Why don't you participate in 3-event disciplines?

Over the years I've noticed most people here do not participate in traditional 3-event disciplines, including the slalom course, trick skiing, and jump. I know a small handful participated in college but since then have not really been into it. General boating and casual open-water stuff is certainly fun but my addiction is the slalom course and to a lesser extent trick. Honing these skills, or lack of skills, is at the heart of boating for me. Even 1 tournament a year is all I need to have something to work for all summer. What keeps you from traditional 3-event (or 2 event in my case) addiction?

Would love to work on my jumping skills, or lack thereof, no ramp on my lake or real access to one nearby is the biggest obstacle. Need to devote more time to tricks, tough finding the time. Slalom is what I do and enjoy most however no permanent courses allowed on our lake and not enough interest amongst my neighbors to commit to a portable so free skiing it is!

No ramp or slalom course here in mke. Closest set of buoys is Green Lake.

I'd like to get slalom instruction.

halfnelly wrote: I'll make my slalom comeback in a couple of years when I get into mens 3 and can dial it back to 34 mph, lol.

I'm waiting for mens 3 to officially start my career.

Exposure, time and accessibility are the biggest factors for us here in Iowa. Not many know what 3-event skiing is about here in Iowa let alone the fun tournaments can be in the right setting.

Last year we had access to a ZO boat, decent course and good group of skiers. I thought about entering a few tournaments, more like tagging along with my MC WTT buddy and hacking it up. I ran 36mph somewhat consistently at 15 off and 22 on a good day. For me it was more enticing to be around a bunch of skiers rather than ski boats serving as pontoons which is a common theme on our lake.

Probably would have entered a few tournament this year but the ZO boat sold this spring, course got jacked up by surfers and ski buddies have all been working a ton (myself included).

After too many nights of missed skiing due to lack of spotters, skilled drivers or unmolested water we're going to officially start a Ski Club on our lake. Goal is to get people involved, broaden our ski group and make skiing more accommodating on our lake.

Looking into a second (more secluded) course, setting up Men's and Women's Ski Nights during the week and "learn to ski" days for anyone and everyone in the community. Then move into designated skiing times at the lake behind the club boat to ensure smooth water and possibly a non-sanctioned tournament.

Not sure I'll ever be a three-event skier but this will build community, expose more people to skiing over tubes or jet skis and give my WTT buddy a better training set-up.

Sounds like pretty much everyone has already said it. I'd love to be out chasing balls every saturday morning but courses are hard to come by. Houston, New York, Cape Cod and now NC, never convenient access to a course.

Yep, course access is our roadblock as well. About the most fun you can have on the water, but state regulations in ct and ma require a permit for a course- even a temporary one. Tried like hell to get a permit here in the 90's but a very vocal, very small contingent of old fogies fought tooth and nail against our "race course" that was going to "ruin the lake". Ski club disbanded shortly after we got turned down and a new generation of tubers has taken its place.

If any of you dropped in a temporary course and skied for a few hours, then pulled it up, would anyone really care?

Also what about trick skiing? Getting a real "slalom" trick ski and getting some tricks on?

I can echo everybody else's sentiments and add one; temporal availability of smooth water. On my home lake (indeed on every lake in the county) no wake is enforced before 11 am and after 7:30 pm. This of course means that even if I did have a portable course the best water will always be given to the fishermen and the pontoon cruisers. During the week you can usually find good water, and even sometimes on the weekends depending on wind direction and how many yahoos are out there.

That said, my brother and our skiing buddy have been talking about getting a portable course and trying to make it work. I don't think it is gonna happen this summer, but maybe next?

I had to teach myself how to slalom because nobody in my family knows how. I'd love to teach myself trick and my brother and I have been discussing it. I heard when my parents were kids there was a jump on the lake but that it was removed (I think forcibly) shortly after construction; so I think that one is out of the question.

I do not think skiing is dead though. There has been a noticable uptick in young skiers on our lake in the last five years. This is a very good thing!

Joel, you are one on the few here with regular access to a jump. What keeps you from jumping?

I participate in barefoot slalom and tricks. I don't jump by personal choice. I could do without knowing pretty much every competition slalom skier that I know. I think something happens to them.

Tricking turned into wakeboarding, more air, easier to get started. I'm guessing the original idea was more surf oriented and now that has been worked out for those who are too old, scared of the air and can't find smooth water. I think things just changed to suit the participants better. There's more people getting pulled around but they don't have the time to develop the skills so they do something that doesn't require as much work to become proficient.

I'm not saying these days things are similar, but back in say 95 a wakeboard was a big trick ski with a fin. Shapiro, Jeremy Kovak and lots of other original Pro's were 3 event skiers, even the Bonifay's even though they came along a few years later. Byerly, Gator Greg Necrasson and that crew are the ones who began to throw mobes and tricks the trick skiers hadn't even thought of on with boards that nobody else had ever seen.

TRBenj wrote: M3Fan wrote: If any of you dropped in a temporary course and skied for a few hours, then pulled it up, would anyone really care? Oh heck yes- tried it once and one of the grumps parked their pontoon in the course before the first skier could go through- and this was mid week. We were just happy that no one called the DEEP to report us. Mission failed.

Ah but how early were you? We dropped ours in at 6AM for years back in the day.

storm34 wrote: Remind me to never move to Kentucky. No skiing before 11 AM??? Those times are about the only parts of the day we don't ski unless it's a week day.

Hey Chris!

This is back at my parent's place in Michigan actually. It isn't everywhere but I've been on other lakes in West MI that have similar rules. Actually haven't been skiing in KY yet, though a friend from HS lives about an hour away and has a 97 SN (haven't heard from her yet since I moved here a couple months ago).

Part of me is kinda OK with the no wake rules because it means that there is compromise for everybody that uses the lake (which also has public access). The folks I hate are the fisherman/tooners that sit right in the middle of the best water all day long. Somehow even worse than the tubers(!).

I've thought about trying at least attempt to get it changed so that we could ski until an hour before sunset. It is so close to the edge of the Eastern time zone that it is light until almost 10 pm in midsummer. Of course in the fall I can ski until long after sunset!

I am lucky that when I visit the lake my brother comes over from Michigan State and we have a friend who uses his lunch hour to come ski with us. I've been able to get a fair amount of good water time the last couple summers this way. After this thread and some other recent ones I think it is high time to get some trick hardware.

Jump is scary
Trick takes too long
Slalom is hard

Boats are bigger and there are more of them. The window of decent water is so small there isn't much time to really devote to traditional 3-event.

Tubing is stupid

I fully appreciate wakeboard and surfing but the wakes they create are typically inconsiderately enormous. Bigger isn't better. Maybe level the playing field a little and ditch the ballast and all that. We are not narrowing the turn buoys and skifly truly is too dangerous. Wakeboarders are now doing ramp to ramp cable/boat pulls and a very popular rider just broke his neck.

I'm all for a personal challenge, so as Joe I think hinted at, find that wherever you see fit [but keep in mind those around you].