MISkier

@RichardDoane, do you know which records are able to be set or have been set with this option? That is one question to answer to see if that is being allowed. If it is happening, I do agree it should be distinguished as such.

@Bruce_Butterfield, the assertion from John was that ZBS introduced the new minimum starting speed for all divisions as part the new rule and that was not the case - it existed before. It is true, though, that even older history did have another approach to minimum starting speeds.

@lpskier, Also, the minimum start speed for all divisions was 15.5 mph before ZBS. Exhibit B: I clipped the below passage from the 2009 rule book (the bolding was as in the rule book): 10.06 Boat Speeds and Line Lengths(a) The minimum starting speed for all divisions shall be 25 kph (15.5 mph). Atthe option of the LOC, a skier may start below the minimum speedand the pass(es) shall not be scored. At the option of the sponsoringclub as stated in its tournament announcement, or by majority vote of theAppointed Judges, the number of passes may be limited to a specific number.A speed increment is 3 kph (1.86 mph).

@lpskier, while it is true that the ZBS matrix did not appear in the rule book until after it was adopted in 2017, I happened to ski at both 34 and 36 (as IM and OM) since 2015 (before ZBS was adopted) and received the same scores/buoys/points for those performances that are assigned to those line length and speed combinations. Exhibit A: Below are some scores from late 2015 into late 2016. The actual screenshot is dated 8-29-2016, which is before ZBS. And, there are also scores from the ski year 2022. You will see 34 and 36 mph scores intermingled and I am receiving the same buoys for similar performances. So, those values did not change after ZBS. Please note that the 2022 screenshot from today does have errors associated with the division for those scores. For some reason, USA Water Ski re-classified all of my 2022 IM and OM scores to M5 in the last month or so. I skied tournament 22M021L as IM and 22M016C as OM. I did ski other tournaments as M5 at 36 mph and those scores are properly categorized. I have notified them of this error, which is currently inflating my M5 ranking score erroneously. Your witness.

@drmadd, Nobody is getting extra points for skiing faster. They are merely getting the number of buoys assigned to the particular rope length and speed combination that was in place long before ZBS started. A score of 5@34/-35 was worth 95 buoys before ZBS. A score of 5@36/-35 was worth 101 buoys before ZBS. The buoys (points) assigned to a rope length and speed combination did not change. What did change was allowing skiers in class C to receive the actual assigned score for rope length and speed combinations that exceeded their max divisional speed. The more popular part of the ZBS change was to allow skiers to shorten the rope before they reached their max divisional speed. Previously, no shortening was allowed until a pass at max speed was completed. This was important to folks (and, primarily, kids) that did not want to ski faster, but still wanted to accumulate buoys for additional passes at less than max divisional speed. Where are age division records falling due to ZBS? In Michigan, we do not allow an age division record to be set at a speed higher than max divisional speed. I don't know if the Midwest Region does it the same way, but I suspect they do. National records cannot be set higher than max divisional speed (class E/L/R does not assign score values above max divisional speed) and anyone skiing higher than max divisional speed at Nationals will have their score treated as though they skied at their age division max. Anyone skiing higher than max divisional speed will only be awarded the record if they ski more buoys on the rope length equal to or shorter than the record. Here are 14 pages of just one ZBS thread on this site: /forum#/discussion/17096/zero-based-scoring/p1 There are other threads as well.

It is 25cm per buoy (was previously 20cm per buoy) for C/E/L classes and 20cm for R. The AWSA specification follows IWWF rule 8.15. The cumulative chart is below:

Try a little baking soda mixed with water into a smooth paste. Scrub with a soft cloth and rinse.

@Gloersen, to your point, the other option could be to add a boat guide on the other 5 buoys to be the full buoy mark. It would be at 27 meters from the buoy being turned and on the same side of the centerline. The skier would have to be under a tight line and cross the boat guide line before that particular guide to receive the full buoy credit. I'm guessing this would take the S turn right out of the equation.

Terry at our L tournament last year

Agree with most on buy the SN first, then MC. Don't buy a boat for the quality of stereo it has. As always, ski and drive any boat you are considering before you buy.

Thanks @Gloersen. That explanation coincides with what I experienced and what I was seeking to correct.

Used the + setting last night at a tournament and it was very helpful for me. I have struggled all season with a particular boat and this was like waving a magic wand. Back to my normal expectations and a normal performance. I was trying to deal with a feeling that the boat was just not there for me and that change corrected it for me. Does anybody have the parameter chart from Zero Off showing the settings and the numbers affecting the pull and release with the plus settings for Rev S? Also, I can't recall the nuances of Rev S plus settings (a.k.a "trick mode") versus the Rev R plus settings. If anyone has a quick comparison of that, I would appreciate it.

At Tivoli, we've used double braided rope. It seems to be more break resistant. I'm sure it's more expensive.

In addition to many years as a skier, driver, and judge, Terry was the Pan Am judge for several Michigan L/R tournaments over the years and even traveled back here to fill that role a couple of times. Definitely a contributor to water skiing. He was also the boat judge when I was driving a tournament about 6 years ago and a handle pop from the skier put the rope around my neck. He reacted superfast to grab at that rope before it tightened and try to deflect back up and away. While I reacted fairly quickly to get the boat into neutral, his reaction really kept the rope from making too much contact at all. I didn't have a scratch and was thankful for that assistance. Get well soon.

There were specific events where competitors earned tour points and Nate did not ski in all of them. So, those points were awarded to those who did and there were a significant number of tournaments where this occurred.

@skialex, If you are referring to the America’s Cup, believe that was not at a full 58 kph/36 mph.

Ski!!

How about this theory? Everyone has been chased off the public lakes and those courses have become scarce. So, the amount of practice is limited to those skiing in private clubs. Perhaps, a large number of exceptional skiers are on the sidelines now compared to 1985.

Where 1985 falls short of 2022: 1985 had 250HP to 275HP engines and hand drive. You can bet skiers were pulling those boats down and the timings were generous. 2022 has 400+HP engines and Zero Off. Any 1985 skier transported to today would think it it is two freight trains with a JATO rocket strapped to the stern. On the reverse: 1985 had 1985 technology skis/equipment and understanding of the physics of the sport 2022 has benefited from significant improvements on those. Boat path is potentially far tighter today than back then.

Driver error is basically your only option for another attempt at your deep water start. The driver would essentially accept responsibility for somehow not applying the throttle correctly or otherwise affecting your start (boat turned, line not tight at throttle up, dragging the skier excessively before throttling up, etc.). As a driver, I have called "driver error" on myself a few times. Typically, it has been with very young kids or elderly skiers who require a specific throttle management to avoid overpowering them.

@LeonL, the next most mentioned error is the dropping of the shoulder from not reaching properly. Also, I've been using the closed captioning to run the video when I need to turn the sound off. I'm not sure if TWBC has to do anything special for that or if YouTube has that as a real-time feature, but it's nice to have.

@Horton, he could also clip a baseball card to the strut with a clothespin, so it makes contact with the spokes of the wheel.

Rule 10.06 B.1 allows your 32 mph speed selection: A skier may elect to start at a speed higher than his division maximum speed, up to his respective Open Division maximum speed, and may not return to his division maximum speed on subsequent passes. Any passes skied at that higher speed shall receive credit for buoys as though they were being run at his division maximum speed. I believe what they will do regarding scoring is that the pass will be recorded as too fast, but the skier will decline the optional re-ride, as it is their intention to exceed the divisional speed.

Zane is great. I can't believe how much people (myself included) can learn just listening to his analysis of B2 Slalom.

@Horton, I’m a Computer Science and Mathematics major, but my 10th grade English teacher was awesome. I was able to test out of a full year of college English (and receive credit for all required courses) with just the knowledge from that class.