HO 410

If the trip too is tough, but the rest of the day is fine, a good place to start is look at ways to defuse the tension of anticipation. Singing out loud, word games, riddles, mental math, planning for a school project, maybe even talking about skiing if it doesn't feed that loop of anxiety.

I second, Third, and Fourth #eddie_roberts_jr Think about holding a squat. Think about relaxing your legs. Choose some thought prevents you from standing up until your skis are all the way on top of the water. Standing up too early, and/or trying to get up with your legs straight, makes the whole thing much harder than it needs to be. You could also try holding the handle with one palm up and one palm down: just like you would hold a baseball bat. It might be placebo, but I fell my grip is a bit stronger this way. Lastly, if you are at a site where you have not been using a coastguard approved vest, try a coastguard approved vest. It's what you tried to do with the float but won't require spend the engergy to balance on the float while you're trying to keep yourself balanced in the water. (I've had friends out to the ski lake that couldn't get up until we swapped out a pullover vest for a CGA vest)

However you go about getting up, be patient.

I'd hold off on making a ski decision until you go to April's and it's easy to demo skis and get good feedback. When you're at April's is when you could look into putting a fully adjustable fin box on your Triumph. You would not be using it to tinker when you get home, but so that you can get the ski more balanced while you're there.

I'd go with the Kodaks, because they are dirt stinking cheap compared to the GoPro.

Keep those arms straight. Do not pull that handle into your body.

I don't think there is a codified set of "grassroots" rules, they are just class f (fun) sanctioned tournaments. Class F tournaments have a great deal of flexibility in organization, format, and rule; because scores don't count for national rankings, skiers' attitudes usually relax. You'll need to call or email the tournament organizer to find out what their specific rule changes are. In terms of beginner and family friendly, you could probably expect something like a mulligan if you don't make your opener.

Completely agree with Than, you shouldn't be crashing after the second wake. Dial it back a bit and get to know the ski.

If you won't spend more than $200, try http://radarskistore.com/products/category/Slalom+Skis/1399.0.1.1.1008721.54086.0.0.0 The CDX and Truth aren't exactly known for being beginner friendly skis.

You cannot get leveraged/stacked once you start pulling against the boat. You cannot get leveraged/stacked if the boat never stops pulling against you. At a professionally coached clinic, you'll want to talk about a lot of things, but the pro will probably talk about gates all day long. I was at the Oklahoma State Championships a few weeks back, and I joked all day long with every skier, "Musta been the gate." It's true to a degree, there are six turns and that one gate shot controls the entire thing. All the way at the beginning of the pass, if you don't get free of the boat long enough to get leveraged, it's going to be very difficult to find the time to get leveraged later down the lake. I'm not sure that's a tip but it is something to chew on.

The ammount of tension you but on the bungee lace at the ankle dictates how easy or difficult it is for the cuff of the boot to open up and let your foot out. If that cinch is slipping, you could just tie a knot.

You need to progressively loosen the bungee, and see what changes. Keep going looser and looser until it doesn't ski right. I've made this suggestion to everyone that has bindings with a top bungee lace. Almost all discovered that they had been 1) overtightening and 2) were not getting much out of it than the feeling of a tight boot. As with all binding advice, your milage may vary.

Skiers should not have to witness the horrors of their photographs taken with are two hands on the handle?

Footloose42, We're dealing with cans and mights is both situations. There are skiers that punch though the hande and just get a hefty bruise. Not every skiers breaks an ankle when their bindings should have release but didn't. Not every skier that crashes into the wakes breaks a rib. The plastic these guards are made of is more flexible than I would expect in high energy situations. I have tried to punch through and rip out on the dock. Counldn't do it with 41 Tails on, could with a barehand and fingers straight. It doesn't feel great but neither does crahing OTF. I thought the EVA rubber in the Animals was pretty inflexible until I crashed and ejected from the boots. Again, it doesn't feel great but I've never describe crashing as a pleasent experience.

Action/Reaction. If you make the panel more flexible, to make it a little bit easier for your hand to get out, you also make it easier for your hand to get past the panel. Taken to an extreme, a panel that should be deflecting your punching fist could guide your hand through. Obviosly, everyone can and should make his or her own decision. I think the possible pitfalls of an Arm Guard are fairly minimal compared to what I am confident it can protect from.