fizer

@scoke Done.

I'll make that commitment - gotta make sure you at least have to run a pass to defend your title ; )

I'm a Malibu guy but I don't mind skiing behind the new Nautique. If you have spent some time driving some shortline in one you probably understand the boat better. It rocks (literally - side to side) and I think it takes an experienced driver to not overreact to the rocking. Shorter the rope gets the more it rocks. It is a much more driver-sensitive boat than was the 200. I go C2 behind a 6L Malibu but B2 behind the new Nautique. Definitely my least favorite brand to jump behind - not that you guys care about that.

I think I took about 250 rides this year. I think 36 of those were tournament rides. Probably about 25% slalom, 30% jump, 45% trick.....yet I still suck at trick the most.

Everyone is different, but I would recommend staying away from spectra handles. I have never had any elbow issues until this summer. I went from a "normal" handle to a spectra handle in June and started having major elbow issues in July (problem on right arm, LFF skier). Once it starts it is definitely hard to shake. Theraband flexbar and massage have helped me.

35+ Pan Ams in Mexico last November. 5 ball 35 off. Photo cred - Thomas Gustafson

Throw the fist more.

By far the most fun tournament I have been to in some time was the H2H attached to 2015 Southern Regionals at Paducah. I think more H2H is a very, very good thing.

Meandering off topic, but since @MattP mentioned it here....I love the idea of AWSA splitting from USAWS. I don't know everything that goes on behind the scenes, so maybe I am wrong about this - but I feel like a big portion of the money and energy created by AWSA is spent supporting show skiing, kneeboarding, etc. But hey, maybe some wakeboard money is flowing to us and I misunderstand? One thing I am pretty sure of - it does not help build our sport by having a website with pictures cycling on the front page that include a guy in a neon barefoot suit riding a kneeboard (no offense). Young potential skiers are not going to want to be associated with that in any way. Hell, I'm M3 and I don't want to be associated with that in any way. There was recently a news story on the usawaterski homepage that I would have loved to send my friends and coworkers, but I didn't send it around becasue of the possibility of one of those kind of pictures popping up on the front page. #secede The AWSA will rise again!

@Horton - yeah, I hear ya. I think for me, my free hand follows what I do with my eyes a bit. If I look across course I reach for the handle and "go" too soon. If I look down course I keep my shoulders square and level, and I ski my hand (thus hip) around to the handle - which makes for a longer turn (for me). Looking down the buoy line doesn't work for me at all on my toeside. I think looking at the next set of boat guides on both sides is a pretty good thing to try and I have had some success coaching others on this. The boat guides are down course, but are not as awkward as trying to look straight down the bouy line. Also, having a consistent reference point (same at each rope length and same on each side of course) is a good thing, in my opinion. There are more than a few really good skiers that whip their head across course as soon as they know that they are around a buoy though - more than one way to skin a cat!

I think this depends on what your weakness is in the course. I tend to drop bombs on the buoys, so anything that helps me bring the ski back under the rope before I load helps me be more flowy. Eyes are a huge part of this for me. I skied with a very highly-regarded coach many years ago and he wanted me to look at 3 ball when rounding 1 ball (I'm LFF - so heelside look straight down the course) and look at the 3-ball boat guides when rounding 2 ball (so on toeside look down course but not quite straight down the lake). This works really well for me when I am disciplined enough to do it. I would say the only thing about looking over the bow of the boat is that the angle changes with each line length where buoys are going to be in the same place every pass. Is that good or bad? I don't know.

There has to be a video somewhere, right? Anyone seen one or have a link?

@Edbrazil - I thought about this not long ago and a quick search came up with this this . Note the 125# breaking point on the connector at the bottom of the page. You would probably need some different pins for different skiers and certainly something lower than 125#. Not perfect, but its in the neighborhood and that was literally the first place I looked - so there is probably something much more suitable out there. I won't plan on using anything like this anytime soon but it is an interesting thought.

I had an awesome experience with Kiwi at Fluid this Spring. Had been been battling flips after several years away from tricking and he had me landing BFL and reverse again in a set. And I hadn't tried the toeside flip in years. Kiwi is easy to be around too - laid back, fun time.

@mattp @RazorRoss3‌ - the info I have for Ron is the same as what is on his website: http://www.goodmanskis.com/contact.html