Baller TonyLightfoot Posted May 16, 2012 Baller Share Posted May 16, 2012 There was quite a bit of buzz created with the media announcement of Soaked, a new pro water ski festival to take place September 7 and 8. There's going to be quite a bit of money at stake (around $100K) for the athletes, but the best part is the venue - Lake Eola in Downtown Orlando, which will see pro water skiing make its return after a near three-decade absence. The website is up and running at http://www.soakedorlando.com and so are their Facebook and Twitter presences. Local TV stations in the area were there to capture the action during the media day, which included Freddy and Tom hitting the ramp and Breanne taking a few slalom swerves. Much of the footage used on their newscasts can be found at this playlist: One of the clips includes an archive from WFTV of the last time pro water skiing appeared on Lake Eola: That clip brings home how much the sport has changed since 1986. The opening shot of Carl Roberge jumping with the Yamaha-Powered MasterCraft OB, hand-driven to RTB rules is priceless. This event is certainly a much-needed shot in the arm for the sport and I for one will be looking forward to it. Tony Lightfoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ Wish Posted May 16, 2012 Baller_ Share Posted May 16, 2012 @TonyLightfoot Very very excited about this. Love the poster. With the longest stretch of lake Eola being 1500 feet long, will there be a 4 ball or 8 ball course? Would love to see the use of an 8 ball course to get the full 6 buoy scores. I'm sure the pros would agree. 1500 feet is plenty long for an 8 ball. 4 ball courses just aren't the same and somewhat of a let down. Any tricking? I would think that could be run right in front of the crowd, and with flips being the ticks of the day, an exciting discipline as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller TonyLightfoot Posted May 16, 2012 Author Baller Share Posted May 16, 2012 As shown in the "way back when" video, there is room for a 6 4-buoy course on Lake Eola, possibly an 8-buoy overlap. From as far as I can tell, it should actually be easier to slalom there now because: 1. It'll be more into the middle of the lake. In 1986 the courses were located on the south shore, on the opposite side of the fountain. 2. Zero Off. Even with the relatively tight setup, the boat will be up to speed quicker. Back then it was all hand-driven by the likes of Les Todd, Ian Staples and the late Jack Walker. It would be nice to have tricks there but, from the perspective of the organizers and the investors of the event, it would be a hard sell to have it in anything other than a exhibition capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ Wish Posted May 16, 2012 Baller_ Share Posted May 16, 2012 @TonyLightfoot. The video shows a 4 ball course. I don't think they edited out 2 buoys for the passes shown. They did edit out the very start and finish. And back then the boats would never be up to speed in time. We now have pre gates as well. Boats have to be at speed by and hopefully before the 55s. 1500 feet shore to shore, and that's if there is enough depth right at the shoreline, is not enough for a six ball. Our lake in Orlando runs 1750 and take off towards the shore and spin in. Our boat runs a foot or so from the cattails in the turn. There is no way it could be done with 250 less feet IMHO. Even with ZO. Is there anyone running a six ball course on 1500 feet? On an oval shaped lake? I could be way wrong here but hate to see a 4 ball go in at the last minute. Trick exabition would be great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller TonyLightfoot Posted May 16, 2012 Author Baller Share Posted May 16, 2012 My Bad! See my amended post above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ Wish Posted May 16, 2012 Baller_ Share Posted May 16, 2012 @TonyLightfoot. Do what you can to work the 8 bouy. I remember going to a pro tour stop back in the day at Cyprus Gardens only to find they could only do a 4 ball. Many disappointed fans. The tour was never held there again. Even had a few pros comment on air to the crowd about it. A shot in the arm for our sport would be for the Pros to run a full six and shoot for records. And nothing gets a crowd whipped up like hearing an announcer say .....this could be a world record pass..... Can't do that with a 4 ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller WBLskier Posted May 16, 2012 Baller Share Posted May 16, 2012 What is an 8 buoy overlap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Neely Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 It's an eight buoy course but you skip the first two buoys coming in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller TonyLightfoot Posted May 16, 2012 Author Baller Share Posted May 16, 2012 I skied at a site in the Netherlands called Rooye Plas, just outside Handel (check it on the Google Earth file) . That had an 8 Buoy overlap slalom course and it skied real well. I'm sure that it was an absolute stinker to survey and certify for record tournament use, but it worked on the lake which was 1550 feet long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller WBLskier Posted May 17, 2012 Baller Share Posted May 17, 2012 how do the gates work on an 8 buoy course? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller liquid d Posted May 17, 2012 Baller Share Posted May 17, 2012 2 extra sets of gates, you skip the first two bouys each time down the course...doesn't affect performance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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