Rich

Nice tick tock to finish

In the eighties at least they had mid course & end course on a digital watch. In the 70's we had only end course & Minerva sweep stop watches. Things have changed a little. I remember when Al Lockett was developing a timing system that worked off magnets. Now its all GPS.

 

Another thought. I skied on the old American course measured in feet. They changed it in 1972-73 to metric. The American course was longer, that's what made it easier. What if the course became shorter?

 

Greg Davis should have a say on the intent of BD as he was the originator of the BD along with Dave Miller Ohio. Before the BD there was a Swami Slalom after Nationals that had all the best 34 skiers against each other. I think Chuck Forrest won that.

 

@skibug Please share your #s on the XTR. I ride an XTR and looking forward to the fin blade arrival. Having some #s to start will be helpful Thanks!

 

Leroy Burnett. 1966 national & master champion. World record holder. Developed the O’Brien fiberglass ski & the HP.

More front foot on glide, let your arms out all the way, look into the boat, not where you are going, which will keep your right shoulder from turning into the boat, which will give you more outbound direction so you wont have the slack

As soon as your 2nd hand is on the handle look right down the line into the pylon, Watch the pylon through centerline, That will give you the power you need off the 2nd wake, Past white water pick up the ball, at the ball look straight ahead, repeat...

Radar Lake & Hidden Lake in NV. are the 2 prettiest manmade ski lakes Ive seen.

 

Hips up, Counter more into both turns, open up more behind the boat.

 

Can we buy the finblock & the blade?

 

I agree with Than, stay with the ski. Get your arms straight behind the boat, hips up, that will give you more power off the 2nd wake. You are close.

that is an aluminum top, its slightly silver, the good ones were white called competition, not silver, called mach 1. The all glass one was white and had a softer flex

 

The better Obrien way back was either the "special" an all white version of the original obrien competition. The really good competition had a red painted bottom that you had to take the paint off of. The less desirable mach 1 had a aluminum top and had the color on the bottom impregnated in the glass. That ski was too stiff according to Leroy Burnett. Leroy Burnett designed that ski along with the Connely HP. Bob Lapoint rode the Obrien competition usa for years with different painted tops in early to later 70's. It became a painted top jobe, maha. I still have one in my garage. Great ski!

Check this out, how far the sport has come. KLP was an old man at 34 according to the commentator. I think this might have been KLP's last tour victory. go up to about 15.00; Big crowds, skiing in 3 feet of water, big cross wind

 

awesome!

 

Do this posture, hands under your belly, PALMS down, it will hurt to start but you will never have tennis elbow again! As you get more flexible try to touch your hands together

 

I'm 60, I've been skiing since 4 & competing since 14. I took a break in my early 20's to 31 or so to start a business, so I could afford to ski. I've been skiing ever since I just broke my ankle pretty severely this season, hitting a buoy in a tournament in July. I'm working hard to ski again by Feb. I do Bikram Yoga 5-6 days a week, Lift weigts 1-2 days per week, Ski 4-5 days per week. I run 38. I haven't gotten better past about 51-52 but I haven't regressed yet.

 

Gary, slowing the boat down will allow you to pull longer and still feel what short line slalom feels like. You can try that, and also try the drill I suggested. I also see you like to free ski, so work on skiing wide, put tape on the side of the boat so you know you are getting the correct angles. If you pull to long you will have a slack line. Its timing & rhythm that will get you through the shorter lines with a tight line.

Bruce is right on point. Put some tape on the side of the boat in your free skiing so you will know you are getting wide on the boat. You are getting close

 

6balls Pulling long never works out! Neither does over turning! There is more space in the course than we realize. Patience is a virtue!!!

 

Its a good thing, you are on your way to learning how to ski short line slalom. I free ski at 38 & 39.5 to learn the timing, I also ski in front of the balls at 38 & 39.5. I will ski in front of 1,2,3,4 and go around 5 & 6 Then as that gets good, ski in front of 1,2,3, go around 4 5 &6 I go to the width of the balls but turn in front of them, it also teaches you how early you can edge change and get to course width. Heres an interesting thing that happened to me, you don't realize how much your ski slides in the course. I skied 39.5 in front of all the balls but maintained the width. I cut the 3 4 5 6 ball lines off. When we came back all the balls were floating away. I found it easy to ski this line length, which taught me that if you keep good body position, edge change early, running very shortline slalom is more about timing and less about brute strength. Whats really crazy is that a young lady in the boat who didn't know skiing thought I ran the pass, as I was in perfect timing and sliding to each ball, my tail & finblade cutting the ball ties. It was a lesson learned for me. Now our egos say we should go around the balls, but training to run shortline slalom isn't about our egos. Short line slalom is as much about thinking ahead as it all happens very fast, and learning how early you can edge change and ride the turning edge out to the ball. One of the biggest mistakes we make is pulling too long, which will result in a late turn and a slack line, GAME OVER. This is my experience , hope it helps out.

Bikram Yoga

 

Fred Halt looked the amazing this week end, smooth technique. They all looked great but it was Fred's week end !!!