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

@Klundell I wasn't accusing anyone of anything other than talking too much or having strange priorities of what is most upsetting. I don't think I made any real "accusations." To do so certainly wasn't my intention. Agree that its fine for everyone to have different opinions on the re-ride. I don't think I really shared my opinion about the situation on the water, just my opinions about the aftermath and other things that may deserve some thoughts in order to keep what happened in perspective.

@OB - I did not call you out publicly out of respect for you and because I don't generally feel the need to express my personal opinions to the waterski masses (today being an exception). I'd be a wuss if I didn't say something to you tomorrow night, man to man - there's a huge difference. I agree with a lot of what you have said. And like I said, I'll tell you when I see you how I feel about some of the places I think you have gone overboard. I hope we can each say our piece, move on and have some good ski time together in the future.

It takes a lot to drive this lurker to post... @skimech‌ - for you to imply that you have any idea what Jeff is "all about" is almost as clueless and offensive as you saying he was definitively "finished after the two ball". You clearly don't know Jeff and you clearly haven't seen him ski much. From my perspective, Jeff is all about his family, his friends, his family business, etc. Even making time to ski every now and then is actually petty far down the list of priorities. Regardless of your perception of what happened Saturday night, doing something unfair for the sake of winning a Big Dawg event is definitely not what Jeff is "all about." As far as Big Dawg not being a "pro event": Is there not money on the line? If so, by definition is it not then a "pro event"? I understand it is not a World Cup event, or an elite points event - but it is professional event with money on the line. It is not just a ski show for the spectators like some of you are trying to claim. Should Jeff have gotten the re-ride? Maybe not. Should Jeff be getting all of this crap for asking for the re-ride? Definitely not (in my opinion). Should Jeff be blamed for the delay? Absolutely not. And without the massive delay, all of this would be about 1/50th the news that it has become. It seems that a lot of the readers and posters here are just going along with the assertion from a couple of Big Dawg skiers (and some Big Dawg wanna-bes) that no one has ever asked for a re-ride in a Big Dawg event. I can perhaps believe that no re-ride has ever been GRANTED, but I very seriously doubt that a re-ride has never been REQUESTED at a Big Dawg event. I'm not a judge, but I don't think there is a record kept of requested re-rides. I am quite sure those not directly involved would be unaware of most unsuccessful re-ride requests. With this in mind, I don't think it is possible for anyone to definitively say that a re-ride has never been REQUESTED in a Big Dawg event. So, all of the talk about Jeff being the first ever to ask for a re-ride and breaking some non-existent "code" is just a bunch of uninformed assumptions and chatter from people that want to be in the middle of everything and aren't capable of keeping their mouth shut (I have 1 person in mind and I hope you know that I am talking about you - see you at our tournament tomorrow night). Most importantly, to keep in in perspective: Jeff did not break an actual rule of any kind - and there is a lot of speculation about other Big Dawg skiers out there doing just that (intentionally and systematically). Jeff's name will never come up in any of those conversations because everyone in the waterski world knows he is way above all of that. For Jeff's name to be tarnished in any way over this re-ride would be an absolute travesty - especially when most of us believe that some of the Big Dawgs that are leading these discussions are intentionally breaking rules and gaming the system. Some Big Dawg skiers think other Big Dawg skiers are gaming the system (and they have said so directly to me), yet these same people seem to be more upset about this one re-ride that is well within the rules. Any of you "Big Dawgs" that are too scared to publicly call out the people you think are taking PEDs but are happy to publicly call out Jeff are real "wussies" (to meet BOS standards) and need to re-evaluate your personal values. Graham Fizer

Sent PM. Will take it.

Debating about giving the interloc a go. If I change my mind, how had is it to remove the interloc? Is it going to rip the clearcoat / graphic off of my ski? Would appreciate perspective from anyone that has done this.

Thanks for the input, guys.

I'm tricking again after a 10 or so year hiatus. I used to ski with a spectra line, but I was cheap and bought a poly-e this time around. I am having more trouble with my flips than I anticipated (just BFL and reverse) and wondering if I can use the rope as an excuse - or should I just face the facts that I am old and 15 pounds heavier. Opinions on how much of a difference a spectra line actually makes - especially on flips and toes? Worth upgrading?

Thanks @ShaneH

Anyone use Strata liners with a Reflex boot? Any issues with this setup? I know Intuition makes the Strata liner but I'm not sure if there is anything special about it that might cause an issue. I am attempting to justify buying a set of used Stratas to try - if I don't like them I am thinking that I can at least use the liners. Your input appreciated.