It is time for a new "Who Are You Guys" thread

[Omland]

Chris, I live in Montana and work in software / product management / strategy. I have been skiing for maybe 10 years off and on, usually just during the summer a couple nights a week or more recently just a few weekends a summer. I randomly found and contacted Otter Tail club in Montana this year as I have always wanted to ski a course. I ended up joining the club and skiing as much as my body could handle, probably skiing more this summer than I ever have in my life. I managed to get 3 @ 22 off towards the end of the season which was awesome for me. In addition to getting the chance to run the course it has been amazing just learning about the community of water skiers. I never realized such a community existed. I also have just enjoyed learning about the boats, driving, different ski setups, etc... It was a huge change for me from only ever driving a Bayliner I/O on public lakes to driving a Malibu TXI on a private man made lake. I also got a chance to ski behind a master craft which was also a dream of mine since I started skiing. It's been a great learning experience. I was turned on to BOS by @jipster43 and find myself checking the site almost everyday.

 

My goals for next year are to follow a lot of @horton tips for shortening the trip to 32 off. I am still on a HO CDX-1 that I bought randomly when I was in high school. So, I'm in the ski is older than 5 years old group. I want to get coaching before I buy a new ski but am planning on upgrading as soon as I can. I generally ski with people much better than me so I have that box checked. I hope to be able to make a trip with the club to ski with Jodi Fisher or take a trip on my own for coaching. I plan to take a bunch of video and hope to run 28 off next summer.

[Horton]

@Omland I know I seem to be the "get a new ski every 5 minutes guy" but the CDX-1 is terrible by today's standards. (Was killer back in the day) Almost anything would be better.

[XR6Hurricane]

My name is Ron. I've spent most of my life in northern Illinois and currently work in purchasing for a steel company. Occasionally I do some small outboard motor repair on the side. My dad's side of the family has been involved with boats ever since my great-great grandfather ran a tugboat business on Lake Michigan over 100 years ago. Through the years my father and I have been involved with high performance outboards, antique outboard motors, and fishing. My other interests are motorcycling, hiking, camping, and living as far from the city as is feasible with a screened porch. Finally learned to ski when I was 19 and I'm 36 now. The last few years I did very little skiing compared to when I was in my early 20s, mostly due to driver/spotter availability. Did a lot of skiing this past year and have had a lot of fun getting back into it. My father has a house with lake rights to Bangs Lake (trivia: the beach scene in the Blues Brothers was filmed there) and I'm 10 minutes from the lower Fox River.

[doonez]

Guy here. I live in New Zealand. I started skiing when I was 12 and now I'm 16. I started the course in Feb and now I'm on the brink of shortening up the rope :) We have a SeaRay 180 with a 200 merc on the back but I usually ski behind a SN200CB. I ski at a local lake which was recently built - check it out http://backpaddocklakes.co.nz/ (it has developed a lot since those pictures were taken). I use a Syndicate A2 and most importantly I LOVE SKIING!!

[Alvin_Neff]

My name is Alvin Neff. I am 55 years young and have been skiing 49 years. I live in Arkansas on a public lake. I only learned about competitive skiing 30 years ago and have been hooked ever since. I have been a Correct Craft promo team member since 1987 and have a beautiful 2012 200CB that needs a new home. I am a senior driver and judge for slalom and regular trick driver and regular judge for trick and jump. I have been an overall skier for 30 years and enjoy just getting to compete at a national level. I check in on Ball of Spray daily and love this website. I know many of you guys and girls and look forward to meeting everyonme else. Happy Holidays!!

[Ham_Wallace]

My Name is Ham Wallace. I am a public lake skier from Nashville Tennessee. I am a "Lake Person". I love the lake. I don't mind skiing in bass boat wakes, wind, jet ski wakes, rollers or glass. I enjoy my lake time and especially after skiing, hanging out with my buddies. I have been skiing for 54 years, slaloming for 52 years and competing for 48 years and have competed in the past 46 consecutive nationals. I am a Sr. 3 Event Driver, Driver Committee Chair for the Southern Region and President of the Tennessee water Ski Association. I am still unsure if I am a slalom skier that wants to be a jumper or a jumper that want's to be a slalom skier. I am sure that I am not a trick skier. I have known Horton for decades, but, please don't hold that against me. I hope to keep on skiing for many more years. I really enjoy all the Ballers and friends!

[wilecoyote]

Chris Young here. I skied a lot on my late teens but never in a course and never with any idea of what I was supposed to do. I'm 49 now and decided to get some instruction and start skiing the course in late August of this year. I'd like to say I've got 3@15 but Cobber (Hi Geordie) is one of my drivers, at McClintocks in southern Ontario, and he knows better. I went OTF on my last pass of the season and sprained my ankle. I'm also on a CDX, (Hi Omland).

 

Got hooked so fast I went out and bought a Supra for the cottage. It's no Nautique, but it'll give me something to practice behind.

 

I've been a serious windsurfer since I was 18, and still am. Ski when it's calm, windsurf when it's windy.

[Chef23]

@kurt we have the same goal I want to qualify for Nationals with my son. I could have gottentherelast year in tricks because there were only 5 Men's 4 trickers and I don't count that. I want to ski a qualifying score in slalom. It will take an average into 38 off based on the current rankings list.

[swerv_6]

Jack-Miami,Fl. Age 25. PB 4@22off (36mph) I just started skiing about a year ago. I grew up on a lake here in Miami but never learned to ski because of my parents divorce at a young age. My dad took the boat and left. I am mostly all self taught. I do wish i would of had someone who knows what they're doing teach me so i would not have developed so many bad habits i'm currently trying to break. My dad gave me his old 1974 Tahiti he used ski behind the spring of 2011. Since the first day i got up on two skis i have been hooked. I now ski behind an '05 Nautique 196 for the most part but like to ski behind zero off atleast once a week to prepare me for my first tournaments next season.

 

It started out just having fun on the lake where i grew up (no longer live on the lake) We would use an old friends boat ramp and go at it all day. Teaching everyone to drive a boat was my first challenge before i could attempt to ski with friends. It seems there arent many guys my age in Miami skiing. My passion for the sport had grown so much i needed to find skiers. So i joined The Greater Miami Ski Club. It has been great. I decided to join BOS because of the in depth conversations and information from skiers around the country, with hopes of receiving helpful tips as well.

[jcamp]

@Chef23 Or you could ski one score equal to or above the cut off average (lowest level 8 score three weeks prior to Nationals) in an R tournament, i.e. the Pangaea record or Regionals.

[JMN]

Jeremy- age 38. Married to my wife of 12 years, and have a 4 yo. son. I work in preclinical research.

Started skiing at age 6 and grew up skiing nearly daily behind my grandparents Sylvan I/O. I watched a pro tour event on tv and was hooked. Unfortunately I never had an opportunity to ski a course until 2005 when I decided to just go to a local tournament and give it a go. IIRC i scored something at 34 mph @-15. Met some great folks and now have access to a course regularly but unfortunately due to job, children, and distance to the lake i seem to manage to only find enough time to ski 1 to 2 times per week.

I've been fortunate to find a way to manage a tournament pb of 1@-35 as well as a practice pb of 1@-38. Hopefully some day I will figure out that blue loop more consistently...

[Ed_Obermeier]

@Alvin Neff what lake in Arkansas you on? We do a week on Bull Shoals around 1st week of August, generally in the Little Sister Creek area. Ran into Larry G from Ski-it-Again down there last year. Should you happen to be in the area...

[ksu_skier]

Michael - Lawrence, KS - 23 - ran 36mph 15 off this summer. I'm a recent college grad doing freelance web and graphic design and photography. I grew up skiing with my family behind our 1999 Sea Ray 180BROB recreational skiing/wakeboarding/kneeboarding. My older sister skied collegiately for Kansas State and I joined as a freshman. 3 event skiing rocked my world (and made me disappointed that I "wasted" my high school years wake boarding) and I've been working to progress since. I'm continuing to go to collegiate tourneys to work on my assistant judge ratings and help coach the Kansas teams.

[auskier]

Toby Daff - just ticked over 26 :( been here since day 1. was a long time lurker and short time poster at CBR tweakers forum (before horton started BOS). Started skiing more at about age 14 and ran the course for the first time when I was about 16. Ive been a tech controller at moomba since 2006 (i think), and trick judge for the last few. Senior 3 event judge, and drive a few C and L events too. Many of the moomba photos over the last few years horton has used on here you may have seen are mine. I Manage the website for TWSA (think awsa). @horton was bugging me for a few weeks before moomba in 2009 with an idea he had for twitter. The idea being to tweet scores and info. As far as I know, it was the first time skiing had utilised social media to publish scores and happenings in real time... one thing lead to another and @MattP brings along ball of scores!

I worked at a ski shop all through college and now am a practising podiatrist in country victoria, an hour and a half north of melbourne. skied in the states in '06 and hope to get back to FL around the time of nationals next year!

[Razorskier1]

@JMN -- those are pretty danged good scores for the amount of time you've had in the course! Your PB has lots of upside!

[Alvin_Neff]

@Ed Obermeier-We live on Beaver Lake in Rogers, AR. It is about 1.5 hrs from Bull Schoals and has similar topography. Would love to ski with you next August. Have boat, course, and driver ready at a moments nortice. Merry Xmas!!

[Ed_Obermeier]

@AlvinNeff we used to do Beaver Lake around the Rocky Branch area and cruise up towards the slalom course that used to be (maybe still is?) in Prarie Creek. Haven't been ourselves in several years, however one of my best ski buddies does a week in late July every year somewhere around the dam area. Takes his portable with him. I'll definitely keep you in mind next time we're down that way.

[tfriess]

Hello ballers! I, like most of you, am a skiing addict. I think about skiing most of the day. I love having a website where I can talk ski all the time. I truly was not living until I discovered this site during the summer. @franks and I usually can be found swerving during the summer either at his house which is on a lake or with a show-ski team that we are both on. There are not a whole lot of opportunities to ski a course near us so we mainly free-ski. I have recently made a few videos. I am 16 and I hope to go to a college that has a 3-event team. That is my goal! I would love to be a product designer someday and work for a ski company. The skiing community had some us the most successful people and I would like to thank all you. My family recently sold our cobalt(I/o) late this season because it was impossible for me to ski on and picked up an 05 196 that I am very excited to ski on! I also upgraded my phantom truth to a Senate-C with stradas and can't wait to give it a rip! This site has taught me sooo much. Before, I had no idea what DFT meant but I have a lot more to learn from you ballers.

 

[FrankS]

@tfriess distance from tail.....

[6balls]

Score on the '05 196

[tfriess]

@6balls it has never been through the course yet. We got it when it was drysuit season. I assure you it will be through it this summer

[Skoot1123]

@tfriess - love all the hockey related stuff!

[tfriess]

@skoot1123 I believe I mentioned this in another thread but this is this first year I am not playing. I started when I was 6.

[The_MS]

Check out @tfriess sheets and bed spread. Nice. Love the fathead hickey players.

[tfriess]

@Ms they aren't big heads rather my neighbor is a pretty good artist so she painted those a long time ago.

[JMN]

@Razorskier1 -- Thanks!! It is easy to lose sight of how far I've come in a relatively short amount of time. Sometimes it feels like I've been 'stuck' at the same spot forever. Hopefully I will be able to enjoy more water time next summer and fulfill my goal of running -38!

Thanks to @Horton for this site and all of the ballers that make the off season tolerable!!

[Bruce_Butterfield]

Bruce Butterfield. 50 year old ski addict in North Texas. Skied on the big public lakes as a kid and found a slalom course at age 20. Learned rapidly with coaching from Dave and Jud Spencer and started tournaments in the Northeast Region.

Started collegiate ski team at Virginia Tech in '84-85

Earned an Open rating in '88 and skied Open division slalom off and on through '02 or so.

Chased Coors Light and Bud Light Pro Tours in the late 80's and early 90's with some success stories.

PB at 36 1 ½ @39 in 1997

PB at 34 1 1/2@41 in 2005

 

Always willing to try something new. I worked with adjustable fins when the adjustment tools were a hacksaw and file. Normally try 2-3 new skis a year, looking for the extra piece of consistency.

 

Skied many of the Big Dawgs and think its the best thing that has happened to slalom skiing in a long time, but still lots of room for improvement. I enjoy meeting other skiers and exchanging the secrets of the sport.

 

These days I spend more time driving and coaching my kids who both 3 event, than on my skiing, but a worthwhile trade.

 

About a 10 years ago, on the old Skifly message board, I came across this weird guy with the alias of “Dick Coyote” who was asking a bunch of questions about fin shapes, wing shapes and holes. It worked out like feeding a stray dog. No surprise he ended up with a serious scotch habit and money loosing web site.

[A_B]

@Bruce_Butterfield, did you ski in Owego with Jud and Dave? I went there a few times in the late 1980's with my ski partner from Great Sacandaga area, where we skied on a beaver pond in Galway NY.

[Horton]

@Bruce_Butterfield never feed strays!

[Bruce_Butterfield]

@AB, yes, I skied there the summers of 82-84. I grew up 15 miles from Spencer's pond and didn't know it was there until after my 2nd year of college. Without the fundamentals I learned from Dave and Jud, my skiing probably wouldn't have gone as far as it did.

 

@Horton, feeding strays is ok sometimes as long as they don't have fleas, mange or other unwanted social diseases. They can make great pets if they have a good disposition and are trainable.

[A_B]

I missed you by 5 years or so. Dave was so laid back, you could wonder if he was half a sleep ,but always had insightful help.

[Rez]

hey I'm jamie, from new zealand, i ski at the local lake, 'backpaddock lakes' just started running the course this year and am currently running a full pass at 52km and hope to up this by the end of the southern summer, i ski with my pals @doonez and nick, behind their trusty 196's, i ride a 2011 radar strada, new this summer and love the ski! my main issue is getting time on the water to improve which is essential to progress on the course, i look forward to entering some competitions with my buddys later this year :)

[Brady]

Welcome @Rez This is a great site with a bunch of great dorks. You should fit in fine. If you have a woman and she is good looking, the only advice I would give is to keep her away from @ShaneH or she might become his woman. Just ask @SkiJay, he just lost his wife and Shane isn't talking!!

 

[Rich]

Learned to ski @ 3 in a pool. I lived on the "Lagoon" in San Mateo growing up with a boat in the backyard. My family belonged to a social club called "Aquablades" I skied alot as a kid, back before you ever saw a slalom course around. My 1st experience in the course was in 1971 at Mike Suyderhpouds on a family vacation at Lake Shasta. I was able to run into 22 off @ 36 my 1st go in the course on a 67' wood Maha, Mike was pretty impressed and said to get better you need to practice 3 x a week, sent me to Berkeley aquatic park and Al Frosini. Avid tournament skier all through HS, 3 event back then. Pretty solid in slalom & jump, could run 32, jump around 110' trick 2500. As a part time skier since I was involved in HS sports, football, wrestled, & baseball. Sking partners were some pretty good skiers, joining Diablo water ski club.The Morrison Bros Doug & Don, Rich Pato & Leroy Burnett, Rich Slingerland. Stopped sking in college to concentrate on an education, started a State Farm Insurance Agency, a family, then resumed skiing at 33, and haven't stopped. All 3 of my kids did compete at the National level, they lost interest in HS as other sports called. A founding member of Twin Cities ski club in 1993. Still having fun and chasing buoys!

[Garn]

I'm Garn Arnold from Alpine, Utah. I serve on the Utah Water Ski Club Board with @ScotChipman. I'm 53 years old and feel my best years are still ahead of me. Been skiing since I was little but have only been course skiing for about ... 7 - 8 years. For that long of time I should have a personal best better than what I have which is 3 @ 32 off/34 mph. I've only ran 28 off a handfull of times. And my gates ... well ... I consider going through the gates optional. Luckily for me my wife and kids love the water and love skiing the course as much .. .well ... almost as much as I do. I have six kids ranging from 31 down to 9. My two littlest girls (9 and 11) keep my young and happy. We are also avid hydrofoilers and take ours with us whenever we go to the lake. I can't bitch two much about the price of my S2 when I have spent almost four times that amount on my hydrofoil set up. Last June I completely ruptured my achilles tendon sliding out around 1 ball. So this summer is going to be the summer of Garn!

[Ham_Wallace]

I am Ham Wallace. I love the lake. I prefer public water to private sites (except for jumping). I have been skiing for 55 years and competing for 48 years this season. I started skiing the slalom course 50 years ago. My dad made a floating slalom course. I remember the first ever installation in 1963. He invented some new curse words. I actually think that he was ahead of the Accu-float course. Whatever, I skied the course for 3 years behind a large jet boat that would only go 33 mph. When I started competing, we bought a 1966 Ski Nautique from Ralph Meloon. I still have it and it runs quite well. I have had pretty good success through my career and don't plan to cease it yet. I still say, the essence of the sport is it's people. (maybe in the bottom of a beer bottle too), but it is the friends that I have made through the decades that keep me coming back. Not to mention just to haunt Horton, MS and Darwin!

[The_MS]

@Ham I was born in 63 and you were already into 39.

[Horton]

@MS how true. You know Ham coached Ralph Samuelson

[Marco]

@Ms- Born in '63? Turning 50 this year then. Life is over as you know it!

[The_MS]

@Horton Ralph's son lives down the road from me

[Horton]

@ms is that the one that Ham got arrested for bootlegging with?

[The_MS]

That sounds like the story.

[Ham_Wallace]

MS,

Y'all are babies.

[MattP]

@Ham yikes... what does that make me..

[The_MS]

@Ham I just hope I can hang on as long as you. I hate Winter.

[akale15]

I'm Kale from Fort Wayne, IN. I have been skiing since I was 12 but didn't start skiing the course and competitively until college. I began skiing at IPFW in Fort Wayne for 2 years then transferred to Purdue in West Lafayette, IN and was a part of the Purdue Waterski Team for 3 more years. Collegiate skiing was the best thing for my skiing and college experience. Learned so much about the sport in my college years as well as meet a ton of great people. If you are in college or about to begin look around at what the schools have to offer and ski on a collegiate club team, even if you are just a newbie like we all were!

 

Now that I'm graduated and at home I ski with a few other local skiers when I get the chance. Great to meet new people in the sport because it gives me a chance to get on the water and behind a boat since I do not have a place or boat of my own yet.

 

Boiler Up!

[dtm8119]

Hey Ballers! I'm Dan from Chanhassen, MN. 27 years old, and have been skiing since I was 5 or 6 years old. I do most of my skiing on Maple Lake, where I keep my boat at my folks place.

 

If any of you Minnesota Ballers ever need a 2nd or 3rd, feel free to shoot me a message. I'm always looking for new people to enjoy skiing with!

 

[ALPJr]

I'm 52. Grew up in southern NJ. Learned to ski with friends behind a 13' Whaler with a 20hp on the Great Egg Harbor Bay. Free skied on the Great Egg rivers and coves for 15 years until I saw an add for the 1989 Garden State Games, NJ's version of the Olympics, which included 3 event waterskiing. Never before seeing a course I found an add for Jimmy Durham's Ski School in SC and went for three days of training for the Garden State Slalom Championships. My first tourney ended after 1 bouy, but I was hooked immediately, almost like I started a new sport. Rene, Duram's slalom instructor told me about Spencer's in Owego NY. Went to ski with David the next weekend. That became my training site. I skied at Spencer's many times each of the next 16 years. David and that location changed my life for sure. I was lucky to ski two years with the Berkeley and Marin crews in CA. Found them while skiing with Mike Syderhoud on Shasta. Since 1999 I've been very lucky to be skiing with the awsome crew of Randy, Dan and John at Jack's in CT, a slalom skiers dream pond. Above all I must thank my wife and kids for putting up with my obsession, and my parents for helping me get started!

[jimskiboy]

Hi folks, I started skiing when I was 5 years old in Cassadaga, NY. Summers were short, but we made the best of it. I free skied all the way into my 30's before being introduced to a slalom course in 2001. Since then the course has been a passion and an addiction. I've made some of my best friends on the river and lakes between Washington, DC and Richmond, Virginia. My water ski home lake is now in a small town called Sparta, VA. Timberlake is a private ski lake that hosts tournaments, clinics and junior development. We love to promote 3 event water skiing. I have a wife and 3 kids that are all becoming ski junkies just like me. In the past few years I've taken on the roll of President of the Virginia Water Ski Federation and just became President of the Timberlake Water Ski Club. Summer and the water ski season can't get here soon enough.

[Zman]

This was tourny PB, right?