jcamp

So I might get a tax break? OH THE TYRANNY!!!!!!!!!!!!

A good friend of mine is the global president of a major sporting goods (non-watersports) brand that everyone on this forum would recognize. The years of 2020-2021-ish were the best years they've had in decades. Now they are trying to figure out if/how they can survive.

If all of the above is true (and I hope it is not), I just want to say thanks to Dennis Kelly. He worked his tail off keeping Malibu in the water ski game for as long as they were and has been a huge support of the sport, its athletes and events. Wishing him and his family the best.

Not true when considering the life of the vehicle and factoring in total emissions, at according to the EPA: Myth #2: Electric vehicles are worse for the climate than gasoline cars because of battery manufacturing. FACT: The greenhouse gas emissions associated with an electric vehicle over its lifetime are typically lower than those from an average gasoline-powered vehicle, even when accounting for manufacturing. Some studies have shown that making a typical EV can create more carbon pollution than making a gasoline car. This is because of the additional energy required to manufacture an EV’s battery. Still, over the lifetime of the vehicle, total GHG emissions associated with manufacturing, charging, and driving an EV are typically lower than the total GHGs associated with a gasoline car. That’s because EVs have zero tailpipe emissions and are typically responsible for significantly fewer GHGs during operation (see Myth 1 above). For example, researchers at Argonne National Laboratory estimated emissions for both a gasoline car and an EV with a 300-mile electric range. In their estimates, while GHG emissions from EV manufacturing and end-of-life are higher (shown in orange below), total GHGs for the EV are still lower than those for the gasoline car.

@rico Great news. Online registration is way better.

If they come for the skiers, it's BECAUSE of the surfers, the destruction they cause, and people's inability to recognize that we are different types of users and have different impacts. MasterCraft is actually fueling that misperception by trying to rally us all to the "watersports" flag.

I am a proud MasterCraft owner, but I would expect a much more sophisticated effort from both MasterCraft and NASBLA. If it's federal legislation you wouldn't contact your state legislators, and if it's state legislation it makes no sense for people in 49 other states to contact their state reps. And then there is the fact that MasterCraft is asking slalom skiers in many states to give up 50' (my course is permitted in a state with a 150' limit) in order to protect the cash cow surf boats.

Since COVID boat prices have been out of whack, but I'd say between 23-25k for this boat. And like @foxriverat alluded to, one would also expect prices in the winter to be generally lower than they are in the spring or mid summer, so that makes this boat even more over priced.

https://www.shieldtrailers.com/howitworks Add some fold down bedding and a dining area and maybe I see a use case for this. Sorta like a toy hauler but for boats. Thoughts?

I still blame Greek mismanagement for water skiing not being in the Olympics. If you'll recall, Athens picked water skiing for the 2004 games. At the time, hosts got to pick one or two spots to add to the program. In any other situation this would heave been a lock for water skiing, but Athens fell way behind on preparations, to the point that the IOC considered taking the games back to Sydney, the 2000 hosts. Instead, the IOC said "you've got enough on your hands" and didn't honor Athens' request to add water skiing. As much as the Olympic effort is crapped on on this forum, ad nauseum and I think unfairly, it actually worked. If the sport would have been picked by any other host we'd probably still be in the Olympics today. It's a shame Atlanta didn't pick water skiing as Georgia native Regina Jaquess would probably have a few golds right now if they had.

A Connelly Stoker binding might be a more modern (and readily available) equivalent. You can find them online at some pretty good price points.

Man, that interior is fantastic. Congrats and enjoy!

@DW The same value The Pancake Factory creates for University of Texas football boosters: "their team" winning. Your (and mine) mileage may vary. Just pointing out a way motivated people can build a process that meets the objectives they are seeking.

@unksskis Are you holding your breath for them to do it?

So in theory if you didn't mind unscrewing/screwing the plate on each time you switched, you could use the same reflex release and boot for both slalom and tricks?

Thanks for the great livestream @Kelvin. My family watched a lot of it over the weekend. Go Mocs!

In college sports (football especially), collectives have become a massive (if not THE) factor in recruiting. They raise $ specifically to support a college team, and sometimes even certain position groups. For example, the Pancake Factory Collective pays every University of Texas lineman $50,000 a year. What if the water ski community developed something similar for overall skiers? $20,000 spread amongst the top three men and women at the top of the overall rankings list at the end of each year would be a good incentive and help support all the training that goes into being a 3-eventer.

The 2024 35+ Worlds is being pulled from Greece and relocated to an as yet announced location. Anyone have any leads on where it will be?

Scores are really down from the Big Dawg days, and not at just this event but I think in Masters Men in general. Anyone have any theories as to why?

I have vivid memories of John Swanson stomping around the site before tournaments my freshman year. I tried to stay as far away from him as possible.

https://www.iwwfed-ea.org/competition.php?cc=T-23PANA04&page=TimeTable He scored 80 points in tricks, jumping (or at least on the start list) later Sunday.

The Big Dawg Tour definitely had its shortcomings and was rightly criticized by some during it's run, but it undoubtedly brought interest and competition to 35+ skiing that I think the sport has been missing the last couple years. I'm not super familiar with 55kWest and the people behind it so I can't say if they are the "tour" to do it, but I would like to see something along the lines of the Big Dawg Tour again.

Congrats to Dane. One of the best dudes in the sport.

Can USAWS put together a bulk AED buy? My club would be interested.

I always described it as if someone was in the back of the boat throwing gravel at you while you skied ...