given @thager two "insightfuls" in two days.

I agree with @thager that the 13" seems to pivot around the triangle less- never thought of it that way, but that's the feeling. Tried one the other day and went back to my smaller one after the first set. Maybe if I had better handle control...

Other than almost everything being just right, what I see is something I've noticed Nate does, and pretty much no one else- just before the wake there's a subtle, but noticeable, increase in lean away form the boat, with a corresponding increase in angle. It's not huge, but something I've noticed with these two guys and can't think of anyone else where it's observable.