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    Follow Brian Detrick via BrianDetrick.com, Facebook - Athlete Page, Twitter- @Brian_Detrick and Instagram - @Brian_Detrick Brian's Sponsors: Centurion Boats, Liquid Image, HO Skis, Mello Marine, Strive, Gourmet Grassfed, Ball Of Spray  The 2014 Moomba Masters is in the books! A few words that come to mind when I look back on the event are: spectacular, one of a kind, memorable and another milestone reached.
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140310_132426-1024x576.jpg2014 Moomba Masters Crowd
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140307_092726-1024x576.jpg2014 Moomba Masters looking at Melbourne from the Swan Street Bridge
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140308_210020_2-1024x507.jpgLook of the Moomba Masters course from the Melbourne City end. Skier – Breanne Dodd
    For me, it all started on Saturday for the Men’s Slalom Prelims. There were 26 skiers and the field was being cut to 15. I felt confident going into the round but was still a little nervous about skiing on the Yarra River. It was only my second time skiing on the Yarra so I still wasn’t too sure what to expect. I knew I needed to run 35off to advance. I came into the course under the Swan Street Bridge and all I could see was a lot of rollers at the 55’s where I needed to pull out. I decided to pull out for my gate earlier than usual to try to avoid them but I wasn’t able to get up on the boat, I had no speed and I was narrow. I headed in towards the gate and going into one, I thought I was way too close for comfort to the right hand gate ball and feared that I may have missed my gates. I skied 32off very tentatively trying to feel out the river. I got through the course to the city end and saw the boat shorten the line. This told me that I made my gates which was a huge relief. Coming back from the city end at 35off, I was still skiing cautiously, but I was able to run the pass even with a few bobbles and the ski stalling at 5 and pulling all the way to 6. I knew I was in the finals and felt that I knew how the river was skiing. I ran 38 which was my best pass so far. I felt like I was skiing and was ready to attack 39. I had an ok start and ended up with 2 ½ @ 39. This put me in the middle of the pack as the 7th seed in the semi finals. Nate Smith had the top score of 3@41 followed by Chris Parrish 2@41 and Thomas Degasperi 0@41off.


    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IMG_20140310_100249-1024x1024.jpgBrian Detrick – 2014 Moomba Masters Men’s Slalom Prelims
    Photo by Wearhehobo
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140310_132313-300x168.jpg2014 Moomba Masters
    Going into the semi-finals on Sunday, my dad said that I skied way to tentative in the prelims and that I needed to just go out and ski and not think about the river. I was ready to take his advance and ski! I felt ready to go in the semi-finals and as I stood on the dock, I knew I needed a minimum of 2 ½@39off to advance to the finals. I felt way better this set and I was skiing and not worrying about falling. 32, 35 and 38 felt really good. The way I was skiing, I felt like I could run 39 on the Yarra River. I came into the course at 39, from the city end where I have been struggling with my gates. Previous passes from that end I was over shooting the gate and could not get a good start. Unfortunately, this 39 wasn’t different. I over shot the gate and had a lot of speed into 1 ball. I knew I only needed 2 ½ buoys to advance so I no longer had a goal to run the pass, I just wanted to make sure I made it into the finals. With the excess speed into 1 ball, I was very patient to make sure I stayed on top of my ski. I knew I just needed to get to 2 ball, my on side turn, and I could get to 3. I got to 2 and turned 2 on the tail and pulled to 3 where I got the ski around it and “S turn” for a full 3@39off and a ticket into the finals. 8 advanced to the finals and I was the 6th seed. Thomas Degasperi had the top score of 1@41off followed by Will Asher, Chris Parrish, Aaron Larkin and Nick Adams all with 4@39off.
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IMG_20140307_155854-1024x1024.jpgBrian Detrick’s skier bib and ski for 2014 Moomba Masters
    It was MOOMBA MONDAY and I was thrilled to be skiing in the finals! I was the 3rd skier off the dock so I felt I was in a good position to put up a good score and let the rest of the field catch it. As I watched the women slalom finals before I skied, I was definitely a lot more nervous than the previous 2 days. I had butterflies in my stomach and my body just felt different. I tried to remind myself that it was just another ski ride and lets go out and have some fun. This was the biggest final I have ever been in; in my young career. My nervousness changed though as I went down to the dock and started my warm up routine. Once I got into my routine the nerves went away and I was able to get in the zone and ski like the previous rounds. 4.5@38off, by Adam Sedlmajer, was in the lead as I took the water. I came under the Swan Street bridge at 32off and was excited to be skiing in the finals in front of the large Moomba crowd; 200,000+ spectators over the weekend. I had a pretty good opening pass. I was going a little hard out of the buoy, I think because I was a little amped, but I told myself to just relax. I overshot the gate just a bit at 35 but it was probably my best gate so far from the city end. 38off was a great pass and I was feeling dialed and confident going into 39. I found myself back at the city end waiting to come in at 39off. I was determined to get a good gate since I still hadn’t had a great gate from the city end. The current was flowing and I barely pulled out at 39 for my gate. I thought I was in the right spot as I rolled in for the gate but it felt like I was heading down course still instead of across course. I had more speed than I wanted at 1 ball. I knew it was good enough to get down the course though. I pulled to 2 and had a big turn; probably too big. I got pulled up a bit and a little separated through the wakes into 3; which caused me to be a bit narrow. I felt that I was still in a position to turn 3 ball, head to 4 and be in a position to run the pass. This was until I found myself on the front of the ski at the finish of 3 ball. I quickly rocked back a bit to stand up on the ski so I could get a full 3 buoys. I didn’t think it was going to be a big hit until the rope got tight quicker than I expected and I was pulled over the ski fully stretched out 2 feet above the water doing the superman with my ski 3 feet behind me. Below is an awesome picture by Toby Daff right after I released from the ski. Towards the end of last year, I decided that I needed to start being smarter about not taking big hits or falls but I knew that it was the finals and I had to put the body on the line to get the best score possible. As I sat in the water, I was pleased with my performance but I didn’t think it would be enough to hold up with 5 guys still to ski.
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140309_204022_2-300x209.jpgAndy Mapple, Nate Smith and Brian Detrick
    As I looked up to shore and saw the banks lined with thousands of people, the tiny boat came and picked me up. I was surprised to see Andy Mapple and Nate Smith in the tiny. It was a pretty cool experience to have both of them, who were knocked out in the semi-finals, pick me up and talk to me about my set and how incredible it is to ski in the finals on Moomba Monday in front of this enormous crowd. A huge smile was brought to my face when Andy said
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/DSC_3283-300x192.jpgAndy Mapple and Nate Smith congratulating Brian Detrick after a great finals run at the 2014 Moomba Masters
    something along the lines of…[That was great skiing in the finals. Awesome weekend of skiing. Congrats!] For those of you that don’t know, Andy Mapple dominated Men’s Slalom skiing in the late 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s and he is someone who all slalom water skiers; both young and old, looked up to. I believe Andy is a 13 time Moomba Masters Champion. He retired about 8 years ago but has been asked to ski in the last 2 Moomba Masters events. This was the first time I skied against Andy so I had to get a picture with one of my idols. And Nate Smith is a good friend of mine and he is the current Men’s Slalom World Champion and World Record holder.
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140309_222729_2-300x295.jpgBrian Detrick and Andy Mapple
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140309_204304-300x168.jpgBrian Detrick signing autographs at the 2014 Moomba Masters
    As I was brought back to shore, I had people, both young and old, coming up wanting an autograph and/or to take a picture with me. I signed shirts, brochures and even body parts (all appropriate). I remember how cool it was for me when I was a kid and was able to have a pro skier (at the Malibu Open in Sacramento, CA,) sign a shirt, bib or poster for me or take a picture with me; so I wanted to take the opportunity to give back and make a memory for others to always remember.
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140309_204352-300x168.jpgBrian Detrick taking a picture with young fans after the finals of the 2014 Moomba Masters
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140309_212855-300x168.jpgBrian Detrick with Centurion Boats Victoria dealers at 2014 Moomba Masters
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/DSC_3294-198x300.jpgBrian Detrick and his dad after his ride in the finals of the 2014 Moomba Masters
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140309_211925_2-300x248.jpgRobyn Viljoen, Brian Detrick and Bailey Austin. 2014 Moomba Masters
    It was now a waiting game with 5 skiers on the dock; Nick Adams, Aaron Larkin, Will Asher, Chris Parrish and Thomas Degasperi. Nick had an early fall at 38, Larkin tied me with 2.5@39, Asher fell a 1 ball at 39 and Parrish missed his gates at 35. Just like the previous weekend at the Australian Open ProAm, I found myself in a tie for 1st place with the same last skier on the dock, Thomas Degasperi. I walked back down to the starting dock to get ready for a potential run off depending on what Thomas did. I was on the dock watching Thomas come in from the city end at 39off. He needed a full 3 for the win and he did just that as he “S turned” 3 ball to become the 2014 Moomba Masters Champion. I tied for 2nd place with Aaron Larkin but since he had a higher seed coming into the finals, he got 2nd and I finished in 3rd Place.
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/1795629_10152000099333511_284562355_n.jpg2014 Moomba Masters Men Slalom Podium
    3rd – Aaron Larkin NZL 1st – Thomas Degasperi ITA 2nd – Brian Detrick USA
    Photo by Des Burke-Kennedy
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140310_155014-1024x947.jpg2014 Moomba Masters Men’s Slalom Results
    I was ecstatic about my 3rd place finish at the 2014 Moomba Masters but there was still a small feeling of aaahhhhhh (I can’t think of a word to describe the feeling) since I was so close to first place once again. Nevertheless, I had just made the podium at back to back events! Talking to a few veteran skiers after the event, many of them believe that Moomba Masters is the biggest event of the year. Larkin even said that the finals was the worst conditions he has ever skied in at Moomba and he has skied in 13 Moomba Masters and made the finals in 10 of them. This made my 3rd place finish feel even better! I will leave you with this fabulous photo from the start of Night Jump Finals on Moomba Monday.
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/10013770_10152041413276130_217451194_n.jpg2014 Moomba Masters – Right Before the Start of Monday’s Night Jump Finals. Photo by Geena Krueger

    The magnificent downtown Melbourne site, with its dramatic Skyscrapers towering over the Yarra River, has always been a thrilling experience for the invited Waterskiers and Wakeboarders. This year, athletes from 15 countries competed for the coveted trophies in Slalom, Tricks, Jump and Wakeboard. Weather conditions were also near perfect following the extraordinary Summer heat some weeks ago during the Australian Open Tennis Championships. Nautique provided all of the boats and technical support, including the new record breaking Nautique 200 model.
     All results are available at : http://www.iwwfed-ea.org/classic/14AUS326/
     Four current holders of Waterski World Records took on the challenge this year. In Men’s Slalom, there was a huge gasp from the enormous crowds as the current Slalom World Record holder Nate Smith (USA) failed to make it out of the Semi Finals. To add to the drama, in the Finals, defending Moomba Masters title-holder Chris Parrish (USA), also missed his entry gates on his second pass. This opened up the entire Slalom event. In a close battle with Brian Detrick (USA) and two-time past winner Aaron Larkin (NZL), it was the turn of Italy’s Thomas Degasperi to triumph. Having won the title of World Slalom Champion in 2007 and 2011, this was his first Moomba Masters title with a score of 3 buoys on the 10.75m line. 


     Women’s Slalom had less drama but many superb performances. This time the defending Moomba Masters title-holder and 2011 World Champion Whitney McClintock (CAN) was again in superb form. Although pushed hard by past World and Moomba Champion Emma Sheers (AUS), and 24-time US National Champion April Coble Eller, she successfully defended her Moomba 2014 title. As an Overall Skier, this past World Overall Champion looks set to be the one to beat for some time to come.
     In Tricks, the new generation of super stars really made their mark! In the Women’s event, 19 year-old Arizona student Erika Lang showed why she set a recent World Record of 10,180 points. Although pushed hard by Natallia Berdnikova (BLR) and Whitney McClintock (CAN), her score of 8670 was enough to beat the field and take the 2014 Moomba title. In the Men’s event, once again the youngest Finalist and another 19 year-old, Joshua Briant (AUS), was one of only two competitors to break the 10,000 mark. As a Junior World Overall Champion and Junior Moomba Champion, his score of 10,600 was 590 points ahead of Jimmy Siemers (USA), the 2003 World Tricks Champion. Pierre Ballon (FRA) took the Silver medal in the 2013 World Championships and captured the Moomba Bronze medal this time.
     The unprecedented numbers of spectators raised the roof as Women’s Jump began. Only last November, Australia’s own 21 year-old Jacinta Carroll took the title of World Jump Champion in Santiago, Chile. Expectations were very high! As it turned out, only two contestants exceeded 50 meters on this challenging Yarra River site. Marion Mathieu (FRA) was first with 50.2m. World Record holder Natallia Berdnikova (BLR) then pushed it to 52.3m. After two attempts, Jacinta Carroll still could not do what the 200,000 spectators really wanted! In an all-or-nothing final attempt, she somehow found an extra half meter to the huge applause in Downtown Melbourne. Her score of 52.9m gave her the gold medal.
     Before we even got to the Men’s Jump Finals, strong contender Scot Ellis (USA) tore a calf muscle to the great disappointment of all. As a 1988 Junior World Overall champion, his status is now legendary. Almost all the Men’s distances achieved exceeded 60 meters. Zack Worden (USA) set the early pace with 63.6m. As a past Junior World Champion, his return from injury was impressive. Then Germany’s rising star 25 year-old Bojan Schipner took the lead with 65.2m. That just left the World Record Holder and current World Jump Champion Freddy Krueger (USA) to take on the challenge. True to form, this super-star landed 65.5m on his second attempt and returned to the dock to the huge cheers of the Melbourne crowd.
     It was then time for the thousands of Wakeboard fans to welcome their Riders  to the Yarra River. The entry list was crammed with superstars. As the Nautique G23 created the perfect wakes, all waited to see if the almost unbeatable Harley Clifford (AUS) could bring another victory for the home crowd. They were not disappointed. As the defending Moomba Masters Champion, World Champion and World Cup Champion, his aerial acrobatics were in a different zone once again. There was no doubt about it, the title was Harley Clifford’s once again. Close on his heels was the 2013 Moomba Masters runner-up, 17 year-old Tony Iacconi (AUS), followed by one of the most experienced Pro Tour Riders, Danny Harf (USA).
     Once again, Darren Robertson, Frances Hynes and the entire Moomba Masters team did a first class job in putting a worldwide spotlight on their magnificent Downtown Yarra River Melbourne natural watersports arena for the very best athletes in the world to enjoy.
     Next weekend will see the 39th World Cup Stop take place at Mandurah in Western Australia. As part of the Action Sports Games, the Moomba Masters Jump and Wakeboard athletes are now on their way to take part. A FREE live Webcast will be available at : www.IWWF.tv  
     
    CONTACT : Des Burke-Kennedy, Media Chairman, International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation

    The Future is Bright, the Future is now! At HO Skis we're all in on the next generation, developing a full line of kids-specific skis, boots, vests, and gloves that not only look awesome but perform in an epic way. Groms, lil-rippers, mini-shredders, tiny-cruisers, tomorrow's podium hoggers, call them what you will; we feel that kids are never too young to become as addicted to the waterski life as we are. With that in mind, we're equipping the next generation with the gear they need to blow up.
    The Future Collection includes:
    The Future A3, a 63" high end tournament ski that is built for the lightweight hard charging up-and-comer.
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    USA Water Ski is pleased to announce that water ski website portal BallOfSpray has signed an agreement to become a Bronze Sponsor of the national governing body of organized water skiing through 2014. In addition, USA Water Ski and BallOfSpray will work together to further promote three-event water skiing news and opportunities with respect to the American Water Ski Association and the National Collegiate Water Ski Association, affiliated USA Water Ski sport discipline organizations. "Our newly formed partnership with BallOfSpray is a direct reflection of the many efforts USA Water Ski is making to communicate more effectively with the water ski community beyond our existing membership," said Krista Rogers, USA Water Ski’s director of marketing and partnerships. "The modern forms of receiving news and interacting online embodied by BallofSpray will help us connect, listen and respond to our people in a different way than before. We look forward to connecting our members with BallOfSpray and we recognize the positive resources the website portal provides."
    "BallOfSpray is dedicated to growing our sport and being a platform for inventiveness," said John Horton, chief executive of BallOfSpray. "BallOfSpray and USA Water Ski are natural partners helping to make a difference for our shared interests. I look forward to a great 2014 season and beyond."


     

    The Fact Sheet and Entry Form (PDF) for the 14th Junior U.S. Open Water Ski Championships is now available for download. The 14th Junior U.S. Open will be held June 7-8  at Bullneck Lake near Little Rock, Ark. Some of the world's top junior water ski athletes will compete for titles in slalom, tricks, jumping and overall. To download the Fact Sheet and Entry Form, click here (PDF).There will be four divisions: Boys, Girls, Junior Men and Junior Women. Boys and Girls must have been born in the year 1997 or more recently. Junior Men and Junior Women must have been born between 1992 and 1996 inclusive. 
    The deadline to enter is 5 p.m. (EDT) on May 27.
    http://www.usawaterski.org/pages/divisions/3event/2014JuniorUSOpenFactSheetEntryForm.pdf




    U.S. water ski athletes Freddy Krueger (Winter Garden, Fla.) and Erika Lang (Gilbert, Ariz.) won titles in respective events at the 54th Moomba Masters, March 7-10, in Melbourne, Australia.

    Krueger won the men's jumping title for the second consecutive year, soaring 215 feet (65.5 meters) in the finals. Germany's Bojan Schipner (214 feet/65.2 meters) finished second and U.S. athlete Zack Worden (Deltona, Fla.) placed third (209 feet/63.6 meters). Krueger also won the Moomba Read the whole story

    2014 D3 Helix

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    By Matt Page
     Pro Skiers traverse the globe following their passion and desire of competition. The largest spectacle in our sport is the Moomba Masters. Every year it seems that someone’s skis get misplaced by the airlines and given the small time table that the athletes have between the time they land and when they ski makes it very difficult to get their skis before their event starts. An event that draws one of the largest fields of international competition to an island nation does not have a provision for lost bags by airlines.This year the jumper to get his bags misplaced was Bojan Schipner of Germany. He is coming off a 3rd place finish at the World Championships back in December. After spending thousands of dollars in training, airfare, hotels, entry fees he was left with the feeling that he may be sitting on shore and letting the dock starter know that he would be scratching from the tournament because of reasons completely out of his control. There was a moment of hope when his airline informed him that his skis would be making it in time, but they ended up not.
    Zack Worden and Taylor Garcia, who are not his training partners or countrymen, but his fellow competitors, stepped up to help outfit Bojan with the necessary gear to take on the Yarra’s big, red beast. Zack and Taylor did not want to take advantage of Bojan's misfortune. Knowing that Bojan is one of the top 5 jumpers in the world they offered up their gear for him to join in on the competition.
    Bojan took to the water on foreign skis, without his notable, yellow lucky helmet and on a conservative, 3/4 jump booted out a 186’ leap to make the semifinal round. Those same skis also carried Zack Worden into the next round with at jump of 200’ and who is now sitting 3rd going into the semifinals. Taylor ended up in 13th with a jump of 180’. With only 12 skiers advancing into the finals. He would have made the cut if Bojan had not jumped. This is the risk both Zack and Taylor took when they offered up their gear. The knew they wanted to compete against the best and that this could be the result.
    Zack and Taylor--You reminded us that even at the highest level of competition, this sport is still a family that looks out for one another.
    This picture is the last known picture of the missing ski bag. Last seen in Orlando, FL, USA 



    Follow Brian at http://briandetrick.com/  twitter @brian_detrick or on facebook/Brian-Detrickhttp://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140305_101403-1024x576.jpgAfter a very exciting 2nd place finish at the 2014 Australian Open ProAm, I flew down to Melbourne to train for the next event in Australia, the Moomba Masters on the Yarra River. I trained with the Collicoat Family on a river in Bridgewater; a small town about 2 hours from Melbourne. Ironically, I went to college (Saint Mary’s College) 
    with one of the Collicoat’s family friends, Matthew Dellavedova (Delly). Delly played basketball at SMC and is now in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The water ski club at Bridgewater has a great set up and the river skied great. But I wasn’t looking for great conditions as the Yarra can be very challenging due to the current, tide, and sea walls. I skied in some of the hardest conditions I have ever skied in as we ran the boat up and down and spun at each end. It was great training for Moomba but I will still be respecting the Yarra once I get out on the water.


     
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140305_101636-300x168.jpghttp://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140305_163342-300x168.jpg
    While in Bridgwater, I saw a lot of HO Skis. It is always great to see people skiing on the best skis on the market. Most of the people were on A2′s and A3′s. The Aussies love the bright colors so I wasn’t surprised to see the Syndicate A3 Lemon-ited and Radioactive skis.
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140305_171155-1-1024x937.jpg
    Two years ago when I came to Australia for the first time, I did a post on Aussie Terminology. I received great feedback on how people enjoyed seeing the terminology they use here compared to back home in the states. While in Bridgewater, I went to the Cafe in town (which has an amazing omelet btw). They had a sign that said “Best of Aussie Slang”. I knew I had to share it as it topped my post from 2 years ago.
    http://briandetrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140306_075939_LLS-576x1024.jpg
    I ski tomorrow (Saturday). Men’s slalom starts at 2pm; which would be 7pm PST on Friday evening. For the West Coast, subtract 5 hours from your time and add a day. The Moomba Masters event is web casted live so you can watch via this linkhttp://www.ustream.tv/channel/moomba-masters-2013—melbourne
    Friday’s (Today) Events
    Women’s Slalom Seed 1 & 2 11,15am- 2.15pm
    Course Change 2.15pm – 2.30pm
    Women’s Jump 2.30pm – 4.00pm
    Mens Jump Seed 1 & 2 4.00pm – 6.00pm
    TRANSIT- River Open 6.00pm – 6.30pm
    Mens Jump Seed 1 & 2 CONTINUED 6.30pm – 7.30pm
    Wakeboard Mens 7.30pm – 9.00pm
    TRANSIT & Course Change – River Open 9.00pm – 9.15pm
    Men’s Night Jump 9.15pm – 10.45pm
    Saturday’s (Tomorrow) Events
    Womens Tricks 11.15am – 12.30pm
    Mens Tricks 12.30pm – 2.00pm
    Mens Slalom Seed 1 & 2 2.00pm – 5.00pm
    Wakeboard Mens LCQ Heat 1 & 2 5.00pm – 6.00pm
    TRANSIT 6.00pm – 6.30pm
    Wakeboard Mens LCQ Heat 1 & 2 6.30pm – 7.00pm
    Womens Jump semi Final 7.00pm – 8.00pm
    Wakeboard Mens LCQ Heat 3 & 4 8.00pm- 9.00pm
    TRANSIT 9.00pm – 9.15pm
    Men’s Night Jump
    Womens Night Jump 9.15pm – 10.45pm

    Ask Rossi - Chapter 2

    Thanks again to all the Ballers who are participating in this contest and continued discussion. As I read through your questions, it is apparent to me that most of them are very similar. My hopes here are to help fill in those voids that you have so that we may dig deeper into some new questions. I would also like to encourage questions from our longer line, slower speeds skiers too. This is not meant to be an elite level discussion. What I have found through the years of skiing and coaching is that what you don't understand is what holds your skiing back and that most of us would rather focus on what we do know as it is easier to practice and more rewarding. I have always tried to understand things off the water first and then spend time with the on the water practice. I feel as though a lot of skiers reverse this and try to do the actual practice portion of skiing without understanding the theories. A really good homework assignment for each of you would be to write down in detail what you believe happens from setting up for your pull out through the completion of the course. Be extremely detailed in every area. Any place where you struggle with detail shows an area that you can start to dig deeper into. Now onto this chapters winning questions...
    This is a great question. I feel as though most skiers get ahead of themselves while skiing the course. When buoy 1 is not optimal, skiers tend to fast forward in their mind to buoy 2 with the hopes of making a big turn and making up time. We all know how that story ends 90% of the time and that it isn't a good ending. A long time ago I realized that this mentality was not good for my skiing. The first lesson here and easy answer to your question is that we must stay in the moment at all times. Nothing good happens when you get ahead of your skiing. Just because things aren't perfect, we should not start to panic. In general, we have to be less sensitive skiers. Don't sweat the small stuff. Have you ever watched video of me making multiple blatant errors and still running 39 or 41? That video of me at 41off@34 that was posted on BOS last August is a great example. My buoy one was atrocious and if you took a picture of my finishing angle (ski tip pointed at boat) you would bet I was done. But, there is a lot of room for error while we ski (even if it does not feel like it) and I was able to focus on getting into a strong stacked position to optimize my situation. I was not thinking of what i would have to do at buoy 2 to get back into it, I was thinking about the stacked position that leads to angle and speed at the centerline which will set me up better going into the buoy. Will buoy 2 be optimal, no, but all I can do is make the most out of what I ended up with. As a long time coach, I have learned that you can use 1-3 keys while skiing the course. Every skier will have a different set of keys depending on their individual weakness. What I suggest is going to a professional coach and do some skiing. They will find your weakest links and give you the tools to help improve them. Take each of the lessons they give you and sum them up into one word. This way, your 3 keys will end up being only three words total. I'll give you an example from my skiing. My three keys last season were Wide, Strong, Center. Now I'll interpret that to you all. Wide - I have been ending up narrow on my gate glide so I use Wide as a way to remind myself to get up on the boat in my glide. Strong - refers to getting into my stacked position early and being aggressive into the wakes. Center - refers to being strong only to center line so that I don't pull long. Like I said before, everyone will have a different set of keys. The biggest thing is to find those keys (go to a pro coach) and then simplify them down to a simple word.
    @skier2788 - Mr. Rossi thank you for doing this again. I have been told that I stare at the tip of my ski during my turns. I was wondering where your vision is during your pullout glide, centerline, entering the buoy, during the turn, and at the finish. I have been told to look at the next buoy and then set a line to be there earlier than the buoy. Also have been told to look straight across the lake at the far shore. Was wondering what your thoughts are and where you look during the various segments of the course. Thank you.
    Another great question! Vision is a key component of successful skiing no matter what the skiers ability level is. I use the left hand pre gate as my visual for when to pull out. In my glide for the gates, I take a grand look at the course. I like to see my width versus buoy 2 width but I'm not fixated on buoy 2. For my turn in for the gates point, I look for the right hand gate ball and the front of the boat,. The moment I pick my "go" time, I pick my vision up and focus on buoy 1. This is very simple to do but will feel awkward at first. I keep my vision locked on buoy 1 as I start accelerating toward the gates. The boat impedes my ability to see buoy one at some point, but I keep focused on where buoy one is (try and use your x-ray vision here). As I enter the wakes, my vision picks up buoy 1 again and I remain focused on it through the edge change and pre turn. I keep my vision on it right up until the point that I am confident that I will make it around the buoy. At the moment I know I will clear buoy 1 with my ski, I take my vision to buoy 2 and repeat the above process. If you have never worked on vision, this will definitely mess you up for a bit. What I can tell you is when you are skiing well, you have good vision (but probably never realized it) and when you are skiing bad, well your vision is all over the place. By implementing vision into your skiing, you will ski more consistent and will find it easier to implement other new techniques into your skiing. For a much more detailed article on this please go to http://slalomguru.com/articles.php?article=vision
    I look forward to continuing these discussions in the forum and also plan on answering many of the non winning questions as their own topics under the "Ask Rossi" heading.
    Radar Skis, Tige Boats, Performance Ski & Surf, and Aseda Raw Honey
     


     

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