quinne

Thanks for the feedback! @BraceMaker I tried cutting the finger tips several years ago and didn't like it. That's when I went to men's gloves. I purchased a pair of Masterline palm protectors to try under my existing gloves and the kevlar Radar BOA because they can tighten on the top of the hand. We'll see if that actually makes any difference or is just a gimmicky addition. The shop said I can try them out and send back if I don't like them. Thanks for the advice everyone! Always a really helpful forum!

Thoughts on difference/pros/cons in amara and kevlar palm?

I ski every weekend, sometimes several days in a row, sometimes on a course. 30MPH, 15 off. 5'11" female so long skinny fingers and small wrists. I've been wearing men's size large Connelly tournament gloves (the yellow and black) for about 2 years. They fit great and have worked just fine but the padding feels non-existent now and after a few pulls my hands are hurting. The last post I see on this forum with glove advice is from 2019. Should I go with the same gloves again or suggestions to try something new? I don't mind spending a little money if they will last a while, fit my long skinny hands and keep my hands in good shape. Quick scan of this site and I'm wondering about Radar Ergo Inside Out, Connelly Claw, Masterline K-palm, or any other suggestions. Thanks!

Unfortunately the section I want to show our girls is Tuesday on Lake 2 and it is the one section that is "blocked in country" on YouTube. Something about the music that is playing by Orchard Music. I wanted to show them the little girls that are first learning the course and running it slow and easy. If anyone has other recent video of 8 and under girls, perhaps from a different tournament, please share. Thanks!

Thanks @Obrienslalom

Can someone provide a link of archived video showing the (young) girls slalom nationals from the past couple of months? We have 8 year old girls slaloming and I would like to show them video of others their age skiing a course.

If considering the Radar Senate you would instead look at a Radar Lyric. It is the Senate only tweaked a bit for a female. Also, without reading all posts in depth I think a wider ski was mentioned. Maybe look at a Radar Session. The website description lines up with your speed and early skier challenges. https://radarskis.com/products/womens-session

@Clydesdale I'm so glad you shared this. I follow Whitney on Instagram and remember watching this video when she first posted it. I forgot all about it! I'm going to bookmark it and start doing these. Side note- I was emailing back and forth with Whitney last fall about joining for her women's week camp. Timing didn't work out this year but hopeful to go in the future. She's a very nice person.

Thanks for the info and suggestions! Taking all into account. @OldboyII I purchased an electric massager on Sun and it arrived today!

@LakeOneSkier no offense taken at all. I never used to stretch prior to skiing and this year I'm making a point to do it every time. Although I don't think I'm stretching effectively in the area I'm having pain. Planning to work on that. I have a foam roller but until reading @lakeaustinskier post just now was really not clear on how to target that particular muscle under my shoulder blade. Super helpful. Something that did help this evening though... I had my 8 year old put all of her weight on a tennis ball and roll it back and forth. That was good stuff!

This is actually kind of comical. I'm 45 and unlike virtually every other female I know, I've never enjoyed yoga. You all have me convinced now that I need to explore this weird bendy exercise philosophy. Thanks for the video! @adamhcaldwell I think you're on to something with the hydration. Usually up too late the night before and too much wine. Then super early morning to beat the wake boats out to the water. And its possible the heart of my issue could be related to my offside slack. I don't get it every time. It's so strange how you can have good ski days and bad ski days. Or good ski weekends and bad ski weekends. I can go a couple of weeks and have no issues with slack. Then suddenly I take 5 steps back and feel like I'm getting a snap on my right side coming out of the turn. I used to let go of the rope and bail to save myself the jerk. Lately I'm trying to hold it and recover. Like I said in my original post, less than perfect form catching up with me now, and mid-summer as you point out. @Obrienslalom yes, my neck is definitely feeling it. It's just acute in the place under my shoulder blade, and one side is way worse than the other.

@ReallyGottaSki good post. I do have a roller and need to start using it. Not excited about rest though coming into the end of summer! Agree on building better strength in the off season. My exercise and weight routine has been way off with the pandemic so that is probably contributing. Like your practice quote. Thanks!

Can someone point me to a thread on BOS that discusses upper back pain? Rhomboid muscle (I think), just under the scapula. I'm tall and slim and back pain is something I've always had to work with while pursuing sports. I've had muscle soreness building since the beginning of the summer and initially it was just in the category of annoying and only noticeable occasionally during the week but didn't bother me while skiing on weekends. Now it bothers me constantly and hurts while skiing. I'm guessing it is related to the deep water start and also far less than perfect form once up. Normally I would go for a series of massages but given COVID I'm avoiding that if possible. I am stretching before and after skiing although feel like my stretch never quite gets at the place that is tight. Advice?

I am your typical 'crazy about water skiing but not very good at it' person. However, changing from my '94 Connelly Concept to a Radar Lyric a few years ago could be equated to the scene in Wizard of Oz when it goes from black and white to color. It transformed my experience and level of enjoyment. Last year I moved to the Graphite Lyric and that took the fun factor one level higher. At this point, thanks to better equipment (boat included), advice from more advanced skiers, and practice every weekend my skiing is improving pretty rapidly. And I'm having a ton of fun. My ski-sters (two sisters + childhood friend) have all upgraded equipment and are experiencing the same. I need to update my profile pic. We laugh now at us standing there holding our old college skis!

Helpful thread. Now looking back through older discussions on how to practice a stacked position.

mamosas, bacon and eggs. We ski early.

I was in a similar place this time last year. Take a look at the thread from my post on the same topic. https://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/21955/advice-for-free-skier-on-best-wake-open-bow-used-boats/p1 I purchased a '07 Response and absolutely love it. My ski buddy has a '99 Sunsetter. We take turns driving on weekends so I have experience with both. It is true that in open water with a full boat the nose of the Response will dip. If a wake boat goes by and you are not under power you will definitely take tons of water over the bow. You learn to goose it a little and get your nose up which almost always works if you do it correctly. Just takes practice. Get yourself a small shop vac and keep it in your dock box. For safety and given how crazy busy our lake gets we avoid middle of the day outings anyway. We have no issues at all in the morning and evening. My friend's Sunsetter has a marginally higher bow which may be enough to make the difference. We are rarely full of people so it isn't a big problem for us. Regarding wakes between the two. Both are great wakes. GREAT. Having said that I ski 15 off @ 28-30 MPH. Over 30 the wake gets even smaller. I skied behind a 206 when I was looking at boats and at my speed I I experienced the wake to be bigger than the malibu. But, wake size is not my limiting factor in how good my skiing is, there are a 1000 other things I need to improve on before I blame the wake of a newer-ish model ski boat! Also pay attention to the years for Malibu. Apparently it makes a big difference. I created a spreadsheet and if I can find it I will PM it to you. I didn't read through all of the other posts so this all might be redundant. I just really appreciated how helpful the BOS community was when I looked last year! The boat we purchased has been a fantastic family boat and ski boat. All boxes checked! Good luck!

All of our kiddos are 8 and under so we're in two skis for a while. @skimtb my daughter learned to slalom last year (7 yrs old!) but she prefers two skis, knee boarding and tubing. I was the same way at her age but I look forward to the day when she only wants to slalom! @Skoot1123 that is exactly how we are doing it currently. We try to encourage the kids to get on the back of the boat and put their own skis on so we only help if they need it. They pick it up pretty quick, and they've learned to help each other. Reading the comments above, I think we will start having them sit on the platform and then put them on. A few pics below of my daughter helping her younger cousin. Passing the handle!

Has anyone come up with a good way to teach the kids to get into the water from the swim platform while wearing two skis, without filing off the edge of the wooden platform? We've tried getting the skis mostly off the edge, squatting low and slipping in but it still happens.

We are looking at purchasing an EZ-Slalom Compact Course pretty soon and would love to hear from any early adopters of OffCourse. I will be interested to learn if the splash can be seen when the water isn't perfect.

@Luzz I hope you know I was being sarcastic! But last time I was on a wakeboard was 1992 and I have no use for it. Couldn’t find any info on this one online so no idea what it’s worth.

Seriously, no idea what year it is, what I should ask for it and where to sell it. It says O'Brien Vision 140. Looks like new. Came free when I bought my boat.

Awesome! Just talked to Marco and Danielle at Performance and ordered a size small Camaro Blacktec. They were both really helpful. I'll report back on how it fits once it arrives. Also, a nice perk that there is a BOS discount.

Thanks for the feedback from everyone. I'm definitely open to a men's suit. I'm around 130lbs so it would need to be on the smaller side. Probably leaning towards a shorty since we winterize the boat before temps get too low anyway.

I live in eastern NC and ski most weekends from May-Sept. I would love to extend that season by a month on either side but at my slightly older, wussier age I have less tolerance for being cold. I'm slim, tall (5'11") and female so most suits are made for shorter women. I would appreciate suggestions on what brand and what kind of suit I need (shorty, full, zip up jacket w/ pants?). Thanks! Elissa