Slalom Clinics and Tips

Sunrise Calendars: July, August, September

1.  ALWSC Clinics

 

Slalom Clinics can be made by appointment by on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.   Please send an email to President  if you are interested in attending one of these clinics. 

Cost for Jim's clinics are $25/half hour if using your own boat with a calibrated cruise control, $35.00 if using a his boat, and $150 for Video analysis on his boat.  Clinics are typically 1 hour in length and can cover:

  • Equipment Review and Water Ski Measurements

  • Techniques for Skiing the Slalom Course

  • Live Skiing with Personal Coaching

  • Digital Video Recording and Breakdown Analysis. At some point you'll need to see yourself, and this will probably take you to the next rope length. Coaching on the water is best when one technique is taught per pass, and 2-3 techniques per set. Video analysis is a review of your entire pass - The Pull-out, The Rotation, Setting the edge, The Gates, the transition, counter-rotation, the lean before the turn, the turn, the hookup, making up time, and skiing in rough water. We can also review land exercises.

    Note: Bring an SD chip or jump drive if you want to take a copy of the video with you.

Quotes like:

"Jim puts a lot of time into these clinics, and it was worth it."

"I'm running 22 off for the first time and I feel awesome."

"A great driver, and an excellent coach, even at 35 off."

 

2.  Lambert Clinics sponsored by Mastercraft, Burton OH.
 

Outstanding skiing and instruction provided by expert tournament skiers, Rich, Mary, and Elizabeth Lambert.  A great experience that you don't want to miss. 2009 TBD

 


 

 

 

METRIC   ENGLISH  
Dimension Range Dimension Range
259 m 258.353 - 259.648 849' 8 7/8" 847' 7 3/8" - 851' 10 3/8"
A = 27 m 26.865 - 27.135 88' 7" 88' 1 5/8" - 89' 1/4"
B = 41 m 40.795 - 41.205 134' 6 1/8" 133' 10 1/8" - 135' 2 1/4"
C = 29.347 m 29.200 - 29.494 96' 3 3/8" 95' 9 5/8" - 96' 9 1/8"
D = 47.011 m 46.776 - 47.246 154' 2 3/4" 153' 5 3/8" - 155' 1/8"
E = 1.25 m 1.188 - 1.313 4' 1 1/4" 3' 10 3/4" - 4' 3 3/4"
F = 11.5 m 11.385 - 11.616 37' 8 3/4" 37' 4 1/4" - 38' 1 3/8"
G = 1.15 m 1.035 - 1.265 3' 9 1/4" 3' 4 3/4" - 4' 1 3/4"
H = 55 m 54.725 - 55.275 180' 5 3/8" 179' 6 1/2" - 181 4 1/4"

 

 

 

EQUIPMENT:

  • Quality vest which doesn't take on water, but is US Coast Guard Approved.

  • Quality Gloves from $35 to $65.  The newer gloves have GripTight material/rubberized with match the GripTight handle proves padding in the glove, and a more secure grip. Padding helps prevent calluses.

  • Handles are important, and be sure to monitor the rope from fraying.

  • Skis are the most important tool. Have your ski sized correctly, and check the ski to be sure the ski hasn't been altered by the previous owner or misaligned during shipping. The most important change to make is body position during skiing, binding placement, and lastly fin settings.  Skis with double-high wraps are most common and are generally prevent injuries.

  • Bindings are the link to the ski and are a key factor in safety. 

    • Rear toe piece is the most unsafe, as the foot comes out during a fall, and increases the risk of injury to the forward leg as the skier tumbles in a bad fall.

    • Double High Wraps are the most popular, and create a solid like to the ski.  Bindings with laces help secure the foot to the binding, and decrease the number of times the ski comes completely off in a fall.  Unfortunately this also increases the risk of injury.  These bindings, like the HO Animal increase the weight of the ski significantly, but are a very good choice.

    • Hard Shell bindings offer the security of two bindings, and decrease the weight making this the lightest solution. These are mounted on a plate and connected with interlocking Velcro resulting in the safest solution.  When the skier falls, the bindings separate from the ski and there is no risk of leg twisting injuries.  These are the bindings of choice for the Goode Skis.

GET READY and AVOIDING SKI DAMAGE:

  • Soaping up your ski, either by cutting liquid soap (Ivory is bio-degradable), or shaving cream works well.

  • Typically put the back foot in the binding first, then the front foot.

  • Enter the water while avoiding sliding the ski on the platform.  Sliding rubs the bottom of the ski, and smoothes out sharp edges, changing the way the ski moves through the water.  Basically, the ski won't hold it's edge properly, and the ski will need to be wet sanded to restore it's shape.

SKIING the SLALOM COURSE:

  • Ski to the left of the left wake, and pull out strong to the left by pointing the ski left when the boat reaches the Green 55 meter balls.  You can get wider left by focusing on the direction of the ski vs. a hard pull. After the pull out, stand up straight on the left edge of the ski, push your right hip forward and continue into a glide away from the boat on the outside edge.  Look at where the rope is at the boat, so you can set this as a visual marker. The one handed pull-out is gaining popularity, but often creates bad angle at the second wake.

  • When you begin to slow down, wait until the boat reaches the gate (10' at 28 off), and begin slow rotation right to the gate.  Concentrate on completing the rotation, and be at full pull at or just before the gate and hold your body position through the second wake and wash. This may seem late, but as long as you are at pull in the gates and hold that through the wake, you'll be early for Ball #1 and skiing on the backside of the ball, like Regina Jaquess below. Remember, it's all about Ball #1. "Show the bottom of the ski to the boat on the second wake", per Andy Mapple.

  • Begin to rise, and release the handle, driving your left arm forward and your right shoulder and arm back (put your right hand on your pocket) counter rotating your shoulder. This counter rotation will keep the ski traveling cross course so you can ski wide with a tight line.  Begin to lean into the turn, keeping front knee bent and your body over the ski. Keep leaning, as every inch you lean is another inch you're skiing wider. This will feel very weird, and this is the lean you want to get lower and lower.  Let the ski come around the ball, hopefully catching the back side of the ball.  This sets you up for a perfect angle for the cross course pull.  As you come around the ball, the handle in your left hand will be near your right that is still on the pocket, so grab the handle "the hook-up".

  • Pull for only 10 feet, and then focus on keeping the body position steady. Let the boat pull you cross course, and concentrate on the second wake so you can show the bottom of the ski to the boat through the second wake and plan your rise and transition to the inside edge.

MAKING UP TIME:

  • Everyone makes mistakes, in every pass (except JimP), so expect this. Pulling harder behind the boat to make up time is the typical way to make up time. Remember, this drives extra speed into the next ball and usually results in a late banana turn and missing the next ball.  Pulling harder to make up time requires stronger short pull an earlier release, a bit more lean to handle the faster turn. It's better to make up time with a stronger counter rotation on the shoulder, lower lean, and sharper turn. The California style is second best, actually dropping the inside hip around the turn, then getting right into the hook-up normal pull. Slamming the turn is also an option.

  • When you're approaching a ball too fast, use the California style. Keep your shoulders counter-rotated, drop your hip and bend your front knee. This will slow the ski down, force a quick turn (smoother than slamming the turn) and get your ski around the turn and set you up with good angle to the next ball.  At this point, lock your body position, relax, and let the boat pull you cross-course.  You will probably be early for the next ball, so release on time and complete the pass. See Will Asher below:

SKIING ON ROUGH WATER (Exercise Day !):

  • Focus on slowing the boat 2 mph, pulling hard behind the boat, pulling longer through the wakes, bend your knees more, and take the turns very easy.  This works because a harder pull makes you locked into the water and drives you through the waves, while easy around the corners lets you focus on balance and riding over the rough water as you turn through them. Call it an exercise day, and it's best not to attempt your personal best.

  •  Jim W:  "I've skied some of my best runs after a rough water day." Focusing on pulling hard behind the boat and through the second wake is a common technique made by every skier at every level.

SHORTENING THE LINE:

  • Jumping rope sizes is about equivalent to decreasing the boat speed by 2 mph. Some like to ski 1 mph faster until you're early on the balls and have made 6 successful consecutive passes, drop the boat speed 2 mph so your 1 mph below your normal speed.  Tournament speed for most people is 34 mph.  The wakes are much flatter over 32 mph, and be very careful over 34 up to 36 mph max.

  • At each new rope length, the skiing angles are new, and will feel very different, so be prepared to feel like the boat is leaving without you.  Everything happens faster, so transition sooner, counter rotate more, lean more, and turn sooner. Shadow the balls you're short on, but keep skiing all 6 balls.

  • This takes quite a lot of practice, so relax and enjoy. Please let us know how we can help.

28 OFF

  • Be patient and keep gradually increasing the speed until you are skiing at about 33 to 34 mph. Decrease the speed to 31 to 32 mph.  The biggest tip I can give is to put your release hand on your butt to counter rotate your shoulders and lean more. This will allow your ski to continue across the course and allow you to ski wider.  Start the lean without turning, and you should gain about 4 feet right there.  Every inch you lean without turning is one more inch off of that remaining 2 feet to get to the 28 off (Yellow line) vs. 22 off (Orange line).
     

  • 28 off and above will require more speed to prevent the ski from sinking in the turn.  During the pull, start to feel the boat whip, and use this to your advantage.  You'll feel an increase in your speed as you use this whip, so ski this a few times so you can comfortable with this new speed.  Again, be patient.  Lastly, increasing the speed of the boat, decreases the wake and puts the skier ahead of the "hump", thus eliminating the wake and making it easier to go cross course.

BUOY REPLACEMENT:

  • First, if you haven't knocked a ball off yet, you probably will soon, so don't worry about it.  Contact JimW or any of the board members and someone will replace the buoy. If you ski regularly, and you want a spare or two, let us know that as well.
     
  • How to replace the buoy? There is a stainless steel clip (provided by the club), about 5 inches long, that is attached to the ball with a bungee cord (provided by the club).  This clip need to be squeezed hard and almost completely to get the clip to open enough to connect it to the nylon line connected to the cement filled tire anchor.  on each nylon line, there is a sub float, about 2.5 feet below the water surface, that is about 6 inches in diameter.  Connect the clip below the sub-float, and then slide the clip down until the buoy is 1/2 in and out of the water.  This can be tough, so don't feel bad if you need help.

JimW   "I love this job!"