sb_dc_mbs_13

That's the problem I see with eliminating spotter laws. I trust hardcore skiers to be responsible without a spotter. However, I don't trust a majority of the clowns I see on our public lake to go without a spotter. For that safety reason alone, I think I'm partial to keeping the spotter law in place. Where in Wisconsin are you guys? I spend my summers in Southeast Wisconsin on a public lake near the WI/IL border. Would love to find some courses in the area.

I think @RazorRoss3 is exactly on point in talking about collegiate skiing and a registry. That would be great. I was an open water skier before college, but got absolutely got hooked through my team competing with NCWSA. Since then, I have been constantly searching for places to ski, but it is difficult (1) to find lakes with slalom courses, (2) sometimes cost prohibitive for recent grads to pay annual memberships if $50/$60 per set, and (3) not realistic for many to buy a boat right away. That unfortunately leaves myself and many of my former collegiate teammates on the outside looking in. A more thorough registry would be a great idea. I know that I have used wakescout at that is certainly helpful to a point, but I'm sure there are plenty of lakes and clubs it is missing.

Thanks for the awesome reply @eleeski What sort of proper maintenance is required for hardshells? The only reason I say no to toes is that I don't have consistent access to a boat with a release...yet.

I got into tricking a couple years back and started with a Wiley trick wrap (Large). My only complaint was that it was so tight that it forced me to cut my sets short. I'm still at the point where I am taking longer sets (falling a lot trying to learn new tricks) so I switched the Wiley out for an old slalom boot I had, a Connelly Sidewinder. I don't have the problem of short sets anymore, but I can tell that I am not as "in tune" with the ski as I was with the Wiley. There is a pretty significant amount of padding now between my foot and the ski with this new binding. I've considered going to a reflex or other hardshell, but I'm not sure if it is worth it. At this point, I do not plan on learning toes. I want to eventually progress and start working on some flips and have heard that the hard shell bindings can lead to nasty bumps and bruises on falls. Any suggestions on a non-Wiley rubber binding? Or are my hardshell concerns overblown? Thanks

Having just recently graduated college, I haven't had the opportunity to compete outside of the NCWSA yet. However, I think I would be much more inclined to at least try to compete with this proposed State v. State format. I'm partial to that over the ski club v. ski club format. At this point, I'm not able to commit to a ski club and would be on the outside looking in if ski clubs were used as the basis for team selection (not that I would be able to qualify for nationals either way...just my 2 cents).

http://www.waterskimag.com/features/2015/10/21/six-ways-to-boost-water-skiings-popularity/?src=SOC&dom=fb Thoughts?

Feed has been down for me for a few minutes now

@Bruce_Butterfield What about the reflex/hardshell allows for quicker improvement? I've heard this before, but am curious. I'm pretty new to trick and have only had soft bindings.

Yeah I never saw it. Did I miss it?

Thanks @6balls Any idea what she charges per set?

I'm NW of Chicago and have been looking for a more permanent ski site. I used to ski on the Fox River site, but lost contact with the guys who would pull me. Is that course still maintained? I remember jet skis being a problem there. I've also been on a private site in Libertyville a couple times as a guest. I've heard it is expensive to get in there though. I've also heard of a public course on Crystal Lake,but haven't been there myself. Anyone have any intel on that? Would love to hear of other course options. I'm fresh out of school so I don't have a boat (yet). Also would prefer spending a reasonable amount per set.

Basically the team is looking at what makes the most sense financially. Prior to getting the current boat, we had another MC tournament team that we hung on to for quite a few years and put some serious hours on it. Leading to not getting a whole lot of money when we sold that boat. So we're looking at whether we should be getting a boat every 5-7 years. OR Explore a leasing program that we have heard about through other teams.

Hey All, Our collegiate team's 73" jumpers just broke this afternoon while letting another team use them. Unfortunate situation, but we are trying to find another pair in time for the Conference tournament next weekend. Anyone have any for sale or have any good leads? Much appreciated.

@DW D1- http://www.usawaterski.org/rankings/ScoreBks/14U031CS.HTM D2- http://www.usawaterski.org/rankings/ScoreBks/14U032CS.HTM

I'm also a big fan of the lemon lime A3

But in all seriousness.... being stronger on my turns. I developed a bad tendency of getting bent over at the hips around the balls. Which led to a pretty bad injury that had me off the water.

Getting more buoys

Hey Everyone, thanks for all the help so far. The contest ends tomorrow and we are currently in second place. If you haven't already...please go to our picture and like it! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151202283135064&set=a.10151202154735064.441282.183249135063&type=1&theater And if you have a few seconds to spare, maybe share it with some friends! Thanks!

Our team went down to Ski Fluid and skied with Kiwi Eade last spring break. We had slalomers, trickers, and jumpers. It was an awesome week. Great coaching and a ton of skiing. Everyone that went was either at their PBs or setting new ones by the end of the week (and that is after sitting through 5 months of midwest winter) We are planning on going back again this spring for another great week

I'm also interested in hearing some thoughts on this. I had a bad fall that injured both of my ankles that had me off the water for a few weeks during this past collegiate season. I was on HO Attacks. I normally tighten both straps as much as possible because I don't like the feeling of feet moving around while I'm out on the course. On my crash, my heels lifted but were unable to come all the way out of the binding. I ride an A2 and am considering trying out some EXOs once the water warms up again.

Wow, thanks for all the responses so far. Unfortunately two boats really doesn't look like an option. I definitely want to get an inboard and so far really like the idea of the sport nautique 200 with it being the same hull design as the ski 200. I'm going to continue working on them to go for a direct drive. We will be heading to the Chicago boat show in early January, so looking forward to seeing some of these boats in person

So my family is looking into getting a new boat. We've always had an I/O on our public lake. The past four years I have been spoiled skiing collegiate tournaments and getting to ski behind some great boats. Since we don't have a course on our lake and I am the only one that is into tournament skiing, a pure ski boat is out of the question. We are definitely looking at inboards now, but a direct drive is also out of the question since my family "doesn't like the engine in the middle of the boat" So basically what I'm looking for are some suggestions for multi sport boats that I can still ski behind at 34/36 mph without killing myself while coming across the wake when free skiing. Thanks

In an effort to spotlight some collegiate skiing... Congrats to the 2012 NCWSA Award Winners! http://ncwsa.com/index.php/latest-news/756-2012-ncwsa-award-winners NCWSA Male Athlete of the Year: Lorenzo D'Alberto of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette NCWSA Female Athlete of the Year: Manon Costard of Florida Southern College NCWSA Male Outstanding Leader of the Year: Anthony Campbell of Iowa State University NCWSA Female Outstanding Leader of the Year: Emily Van Treese of Miami University of Ohio NCWSA Team of the Year: Miami University of Ohio

Our team had a great week at SkiFluid. Great coaching and a lot of fun

So in reading the other thread on this forum about the amount of gas used per each set, I started thinking about what the proper cost per set should be for riders. I'm a collegiate skier with no consistent access to slalom courses. I bounce around wherever I can get a few sets in. I will usually ski about 2 sets a day when I do get out. And I'll throw at least $20 to cover gas. In skimming the thread I mentioned earlier, it seems like the boat will roughly go through a gallon or so of gas per set. (Correct me if I'm wrong). So for perpetual riders- How much do you throw down per set? And for boat/site owners- How much do you expect per set?