LCZ

With the deadline for proposed rule changes coming soon, I thought I would share a successful concept from another sport. This won't be perfect for water skiing but hopefully it will spark some discussion and generate something better than the current system. Below I will give a slightly simplified explanation and those who want all the details can get them at www.atarules.com under Champion Programs (Section 17). My daughter competes in American Taekwondo Association (ATA) tournaments. This is a well-managed organization and tournament participation is growing significantly. Each year they award State Champions, District Champions (9 in the US), and World Champions. There are groups based on age and rank (color belt, 1st degree black belt, 2nd degree, etc.) Standings are an accumulation of points from tournaments of different classes throughout the year. Class B (regional) is the lowest, then Class A (regional with better historical attendance), then Class AA (two national tournaments per year), and finally Class AAA (World Championships hosted once per year.) Higher class tournaments give you more points for a first, second, or third place finish compared to lower class tournaments. Each year, you can use scores from up to five regional tournaments (Class A and B), one Class AA, and the Class AAA tournament for your point total. Only first, second, and third place finishes are awarded points and the person with the most points in each group at the end of the year is automatically the State Champion. The tournament year ends in April and the nine District Championships are held in May. Anybody with a first, second, or third place finish in a previous tournament that year is eligible to compete. There are different events such as forms and sparring and you must qualify for each event to compete. (A first place finish in forms does not mean you can spar at Districts.) The World Champion is decided by the Tournament of Champions. In order to participate, you must be in the Top Ten of the standings at the end of the year or win one of the nine District Tournaments. The Tournament of Champions is a separate tournament from the World Championships, where everybody is eligible to compete. Both tournaments are hosted in Little Rock, Arkansas (founding place of the ATA) on consecutive days. The World Championships actually start the tournament year and are a point earning opportunity for the Tournament of Champions in the following calendar year (end of that tournament year). So how could this work for water skiing? Rankings could be the sum of buoy counts from multiple tournaments. Maybe the best four tournaments count to encourage more participation and there is a penalty for skiing less than four (you can use the same score twice but there is a reduction factor applied for the second usage). Scores at record tournaments, regional tournaments, and national tournaments are increased by a factor since these tournaments are more highly scrutinized and there is additional pressure. It is also an incentive to attend the "big" tournaments since 5@38-off counts for more there compared to a Class C tournament. Maybe scores at Nationals are worth about 10% more than Class C scores, Regionals are +5%, and Records are +3% over Class C. (I haven't put a ton of thought into these percentage increases so feel free to suggest different factors.) This means you can qualify for water skiing's Tournament of Champions without attending Regionals or Nationals, however, you will be at a disadvantage to those that post good scores at Regionals or Nationals. Winning Regionals or Nationals means automatic qualification for the Tournament of Champions regardless of total score over the year. States could remain automatic qualification for Regionals and a premium could be applied to scores there, even though it's only a Class C, to encourage participation. The water skiing Tournament of Champions is a head-to-head bracket competition with a much smaller number of competitors and the current Nationals is the best opportunity to earn points towards qualification. Seeding is based on total score so skipping Nationals means you are probably a lower seed (and less likely to get a bye if there are an odd number of competitors) than if you attended Nationals and skied the same buoy count as one of your four best tournaments. Let me know your thoughts guys. I haven't contributed much to the discussion here over the years but I wanted to share this idea in hopes of improving tournament participation and making things more interesting.

My ski buddy is struggling to get his Quest to turn on the offside at -38. The fin should be at stock now but we will verify. He tried a Helix with the long and shallow settings Paul Crawford recommends and it was magic. Is anybody having success with similar settings on the Quest?

Had the chance to ski with Brooks Wilson at The Boarding School (formerly SkiTek) recently. The coach and site have been around but it's an awesome new combination! The 2014 MasterCraft is the icing on the cake. I've previously skied with some great coaches such as Seth Stisher and Jodi Fisher. With that said, Brooks more than compares and I was able to translate his coaching into more buoys faster. Brooks found a couple simple mistakes I was making and the results were almost immediate. 32-off (hardest pass I can complete) felt so easy that I had to ask him if the boat speed was correct! The site is also unbelievable. With lots of trees and two lakes in opposite directions, you are pretty much guaranteed good conditions. It's much easier to concentrate on the coaching and your skiing when there aren't any whitecaps to dodge. I also got to watch Brooks ski a set. With two slalom courses, you can go lake-to-lake without stopping. He just ripped -38 @36 twice in a row like it was nothing! Email Brooks at brooks@thewilsonbros.com to set something up and you won't be disappointed. I'm going back in a couple weeks to get dialed in for tournament season here in Ohio. (It's also being billed as a family trip to Disney.)

For clarity, I was pre-releasing after the second wake during the transition. It was almost white cap conditions.

Just wanted to say thanks to @kfennell‌ and the other great hosts at the San Marcos River Ranch. For those that haven't skied there, it's quite an impressive site and I hope to be back in August for Nationals. It was a fierce day for wind though! Sustained 20 mph+ with stronger gusts. I reduced the release setting on my new Reflex setup to just below 5 last year and pre-released on both sets due to all the chop. Cranked it up to about 5.5 after the second incident. My previous Reflex was dialed in around 6 but the block on the back of the boot is different now. The Reflex manual prescribes a 4.5 release setting for my weight at 34 mph but this seems too low for me. I'd rather work up from a setting that is too low than the reverse though...

@kfennell Thanks for the invite! I'll be in touch. @Moskier3ev Sounds like the perfect weekend. I'll settle for just getting away from this endless winter for a few days though.

Have to attend a work conference starting Saturday, April 12. Brutal winter here in Ohio so I'd love to get in a couple sets if possible. Still some ice on the lake here. Water temps approached 70 in March two years ago... Can drive, bring gas money, and provide mediocre coaching. Thanks, Larry.

I'll second @Chef23's comments. Believe it's only $30 per set behind a nice Carbon Pro with Zero Off. Everybody is super friendly and there are some strong skiers that can probably coach you. Here's a link to the LSP FB page for contact info. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lapoint-Ski-Park/385367114895768

@jhughes, I agree with the above suggestions to run some -28 passes at 32 mph. Like @ChadW said -22 is way different and you can get away with some inefficiencies. We've been trying to tell @scarletarrow this all season...

Having switched from rubber to Reflex three years ago, the biggest difference you will notice is increased responsiveness in almost every movement. I had the tendency, and to some degree still do today, of letting my weight drop back going into the offside turn. The Reflex system just magnified this mistake and the ski didn't want to turn until I made a correction. I've skied on rubber bindings since converting and will never go back. I don't know many people that have gone back to rubber after giving hard shells a fair shot... We can talk in more detail at the Boots tomorrow.

The Buckeye Buoy tour has successfully used several head-to-head formats. Check it out at www.skiowsa.com as @GK suggested. Pick Your Poison is one of the most creative.

I've been ready for three years. Talk to my ski buddy about that...

@jody seal - Appreciate the offer but those colors are tough to swallow for a Browns fan that still lives in the Cleveland area. @ral - We'd be lucky to put 100 hours per year on the boat. Work gets in the way of skiing too often... Thanks to the others that posted as well. We'd definitely consider a promo boat from BOS member.

Another Lurker becomes a Baller... My ski buddy and I want to upgrade our '94 Nautique to a 2010 or 2011 SN 200. How much of a premium do you think it's worth paying for a boat with 100 hours vs. one with 500 hours? I can't get a handle on how much 400 extra hours impacts the resale value 5-10 years later. On a related subject, what would be a fair price per hour to charge other club members for usage, assuming they provide fuel? Thanks in advance for the help. This site is by far and away the best resource for slalom knowledge.