Monaco Slalom Cup - June 25-26

[Horton]

@dvskier

I guess my pushback is that if we're trying to avoid every eventuality then we're going to need to mandate helmets, handle guards and we're going to have to make all lakes 500 ft wide. Additionally, we should probably limit boat horsepower to 250.

Seriously, yes, we should be looking for safety improvements at our ski sites but we can not be trying to anticipate one in a million accidents. 

If somebody who has skied at this site wants to tell me I'm wrong about the proximity of that dock to the course, I will retract my comments.

[dvskier]

@Horton My post was exactly that. Despite safety measures taken accidents will happen.

[DaveD]

Pads and helmets are bandaids that probably won't prevent a serious injury.  If it can go wrong, it will go wrong.  Prevent crashes by making sure the dock can't be hit by a skier that looses control.  That lake isn't wide enough along that side of the lake to have a structure anywhere near the course.  Move the dock down to the end of the lake.  

[Wish]

I think if any good comes out of this it will be site owners lookn around. Reassessing and making changes if needed. I don’t think it will be anything less than that and I don’t think it needs to be any more. Best safety gear is what’s between everyone’s ears. If you see something that can be changed for the better..change it. If it looks ok, leave it alone. Common sense. 

[BGrow76]

Water skiing involves risk, we can't eliminate it all but we sure can be smart about dock placements to decrease the risk. This dock is not in the ideal spot to reduce the risk of hitting it. This dock should be directly opposite of the turn balls or at the end of the lake. See the attached file of two better locations where it would greatly reduce the risk of a skier hitting the dock.

[Rednucleus]

I am thankful that it was Freddie's femur and not his head - the outcome would have been a disasterous different story.  Dock needs to be moved now that the "freak accident" event has been proven possible.

[DvarianDan Johnson]

On 6/29/2024 at 9:37 AM, Horton said:

Seriously, yes, we should be looking for safety improvements at our ski sites but we can not be trying to anticipate one in a million accidents. 

If somebody who has skied at this site wants to tell me I'm wrong about the proximity of that dock to the course, I will retract my comments.

The fact that this happened to one of the best skiers on the planet, and that a similar event nearly occurred last year when Nate nearly ran into the jump is hard evidence that all sites DO need to re-evaluate the proximity of their courses  to any potential obstacle. Twice within 12 months  - is not a one in a million occurrence.  Pro event sites are supposed to be better designed because of the fact that the most intense skiing in the world will be present at those sites. Agree 100% with @Rednucleus and others above. The Monaco site should be modified.