We have at our club a waterskischool for kids the first week in their summer holiday, usally around 10 kids.It includes a membership and they are welcome to ski all summer, at the end of summer there is usually 2-3 kids whos still skiing. We have all the equipment they need so its only the gasoline they have to bring, thats our way to keep the sport alive.

The way to get people into the sport is to show it to them. Once I saw someone swerve and put up huge walls of water, the hooks were so deep (at age 8) that I never forgot them. Seeing good slalomers free-ski on lakes as a kid hypnotized me. Didn't ski a course until my 20's but I never forgot that first time I saw it. The more eyes that see slalom, the more hooks will be set. It is a SPECTACULARLY visual sport. 30 foot walls of water shooting up behind a charging boat down the course at high speed. More eyes = more addicts.

Deke wrote:

Seriously, what do we do with all of the new addicts?

As Wade mentioned on my last front page post regarding growing the sport, even one more person per skier (or heck, even one person per club or ski group) would seriously increase our base. It wouldn't take much to nearly double our numbers, and I think we have capacity for that.

Jhughes wrote:

Deke wrote:

Seriously, what do we do with all of the new addicts?

As Wade mentioned on my last front page post regarding growing the sport, even one more person per skier (or heck, even one person per club or ski group) would seriously increase our base. It wouldn't take much to nearly double our numbers, and I think we have capacity for that.

Joel,
I guess I'm really questioning what we're trying to achieve by growing.  Getting new people into it is great but in the long haul, having places to do the sport is going to be the real bottleneck to growth unless freeskiing in rollers is what we're after.

Deke wrote:

Jhughes wrote:

Deke wrote:

Seriously, what do we do with all of the new addicts?

As Wade mentioned on my last front page post regarding growing the sport, even one more person per skier (or heck, even one person per club or ski group) would seriously increase our base. It wouldn't take much to nearly double our numbers, and I think we have capacity for that.

Joel,
I guess I'm really questioning what we're trying to achieve by growing.  Getting new people into it is great but in the long haul, having places to do the sport is going to be the real bottleneck to growth unless freeskiing in rollers is what we're after.

I know, I wrote specifically about the capacity issue (and the goal issue) on my site

What we're trying to do is at least right the ship. Let the bilge pump catch up with the leak, if you will. Most would agree that the sport is not holding level- it's dying. If it dies completely, manufacturers, pros, and sponsors will all bail completely.

Last edited by Jhughes (Wed, Jan 20, 2010 8:29 PM)

I was watching Fuel or Fuse last night, and all that was on there was Snow Boarding, some Wake Boarding, Skate Boarding, BMX trick riding, Moto-Cross. They're doing something right by aligning themselve with the networks. We need to learn from these people and get our Beloved sport on main stream tv. At our lake the wake board club puts on a few tourneys per year. These tourney's are PACKED! They have Reps, (boat mfr, board) Banners, loud music going! It looks like fun! We need to somehow begin to transform our tourney's into more of a fun festival type of experience! Just my opinion.

I rocked out on the tube for like 2 or 3 seasons when I was a kid before getting into the skiing. Once I started skiing though, the tubes never got used again. Those sledders don't stay sledding forever!

We need a clear path, from tubing, kneeboarding, to two skis, to one ski, to a slalom course. We need to get legislators on our side to legalize slalom courses in states that have ambiguous or insufficient laws. We need public education on safe boating, and why waterskiers are some of the safest boaters out there.

Skiers in a course are safer and better to have on any lake than 5 jetskiers jumping eachothers wakes.

38orbust is right we do need more skiers on 2 skis first, but then we need a way for them to transfer over to the SPORT of waterskiing.  I started out at a very late age.  I was 25 yrs old when I first tried to ski.  (on 2 skis BTW).  I was almost 27 yrs old when I first began to ski in the summers at a public lake on 1 ski.  My skiing for the next 6 summers consisted of going out 2 or 3 days a week with a friend or two and our GFs and open-water skiing, kneeboarding , and "wakeskurfing" for an hour or so then sitting out on the lake and relaxing with a cold one.  I didnt own an inboard ski boat until 1993 at the age of 29.  I first saw a ski course around that time, but didnt really commit to trying the course until many yrs later when in 1996 I bought my first Mastercraft and made friends with a guy who introduced me to some technique and how to run the course.  From that point on I was hooked.  I was fortunate that in our area there was a section of the lake that was portioned off for the ski course and most boaters respected the area and tried to keep the wake down etc.  But we still had to pick and choose our times to ski.  I was also fortunate that some of the best skiers in our state skied at this site and watching them ski gave me inspiration.  Without gaining access to this site, I would NEVER have seen or tried a slalom course in my life, nor would I have joined the AWSA.  In 2001 I moved to an area where I had access to a private site and I have been skiing on a private lake ever since.  I can say without a doubt , had I not moved to a private site, I would never have entered what I consider the true SPORT of waterskiing.  It would have remained simply a hobby for me.  I guess this is what I am trying to get at by saying we need more "private" sites with "public" access.  So that people who may never have considered skiing for a sport will have the OPPORTUNITY to see it and do it.  Simply getting more people to ski on public lakes on 2 skis will do nothing to grow the SPORT of waterskiing, if that is all we do.  We need a simple way for the new skiers to make a transition from 2 skis to 1 ski to a slalom course.  I just feel that private sites are more conducive (sp?) to accomplishing that goal.  I also understand that for most people, living at a private site is not possible.  But wouldnt it be great if there was a public park with a nice lake or two where for a small fee you could have glass water, a course, and some coaching if you chose to pay for it?  And I think many people who may just be visiting the park would take notice and maybe want to try it themselves?  Especially younger people!

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Midwest Okeeheelee?