BIG time slack- off side turn

[DooSPX]

I have been working on my body position- last thing I finally figured out :rolleyes: is handle to your hips. My on side turn is really good IMO, rope always tight, got the handle down to my hips, fly across the wake with out trying, try to get my edge change right as I am crossing the second wake, but I have so much speed in the direction I dont want to go (IE towards the boat) that I get so much slack, the rope drags in the water causing me to get pulled WAY out of position.
What am I doing wrong? Any advice?

a little info:
boat- 91 PS190
speed- 34mph
ski- 67" HO Vengeance (just below the System 8 in the competition ski line up)
mainline/handle- Accurate
15 off.

[sand2snow22]

You are carrying too much speed into your offside cut. Try more weight on your front foot to slow you down after crossing the wake. Cross the wake, weight on front foot to slow down, edge change, let go of the handle, turn.......Good luck.

[DooSPX]

thanks... I will try that next run (which I hope is tomorrow or Thurs.)

[Jorski]

Okay...so first things first, when you cut, you are going faster than the boat's speed - right.

Now, if you get pulled off edge, the ski goes flat, you get pulled towards the boat, and since you are going faster than the boat, there is slack.

The solution is two fold:

1) When you make your edge change (from pull to pre-turn) after the wake you must keep your elbows tucked in, don't start your reach yet. This will put you in the correct position for the pre-turn.

and

2) you have to keep the ski headed in an out bound direction until you feel the line start to pull the handle out (BE PATIENT). Only then should you begin your reach and start your turn.

Here is good slow motion video of good skier...notice that during the edge change she has both hands on the handle, THEN she begins her reach:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fltcrogLR7w

One more tip that I find helps....You mentioned "last thing I finally figured out is handle to your hips"....it's better to to think of skiing your hips back to the handle. If you pull the handle to your hips (try it tied to a post and you will see what I mean) it will pull your body forward and the ski off of its' edge.

Also, everyone's onside turn works better becase your hips are naturally open on that side. On your off-side they are closed, so try to look outbound in the pre-turn, and open your chest and hips.

Good luck!

[DooSPX]

thank you, I will work on these tips!

[Jorski]

Check out the video link that I added...a picture is worth a 1000 words!

[DooSPX]

Thank You! :cool:

[Jorski]

Here is another video, where Terry Winter does a much better job than I can do explaining all of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmNcMmuIM8s&feature=related

[DooSPX]

another great video. thank you Jorski!

[macattack]

Check out the water ski forum, http://thewaterskiforum.com/forum.html, and look for RJM entries. Robert has put together some great "dry land" training videos/some good things to think about:

Dry Land Training for Slalom Skiing (part 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzMBIVkQDMU

Dry Land Training for Slalom Skiing (part 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kR_CWB7ovo&feature=related

Dry Land Training for Slalom Skiing (part 3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGZlzOJvWIw&feature=player_embedded


Post of video of yourself to receive the best help/critiques...

[Cloaked]

I have been working on my body position- last thing I finally figured out :rolleyes: is handle to your hips. My on side turn is really good IMO, rope always tight, got the handle down to my hips, fly across the wake with out trying, try to get my edge change right as I am crossing the second wake, but I have so much speed in the direction I dont want to go (IE towards the boat) that I get so much slack, the rope drags in the water causing me to get pulled WAY out of position.
What am I doing wrong? Any advice?

a little info:
boat- 91 PS190
speed- 34mph
ski- 67" HO Vengeance (just below the System 8 in the competition ski line up)
mainline/handle- Accurate
15 off.You may be pulling too long from the completion of the good side turn to the point of the next turn setup, Pull through the second wake and start your edge change transition there, when the pull is complete. Pulling longer does not allow you for the entire edge change process (in a timely rythem) and completion of the turn. Same going back. Pull through the second wake and start the edge change transition. Stop pulling when you clear the second wake. Make sure you're on edge pulling to your bad side (or both sides). Fifteen off without proper form and rythem will only hinder you. Use a course guideline in your mental thinking through the process. It's the only relative standard for comparison and critique for improvement. Tournament skiers do not start on a line length that they have yet to master the previous length (and it's also against the scoring rule). If you have 75' line down pat on a clean pass, then 15-off it is.

$0.02

.

[DooSPX]

Thank you guys! looking forward to trying all your advice!
Will keep you guys updated when I get the lake next.

[dstone124]

All very good valid points listed above. My $0.02 would be to be more patient and be sure to finish your turn on that on-side before you hook up and set the load on the boat. A lot of pulling too long as discussed earlier comes from pulling too early as well. Make sure your maximum agression is coming as close to centerline behing the boat as possible. That way, just as you noted in your original post, you keep your hands low, hips high, and "connected" as you cast out and edge change. Ask your driver what he / she is feeling for an indicator as to when your loading the boat. I'll bet on a good pass, they don't really know your back there, nor do you!
Of course with all this said... focus on one thing at a time; after all, it's only a 16+ second excercise start to finish!
Good luck, 15 off can be just as challenging as shortline without proper mechanics!

[DooSPX]

I have been practicing in open water as of late.
I asked the driver exactly what you said actually, and he said that he did not feel any pull on my on side, but on the off side, with all the slack, he definitely feels the pull...

thank you very much!