• Published on Wednesday, 20 February 2013 17:10

The Pacific Slalom sponsored Oahu Water Ski Club tournament was a great success with many mainlanders flying over to waterski-perfect saltwater conditions. Matt Brown and Steve Cesnauskas  proved that the new Syndicate A3 holds it weight in the waterski arena with a first and second place finish. The new A3 turns on the dime and accelerates quickly holding great cross coarse direction. Pacific Slalom owner Steve Cesnauskas stated that the A3 demos were as successful as anticipated, "We are excited the ski was so well received during the demo sessions at Keehi Lagoon with a number of A3s calling Hawai'i their new home. Thank you to the Oahu Water Ski Club and visiting waterskiers for all their support. It was a great event with perfect skiing conditions. A special thank you to Matt Brown for representing Syndicate and Pacific Slalom". 

• Published on Tuesday, 19 February 2013 17:09

D3 realizes that to grow the sport of competitive water-ski jumping & show skiing they need to get skiers the finest jump skis on the market. So for the 2013 season, D3 is offering any current AWSA or IWWF member a discounted price on jump skis when you provide us with your up to date membership number at the time of the sale. D3's belief is that by supporting these organizing bodies of the sport, and offering jump/show ski athletes additional value within their membership, they will help grow the sport(s) for the future. However, you must provide a current number at the time of your order to receive this special offer. We will verify your membership after your order is placed and you will receive the discounted price at that time. Please contact D3 directly with your membership number to start the order process. Send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or call us at 916-714-9389 to receive discount information. Discounts are available for both Nightmare and Team jump ski models.

Read more: ATTENTION AWSA and IWWF MEMBERS Special discount program on D3 jump skis

• Published on Monday, 18 February 2013 18:10

Important Notice: Chris Rossi has decided to ski exclusively at 34mph and is shooting to compete in the Big Dog events in 2015! No, that will not be happening just yet, but this 34mph set was my first real go at 34mph. Here are a few interesting things I noticed...

1) 41off/10.25m is very short, regardless of speed. As you can see, this was NOT an easy pass. I was pushed very hard to complete it. I have
always been a proponent of slowing the boat down to learn new passes. Steve Schnitzer broke it down a long time ago for me saying that each line length is like a new race course. You can not go full speed on the first time through a course you do not know. If you add to that the idea that you don't know a pass until you have completed it 1000 times, running a pass at any speed will get you closer to your end goal of running your hardest pass at your top speed.

2) Biggest difference between 36 and 34mph is the window for error. With the gate I have in this video, I would NOT have completed the pass at 36mph. Actually, I would have been very lucky to get past buoy 2. I notice a huge difference between the speeds right at the connection point after the buoy. At 36mph, if you do not finish the turn with the ski pointed optimally across course, you will not create enough space into the following buoy to make a good turn. At 34mph, I was able to finish that buoy one with the ski pointed at the boat and still get to buoy 2 with enough space to make a turn and continue.

3) My ski did not ride that much deeper in the water at 34mph. I did not feel like I was plowing water by skiing 2mph slower. As you can see in
this video, I was very surprised by how much speed I generated in my gate glide. I actually over shot my optimal location. The Strada has very efficient water flow and keeps its speed extremely well.

4) The tendency at 34 is to load harder out of the turn and thus get pulled inside the optimal arc earlier after the wakes. I felt much stronger at 34mph than I do at 36mph. The boats down course force on me was less at 34mph so it made me feel stronger. This is a very nice feeling in general. The only problem with it is that it promotes taking the power too far. It would be very easy to load more at 34mph and spike that load too early (before 1st wake) thus getting pulled to the inside through the edge change. This causes a loss of direction into the following buoy and even more detrimental, a loss of rope tension. If you do not have rope tension, you can not turn properly and end up delaying acceleration out of the turn.

5) You do not need to pull longer at 34mph, center line is still the optimal edge change location. I see a tendency to pull longer at 34mph. I believe this is mainly caused by what I spoke about in #4 above. When acceleration is delayed, you need to pull past the center line to create enough speed to get out to the buoy. I believe that if you do things right, center line will still be your goal for transitioning from pull to edge change.

6) Gates are still the most important part of any pass. I was fortunate enough to complete this pass, but it could have been a lot easier if I had not messed up my gates and thus came into buoy one on a less than optimal line. I work on gates on every pass of every set. I want to be wide on the boat, with my body outside the handle (handle near my right hip, not out in front of me), with line tension, and shoulders facing the pylon. This sets me up to start accelerating the closest to my wide spot as I can. When this is done right, I will reach optimal speed and direction by the center line.

Thanks to my sponsors: Radar Skis, Tige Boats, and Perfmormance Ski & Surf
Look for more videos and up-to-date action on my fan page at www.facebook.com/ChrisRossiSlalomguru
Web: www.slalomguru.com
Twitter: @Slalomguru
Instagram: rossiski
YouTube: ChrisRossi41

Thanks for watching!

Chris Rossi

Read more: Important Notice: Chris Rossi has decided to ski exclusively at 34mph

• Published on Sunday, 17 February 2013 18:25

Radar Skis, in conjunction with Performance Ski and Surf and Matt Rini's Ski School announce the dates of second annual fight against cancer in Orlando, FL May 3-5. 

 

"We had huge success last year! We raised a ton of money, made some great new friends and had a blast doing it!" said Chris Sullivan, Radar's Brand Manager. 

 

The second annual event is adding a skill based tournament for all skiers, even with no slalom course experience. Returning activities include a Performance Ski and Surf demo center, pro skier coaching and a Bill Doster art exhibit/auction, all benefitting The Prevent Cancer Foundation. 

 

Kent Millecam from Utah was an attendee last year. "Skierpalooza was awesome!  Radar put on a first class event.  I skied and was coached by top pros and Matt Rini's place is world class! It was a dream come true weekend and it was all for a good cause, the fight against cancer."

 

Reserve the date and stay tuned for registration information coming soon!

Read more: Skierpalooza II

• Published on Sunday, 17 February 2013 10:47

Read More

• Published on Friday, 15 February 2013 18:38

• Published on Thursday, 14 February 2013 17:49

Well, Toby Keith was right!!

Day 2 with side-by-side finals. Lots of anticipation as to how this all was going play out. 9:30am and conditions are perfect, with guests having been ripping it up since 7:30am. Seeding for today's second round was based on yesterday's scores, which put TGas out first followed by CP, Nate, Will and Andy (not where I expected to be, but fun to be there). Again, there was a quiet over the Palapa, as everyone went into their own world with preparation. It is the best four scores from either round that will advance to the side-by-side, so at this point nobody was safe.

TGas was out first with Coni driving a red Nautique 200. He stroked 38 with no problems. Coming back at 39, again a great start through 1 and 2 ball, but slow on the exit of 3 ball put a lot of pressure on 4. A wicked turn on 4, but too much speed was scrubbed off, and then had to build all the way to 5. A turn on 5 ball, but inside 6. You can tell what a competitor TGas is and he will be motivated at Moomba in a few weeks. This score then also put the next four skiers through to the next round, so all the skiing would be for seeding and the cumulative event.

Next out was CP, and after he spent time in the water with his ski cleaning it, he was ready to go. He looked very serious and focused today, and I figured the giants would be awakened. As always CP looked strong, with his gate setup better and looking confident off both sides. Into 41, the prediction on the dock was 4. CP nailed the start and looked like he was going down town when he came up narrow at 5 ball and had to settle with 4.5@41.

Nate was next out. With the formalities of 32, 35 and 38 out of the way, he again makes 39 look way too easy, however a touch later through 5 ball and 6, gave me the feeling that he would be ready to attack 41 and chase CP's top score. A great attack at the start at 41 was an understatement! Man this guy hammered the gate and one ball, and I don't think he got the pull out of 1 ball until he was in the white water, as he carried so much speed. Finally though, I guess with going that hard he was able to get a better swing into 2 ball and get on his way to 3. Although that was all she wrote for this round, but I am sure getting out of 2 will help his confidence going into the next round.

Will is next up, and being down in the Acapulco water for almost two weeks now, had a nice tape job on the hands! Will is so focused when he skis though, I am not sure it would matter. Again a very strong, early and powerful 39, was setting up for something special at 41. A much more controlled 1 ball today and carried great speed into 2. Watching from the dock it looked like a great turn, but then a little narrow and late to 3 he went for the whole buoy. Will is a true competitor, and does not wear too much of his feelings on his sleeve!! He will be tough through the rest of the event!

For me I had mixed feelings as to how this round would be. I was already through to the next round, and not having too much 36 skiing, my thinking was whether I should conserve energy, or go hard at it? After 32, I would make my decision. The body was not feeling strong, and sometimes the best way for me to deal with that is to get really stuck in, so an opt-up to 38 off it was! The start was a bit of a shock having not done that at 36mph for a while, but out of 2 ball it all came back together and the rest was fine. 39 from the dock end of the lake probably was the best option for me anyway, since I was hoping for some help from the very slight head wind. 1 and 2 were fine, but the headwind I thought would help me....got me. I clipped 3 ball and got yanked out. 2.5@39 was it. Next time I will try and plan my set better!

Anyway, I was very thankful to make it to the next rounds and be able to play at the side-by-side slalom final.

Brackets for the side-by-side held for CP and Andy to go back out first, with Will vs Nate second.

We had a brief break while we waited for Corey Humberg to get in his seat to take pictures. That seat just happened to be in the back of an ultra light taking off from just over the road on the beach. I was glad to be skiing rather than draw the short straw for that ride! I was grateful for the extra time as I needed ice on the ankle after being yanked out of the ski in the last pass.

High seed had the opportunity to choose their course or their boat. The other skier chose the option that remained.

After the ice I was feeling fine, so we headed out. CP was the high seed and chose to stay on the inside course we have been using, so I had a choice of a blue or red Nautique. I chose Mapple Skis blue!

Skiing side-by-side is really fun, but it changes the whole dynamic of the competition. Even though you are out there together, you really have no idea of what is happening, and you just have to go all out. The typical strategy of being able to think and plan on a competing skier's strengths and weaknesses go out the window.

I obviously knew going into this that all of these guys would be into 41, so "nothing could be left on the dock". At 38, I was a little too ambitious in the middle of the course and got myself late out of 4 ball, but when I looked across to head to 5, I could not find it. What I was seeing was the other boat and spray in my line of sight.....a very strange feeling. When everything is going well, you never see the other boat. I did get to 5 ball, but was too late to do anything with it. So, I guess if I had been on my game in the pass, I would never have seen the boat!!! Obviously I did not see CP ski, but I am sure it was his usual cruise!! Good job CP.

Next up was Will and Nate. Will was high seed and made his choice first. He also went with the inside course, leaving Nate to pick a red Nautique. This was going to be a very close battle, as these guys were only separated by half a buoy in the combined scores of the first two rounds. Will made it very interesting at 39 around 4 ball, but the strength to weight ratio I mentioned yesterday was in full force. It looked from the dock that he was actually doing a side slide down course out of 4, then all of a sudden he hooked up and flew into 5, with a patient turn, then under control to 6 ball. No problem! Nate's was just another boring 39!! 41 off, this would be all about the start. Neither guy got what they had in the earlier round, but Will powered through 2 and out around 3, while Nate had to go for it at 2 ball and again it was too much to hang onto. So Will advanced and it was 3rd place for Nate. Great skiing by both guys.

OK...so the grand finale, CP vs Willy. A 35 off start for these guys meant that a tail wind would make 41 interesting (not too bad, but enough to play a role at these line lengths). Watching these guys through the first couple of passes we knew it was a 41 battle coming up. 39's first and no issues, not even any hiccups. 41 and we knew they both would be attacking. Neither of them got a very good start, even CP with his onside, so serious pressure on 2 ball. He was on the tail out of 2, but his strength and determination kicked in and a full 3 it was. I was watching to see what happened with CP, when I could not watch Will at the same time (this is the hard part of side-by-side competition). Tgas told me that Will's start was not that good, but a very safe full 3 is what he went for. A TIE! There was some momentary confusion as to whether they should go again from the same end, or from the opposing end where they just finished. The skiers decided among themselves that the longer entry at the far end was better.

So in the rematch at 41, CP nailed 1 and 2. I looked over at Will and I think he played it safe for the full 3 again, but CP was not done. The big lefty was turning 3 ball this time, and outside 4. A quick look over to see how he did, then the arms are in the air!!!

Congratulations to CP for the win and to Will for some great skiing. 2013 is going be epic!

Full results of main event:

CP, Will, Nate, Andy, TGas

Full results of combined:

CP, Will, Nate, Andy, TGas

After the event there was a big ski switch side by side challenge. Guys all tried each others skis........there will however be NO report on this!!

A very special thank you to Gordon and Gabriella for arranging and hosting, all the guests who made this Dream Week happen. Good news is, there is planning for next year already!!

Andy

Read more: Ski Paradise Invitational Day Two - By Andy Mapple

• Published on Wednesday, 13 February 2013 20:42

In November my friend Gordon Rathbun asked me about the possibility of putting together an invitational Pro event at Ski Paradise in Acapulco. Absolutely, there is always the possibility of success with a good plan! Anyway, it did come together with support of some past guests and some new ones.

Invited skiers....well, you want the best in the World, Nate, Chris, Will and TGas. There was also an extra invited by Gordon...yours truly! Gordon thought it great to promote the top guys today to go against Andy. Not a challenge for these guys, as they have taken slalom skiing to a new level. I am now an image of the Toby Keith song "as good as I once was" I may not be as good as I once was, BUT I am as good once as I always was. Today I had my "once" as you will see below!!

Will was already in ACA from a previous week's coaching with Ski Paradise clients, so Nate, CP, TGas and myself flew down from FL on Saturday via private jet courtesy of David Garza, a Ski Paradise guest......thanks David.

Saturday evening was very special for me, as one of my best friends Kris LaPoint was staying over one extra night and we got to roast him and tell stories to celebrate his 60th birthday. Talk about an amazing career, determination and passion for a sport, this guy is it and still going.

Sunday, 7am we are all fired up and off to the lake. Let me tell you, this is amazing to ski with all these guys together. You put your ski on for a set, and ALL eyes are checking you out. Everyone has been on winter break..or not?? So what do you have? Lots of ski tweaking and testing of what works or not. Our guests I am sure are having ski experience of a lifetime. Hard choice to decide what coach should I have watch me this time? One set I had, I thought I would just take a few passes to just keep feeling what 36mph feels like when Nate and Will jump in the boat. That will tighten things up a little!! A honor to have them ride though.

After a couple days skiing, today came the first round of the competition. As of the time writing this, the prize pool is upwards of $27K. That is no relaxed fun tournament.

Today we headed to the lake early as usual, and we all coached the guests a set before breakfast was delivered. Around 9:30 though things seemed to get very quiet! It was getting to GO time. The order was Andy, TGas, CP, Nate and Will.

I have to say I WAS nervous, very nervous. I had no idea how an event at 36mph was going to feel, and did not want to make a fool of myself. Some day these guys will understand the meaning to "once a competitor-always a competitor" My juices and feelings were all back. Somehow I did not feel 50 years old, I had an opportunity to be one of the boys again. My first passes were awful. The boat judge said he had never seen me ski like that! I was not late through 38, but stiff and scared! Coming back in at 39 I was more relaxed and focused, which showed by a better start and controlled for most of the course, until a total rookie move at 5 ball with a "take it easy and don't miss it". A huge tail wheelie, slack rope and a dive into the pull for 6 ball. I was so late around 6, that with all the speed and slack, I actually went through the exit gates still only a few feet off the platform of the Nautique. No idea how I held the slack, but maybe tomorrow morning I will figure it out! After setting down and doing inventory of body parts, I had nothing to lose in really attacking the start at 41. I got a great 1 ball, better than I had expected and at 2 ball was a little in the land of unknown. By the time I figured it out, I was late on the exit and a full 3 became the goal.

Next out was TGas. Thomas has been working hard all week on ski setup. Through 38 he was looking good, and at 39 one of the best starts I have seen him do all week. Through 3 he looked right on it, but a short pull to 4 got him out of sync and narrow at 5. As a true World Champion there was no caution to this and his plan was to run the pass, but unfortunately the speed and lack of width caught him, and 4.5@39 was it.

CP next up, coming off a great previous days skiing (6@41) was ready to go. Conditions are perfect and consistent, so you know it will be big. Through 38 there was no point watching, for these guys this is cruising. Chris had been telling me the day before he was not happy with his gate approach, and I guess at 39, this became apparent again, but solid turns, no matter how he approached the buoy on both sides, there was no problem for the big guy. Was a huge 2 ball though! A reset at the end and ready to wage war on 41. Again though, he was not happy with the gate, and a slow one ball put too much pressure on 2 ball and 1.5 was what she wrote.

Nate, next on the dock. I am still not sure how this kid even holds on to the rope, and does the magic he does. Today, I saw a 39 from Nate that looked like 35 off. He has been consistent all week through 39, but just not quite dialed with starts at 41, and today was the same. A strong gate, but a delayed pull out of 1 ball put him down course into 2 ball. Nate did get a good rotation at 2, but too much to hold onto. 1.5@41.

Will, last skier out, calmly as ever, and totally focused makes his appearance on the dock. One of the strongest power to weight ratio skiers our sport has ever seen, methodically makes his way through the first passes. 39 was a lesson in timing and power. Will all week has been mid to deep 41, no matter what he was testing and tweaking. Sitting next to Nate watching, we guessed the score....Nate said 4, I said 3.5. I am not sure a Nautique 200 has ever experienced a load that Will put on it out of 1 ball. It hurt my back watching! Needless to say, a very deep 1 ball and a rocket ship to 2 ball. A turn on 2, but too far down course to take it any further, 2@41

So I ended up on top, but tomorrow will be a different day. There are two qualifying rounds, with the top 4 scores of either round get to advance to the side by side head to head. There is also a separate event for the top cumulative scores of the first two rounds.

I retired from pro skiing in 2004 and to have this opportunity to be here for a week with these guys and be even in the same event is a tremendous honor. I thank all these guys, Gordon and most of all the guests of Ski Paradise.

I will write more on the final round if I am not too sore!!

Andy

• Published on Wednesday, 13 February 2013 18:59

Syndicate's Nicholas Adams, aka Noodleba, continued his hot-streak this past weekend by winning the 2013 Australian Masters held in Bridgewater, Victoria and also scored 5@39.5'off the previous weekend in a tournament in Mildura. This makes history in that it is the best score run in Australia by an Australian, ever.

This also makes nick a 6 time Australian Masters Open-Men's Champion. Nick exploded on the scene this past season by breaking the Australian Slalom record with 4@41'off, thereby propelling him to a current ranking of 7th in the world on the IWSF World Rankings list.

"I'm happy I was able to get it done. I Saw it all as a challenge and went even though I had been really sick all week. So I'm happy to come away with the W."

Congratulations to Nick and his victory. We can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for this Adams/A3 powerhouse combination.

Read more: Nick Adams Wins the 2013 Australian Masters

• Published on Wednesday, 13 February 2013 07:09

Driven by his passion for the sport, Aidan Willers is determined to keep skiing after what should have been a career-ending accident. Aidan proudly represents Team Mapple.

Read more: Aidan Willers - Team Mapple

• Published on Tuesday, 12 February 2013 21:19

	Every Ski Run in Your Pocket
Wakeye - a new way to video your skiing Wakeye has designed a new way to capture your ski runs using the high performance HD camera on your iPhone. Wakeye has made videoing your skiing as easy as possible, with a  quick/release adjustable locking cam to mount onto all ski boat pylons. The Wakeye iPhone holder allows you to conveniently place and remove your device with one hand through a quick release locking mechanism. The carbon fibre boom and iPhone holder all easily detach to fit into your bag or boat glove box. Component materials are Carbon Fibre, Anodised Aluminium and engineering POM. All are high precision CNC finished so its ultra lightweight. You can't help but notice the exquisite finish of this product when mounted in your boat View More... www.wakeye.com	Features Effortlessly change line lengths Tilt adjustment to centre skier and zoom in closer Anti-vibration pylon pads and iPhone stabilization* gives your ski run footage a steady course from buoy to buoy
*iPhone 4S/5 only have  video stabilization

Read more: Wakeye - a new way to video your skiing

• Published on Monday, 11 February 2013 17:28

This week is shaping up great with the 'Lucky Eleven' skiing guests who get to spend a week with the revered Andy Mapple and the Top 4 Slalom skiers in the world.

The dynamics are taking place. What is happening is that the skiers are in the early season process of getting in shape and also some are trying new skis (actually all of them are.)

Everyone wants Andy in the boat to watch them. Since Andy is rooming with T-Gas he's ridden in the boat with Thomas a few times. Parrish wants Andy in the boat as much as he can. Parrish also asked Nate to ride and watch. Andy is here to help anyone who wants it.

The guests are getting the attention of all the pro skier/coaches and everyone is getting a build up to Wednesday's first round of slalom.

Will Asher and Andy seem to be the best dialed in skiers and Parrish is getting close. Nate is on a new ski and has only skied 12 sets in 6 days and he's getting tired. T-Gas brought a slightly smaller ski then he had a month ago when he was here. Our water is a bit slower here and I'm wondering if that was the right choice.

Basically, though this is just a warm -up for the Moomba Water Ski Championships in Melbourne, Australia, so the skiers are using this time to get in ski shape and get familiar with their new skis.

Our goal is to have fun and see if Andy can still hang with the young studs. We're going to find that out very soon. BTW, Andy is skiing at 36 mph as a special invitee at the Moomba Tournament, which he has won 14 times!!!

Andy's having the time of his life and the other pro skiers, while having fun, are getting a bit anxious about being ready by Wednesday and Thursday's rounds.

Stay tuned...............

Read more: Dream Week Tournament @ Gordon Rathbun’s Ski Paradise Acapulco - Update #1