Ski Length when my tournament age division drops to 30mph

swbca

My last tournament was a Nationals where I ran into 38 off at 34mph. I just bought a boat and am starting over but now my division is 30mph. sloooow !

I remember goofing around with some friends skiing in the course at 30 mph at 38off many years ago it was like doing a deep-water-start on the back-side of each buoy.

If I skied on a 66" ski at 36 and 34 mph, what do 175 pound guys use at 30 mph? I know there are a lot of differences with different models, but does 68" seem logical for 30 mph ? I talked to one guy who is 82 years old and runs into 39 off in tournaments. He says the slow speed is more difficult because you sink so deep before you get back on a tight line on the back side of each buoy. I don't know how big a ski would be too big.

Jody_Seal

67" new Senate, try before you buy..

swbca

Jody . . what would the 68" D3 ION by like compared to the Senate ?

Jody_Seal

Unfamiliar with most anything D-3 related in slalom skis. D-3 Tricks and jumpers yes, slalom skis no sorry.
HO also builds a Omega series that older skiers are moving towards also.

ScottScott

If 30 feels uncomfortable, you can still ski faster. You'll just get scored as if you were going 30.

ALPJr

The 68” D3’s have considerable surface area. Max width on ion and ion-s are ~7”, NRGr1 is ~7.1”

jayski

@Horton

surface area alert! surface area alert!

dbutcher

@swbca, I'm a 30mph skier a year older than you. I weigh 190-195 lbs and ski on a 69" Senate. It works fine for me. I agree with Jody that you should try a 67 Senate, but there are no doubt others that will also work. You do need more surface area than at faster speeds. If you get on the right ski (for you), you won't sink at the buoy. I have found that 30mph is easier than any faster speed. I predict that once you adjust to it, you will enjoy 30mph. Your division is controlled by your age on December 31 of the ski year. Check the AWSA rule book to make sure what division you are in. You might have one year left at 32 mph.

swbca

dbutcher. I turned 75 last July so I will be in Men 9. I hope it doesn't take me forever to catch up with my friends that always ski in the Nationals but didn't have a big gap in their skiing.

I should ask you . . What happens with age if you keep at it. I have talked to trick skiers my age that say their runs have lower point values in spite of year around fitness training. But tricks has some specific athletics requirements that slalom doesn't.

If all your body parts are healthy what happens to slalom with age ?

dbutcher

Age effects vary from person to person. I have been slalom skiing consistently for 51 years - since I learned to ski at age 25. My strength has decreased but not significantly enough to tick me off. My balance is not what it used to be and that just started. Quickness may have decreased a little, but I never was real quick. I haven't had any major injuries ever. Overall I have no complaints. What happens to slalom with age is a little hard to say due to speed decrease. It is safe to say though that slalom scores do not improve with age over 70 (my opinion).

Andre

Go wider instead of longer.

swbca

@dbutcher Does balance affect your skiing ? My balance is not great but it only seems to affect me when I am standing still. For example my snow skiing is not affected at all. Don't know if it will affect slalom performance.

Do you know Jerry Hausner ? He's the guy that told me that short line 38/39 off at 30 mph is hard on his shoulders because of the sinking at the end of turn. Comparable skill levels like [email protected] mph were not as tough.

Since you have decades of experience . . what about vision correction ? Does anybody wear contacts or sports glasses in water ski competition ? I might be able to get by on a sunny day.

swbca

@Andre @dbutcher Thanks for your suggestions.

dbutcher

Balance has not affected my skiing. I'm affected when walking without looking where I'm going and when standing still on one leg. I don't know Jerry Hausner, but I know of him as a long time good skier. My vision requires glasses for every day use. I used to wear prescription goggles for skiing but quit. The nature of my vision issues allows me to see buoys adequately without glasses, and I got tired of the goggles fogging up (in spite of anti-fog spray on the lenses). I am near sighted with slight astigmatism and early cataracts, but my distance vision is adequate for seeing buoys. If you decide to use glasses while skiing, use athletic frames (plastic with soft nose piece) and a strap to keep them on. I always had the optician drill a hole in each lens. I would then tie the lenses to the frame with dental floss or tough thread. I have taken face plants that knocked a lens out. Without having it tied on, that lens is on the bottom of the lake. I have heard of people using contacts while skiing, but I don't know how well they work.

swbca

@dbutcher I appreciate your feedback. I met Jerry when I was about 17 and he was about 22 and we occasionally ended up in Slalom run-offs like in St. Charles Illinois. Its been a pleasure to re-unite with people in skiing.

The boat I just bought was from a local guy who placed 2nd in tricks (Men 8) in the world tournament (Italy) and needed to upgrade to a 2019 Correct Craft so he could prepare for the 2021 world tournament in Florida which is using Correct Craft for all events. He will be in in Men 9 for this world tournament. Then I found that his daily practice partner is one of the guys I drove to Illinois with when I was 17.

The water skiing people are great people ! Thank You again.

LeonL

In answer to a question posed earlier in this thread, "what happens with age when you keep at it"?. I don't know what happens, but it happens. Despite continuing to ski, my performance has steadily gone down. I can look back and see when the decline started...the second season after slowing down from 34. That may be due to the requirement that to ski successfully at 32 or 30, one has to have the particular skill of carrying outbound well on the inside edge. That seemed to have went away with the slower speeds.

dbutcher

A couple more things to consider when slowing to 30mph: Granted, it is harder to develop speed at 30mph, but you don't need as much speed because the boat is not going away from you as quickly as it did at higher speeds. It is not harder to get wide on the buoys because you can lean away from the boat longer, and the longer lean allows you to maintain enough speed around the buoy so you don't sink. You don't have to decelerate as much to turn because you never got warp speed to begin with. Everything happens a little more slowly at 30 than at faster speeds. It probably is more work, i.e. almost continuous physical exertion on the body; but your body does not have to endure the quick changes in load and speed. Perhaps the maximum load on the body is less, but it lasts longer before each buoy.

Stevie Boy

@dbutcher sorry but I have to disagree, my take on it and I am prepared to be shouted down, is that you need to generate speed and carry the handle longer with tight line, but loading the line longer is not going to help you, once you have gone past the center line, or maybe just after the second wake at that speed, there are diminishing benefits from any load on the line, as the forces of the boat start to pull you back towards the center line, ending up narrow at the bouy and the inability to maintain speed in the turn, resulting in the scenario quoted at the beginning of this thread.

"it was like doing a deep-water-start on the back-side of each buoy"

Will Asher "Speed Is Your Friend "

Stevie Boy

The Great Terry Winter
28mph - 36mph / 22 0ff - 38off and Beyond, regardless of speed or line length, by eye the edge change takes place in exactly the same place, he is a walking Metronome.

dbutcher

@Stevie Boy No need to be sorry. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing, and I have no plans to even try to shout you down. For me though, not keeping a load on the line past the second wake at the slow speed of 30mph causes me to be narrow at the buoy. Terry Winter may be able to change edges at exactly the same place at any speed, but I cannot. Of course, I am not and never will be in the same league (or even ball park) as Terry Winter or Will Asher.

Cam

@Stevie Boy @dbutcher from my perspective you are both talking about the same thing using different words, I moved to 32mph 4 years ago and to be honest I struggled at first, I now practice at 30mph and my take on it is not to get pulled to the inside off the 2nd wake and there are many ways to describe this which can cause a lot of confusion, my key is to hold my leading shoulder in the same place off the 2nd wake not give it more but not let up if I do it right the edge change happens and obviously maintain/carry the handle out to the buoy line, it works for me.
Bearing in mind that @Stevie Boy and myself are nowhere near the level of @dbutcher

Frank_MA

67 Omega MAX !! also 67 Omni or Senate but they might be to big for you at the shortest line length's