klindy

All valid points @ToddL. One thought, the shortening loops add about 18-24" of rope PER loop. So loops for 15-*say* 38 off (6 loops) would effectively add 12-20% more rope (and the corresponding weight) to the rope. If the battle is to keep the rope light enough to help it stay out of the water for LL skiers I would think fewer loops are better than more.

Russell, just a clarification - Do the "break strength" numbers above include a safety factor as well or are those best defined as "ultimate break strength"? I ask because generally there's an additional safety factor applied as well which could mean the ultimate load is significanly higher. Since I assume you guys have some test data you'd know.

Fruedean slip I'm sure... :)

I'd say post some video in this section and we'll comment. That may be better anyway if you can get multiple opinions.

Yeah she set a (pending) G2 record at Cottonwood a few weeks ago with a score of 3@32/11.25. Previous to that she held (at least co-held) the record with a score of 2.5 (which set ran last fall). Great skiing Ruth!

Look here for more info - http://mwsa.org/eventsmain-three_event.html Michigan is full of great places to ski. There's a couple locations on the west side of the state and many on the east. under the "home" tab above is a Google Earth map of all the locations in MI I'm aware of. FYI there's a 2rd record 3-event tournament in Lawton, MI this weekend (about 20 minutes southwest of Kalamazoo). Awesome place to ski!

Bent, flexible knees means the ski tracks straight....keep stiff legs and it will be like wet ice. Start with one leg dragging behind and don't panic (go to quick) to put your rear foot in. Since the rear toe is usually twisted 45 degrees or so the set up will dictate which foot is forward. If you're generally the opposite foot forward it's ok to just stand ON the rear toe. Better that way then the 'wrong foot' forward for you. At 170 I'd recommend 16-18 mph with the rope between 15-22 off to start. At that speed the wakes will be better at 22 off. Remember going faster will make the wakes closer together but it tends to make the ski feel more and more 'slick'. Better to start slower. Have fun!

Find me a golfer that doesnt use the driving range and practice putting green before AND after a tournament round! Batting practice...tennis players hit balls to each other....etc...etc....

@danbirch that assumes any release wouldn't rotate on the pylon. One of the things I inferred above was that the angle from the pylon is much narrower for trick skiing. One of the issues with early trick release design was the rope getting "hung up" in the release that worked best from directly behind the boat. That said, I'd agree that I don't anticipate a release (as we conventionally think about it) would be added to slalom. Now thinking out of the box - since there's electronic control of the throttle with the speed control system I wonder if you could sense trouble through a sharp change in the load on the engine? You'd have to map a lot of data to get the conditions sorted out but if you could "trigger" something electronically, you could know fast enough to react through any number of options - shutting down the throttle, releasing the rope (solenoid or other electromechanical means), etc.

I'd say Kelvin has a good chance of broadcasting the first full pass this weekend! Lots of guys capable of doing it in one location at a great place to slalom. I'd predict it goes down this weekend and one of the South Central "local guys" does it.

That is a classic! Heard the whole story again (live and in person) this June at Cottonwood. It left the whole place in tears we were laughing so hard!!!

@SkiJay mentioned an important "unintended consequence"...If a serious short line skier ends up needing to be released, what happens with 20 odd feet of rope on the floor in the boat? I can probably count on one hand the number of trick skiers I've seen in 25 or so years who have attached a rope on a loop shorter than the 'long loop'. Primary reason is not only the feet and other assorted items (and body parts) in the boat but also the potential of getting the 'trailing end' of the rope caught up on some part of the hardware (engine cover, pylon, release, etc.) on the way out. And of the trick skiers I've seen use a 'shorter' loop, what's left is never more than 2-3'. Also, as a trick skier, the rule of thumb is "if in doubt, pull the pin". At slower speeds and generally directly behind the boat, the worst that happens is an earlier than necessary fall. With slalom and the higher speeds, greater loads, sharper angles, longer rope, the end results can be unpredictable at best. I sincerely feel badly for those who have suffered devistating injures (or worse) getting caught in the handle or rope. However I fear suggesting a solution may be worse than the original problem. A couple points to think about - how come this same problem doesn't occur (or far less often) in the jump event when many of the falls are far more 'unpredictable'? Likewise, why don't you see hard shell bindings (with some kind of release mechanism) in jump? Point being, the potential for premature ejection (or not releasing) is worse than the current 'system' of rubber bindings. Surely there's some kind of device that "could work" in most cases, but what about the "rest of the scenarios"? It may be hard to improve the current system.

Ever have a rope or handle break while you're skiing? I have...you test it...please attach my rope using the loops to the pylon.

All of those tournaments technically "international" tournaments and, as such, would be run under world rules. It only makes sense to use scores which are achieved under the same set of rules. So qualifying tournament scores would need to be run under class L or R.

Thanks for the update! Ron's a class act and this injury sounds devistating! My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family in this difficult time.

I'll be in the Memphis area all next week (there and Northeast Arkansas) and see there are 3 sites in the area. Any contact information available or other information to get a set or two in while I'm there?

Try golf..... :) Actually that was Jack Travers' response many years aog after I was narrow enough cut the buoy loose for the second time in a single set.

message sent

@wart as a DFW resident, it would be helpful to know roughly where you plan to work. The area is quite large and traffic a real consideration. If your job is in downtown Dallas then Ski Haven isn't for you...Nearer to FT Worth is another set of locations. In terms of wind/weather, I wouldn't characterize DFW as "a windy area". Princeton has 4 lakes and lake 4 is well protected. Tough to find bad water there most times. The slalom lake at Ski Haven is also well protected based on any prevailing winds. Never skied at Triple J but others have spoken highly about the lakes. Frankly, I don't think you can make a 'bad choice' in the DFW area for a ski lake. Probably best to pick something closer to your office/job and go from there.

@ScarletArrow - I make it a habit to watch as closely as I can. If something looks strange (you flinch, grab your eye/head/whatever) and miss the pass there's a high likelihood I'll ask "everything ok"? If you reply "yep" we move on....anything else and we'll sort it out. If something clearly is out of place, I'll initiate a reride myself. It's important that the competition is fair to ALL skiers....that means everyone gets as fair a ride as possible given things we can reasonably control. Remember it's also important (and unfair) to all the other skiers that a reride is really warranted. Point is, not everyone or everything gets a reride, but if it's fundementally unfair, then it's important to make it right. Also, remember, if that bug that smashed you in the eye happened BEFORE you enter the course, you can throw the handle and make your legitimate request. Once you're in the course, the standard essentially goes up in that it better be obvious. Incidentally, I've seen multiple rerides granted for boat path (both hard side and easy side) in the last couple years at high end tournaments. This has been for passed both completed and those missed. They've been initiated by the boat judge, driver, TC monitoring the video and the chief judge. My point is, agree or not, officials work really hard to make things as fair and equitable as possible AND, while shooting for actuals (times, path, etc.), working hard to give every competitor the best opportunity to ski their best. @unksskis - no problem...participating as a skier or official is just as important to me. I'm sure that's also true for the vast majority.....

I've heard them all in the years I've been in the boat. Generally though as others have said, there better be something known to more than just the skier. I would have granted Jody a reride if he was covered with weeds (note that one lone weed on the rope likely isn't enough). I've seen ducks in the pull out work, a dog trying to retrieve ball 5, a pontoon headed towards the course (public river). A "green glob just before the gates" didn't work when there was no evidence of anything (we checked). Knots also have worked as has damaged equipment (you have 3 minutes to fix it). For tricks, add boat speed not set and boat path to the list. As a judge in tricks, I always get the "ok" sign from the skier before entering the course. If the skier doesn't give me the OK sign they better be working hard to adjust the speed, boat level or something or I'm not likely to give them a second chance.

Jim we're talking about Fort Worth...you know, cowboys, bull riders, roughnecks....maybe Dallas has gone soft! Come to think about it, several good jumpers and trickers north east of Dallas too! You might be on to something Jim!

T-up you'll like the site @ntx has. Great jump (and jumpers!) nice lake to trick (and trickers!) and a very well protected slalom course. Two lake site and easy drive from downtown Ft Worth. If you like Nascar you can stop at Texas Motor Speedway on the way back.

Ask @ntx He'll probably have some ideas.

@Klondike here's the chapter/verse of the rules for Regionals placement. 1. In any year, a skier shall be qualified to enter only one Regional Tournament for placement. A skier shall ski for placement in the Region where he does more than half of his tournament skiing during the ten weeks prior to the Regional Tournament. A skier has the option to return to his Region of legal residence to ski for placement. 2. If this rule is clearly inequitable, the Regional Executive Vice Presidents of the affected Regions may correct the situation at the request of the skier prior to July 16th immediately preceding Nationals. EVP’s from the Regions involved must be in agreement. 3. If the skier has not done more than half his skiing in the ten-week period in any single Region, he shall ski in the Region in which he has skied most. If a skier is in doubt as to the Region in which he is qualified to ski, he shall present all the facts to the Regional Executive Vice President in the Region in which he has legal residence prior to July 16th immediately preceding Nationals and the Regional Executive Vice President’s decision shall be final. If there is any question regarding a particular skier’s Region, the Executive Vice President is required to rule based on the legal residence of the skier. This may be accomplished with a telephone directory or telephone call to the town in question. A skier skiing ―out of Region, based on the ten-week rule, may thereby satisfy the requirement to compete in a Regional Tournament to qualify for the National Tournament (Rule 4.02.A), and may ski for ratings only. He may not ski for Regional placement. 4. All entrants in a Regional Tournament shall be U.S. citizens, unless the Region determines to allow non-US citizens (or resident aliens) to participate, but not for placement. However, a competitor who skis in international competition for another federation shall not be eligible for placement for two years following the international competition.