Hi Everyone, I thought I would share the wealth. All you have to do is remember and implement all this while you are skiing ????. Should be easy, right?... :)
1) Gate pull out. Rotate your hips like you are taking a step towards shore. Point the ski before adding power to the lean
2) Always pull out wide and high on the boat. If you are going too fast after the pull out, you need to control speed with more pressure on the front foot, not the back foot.
3) From a tall, square to the buoy line position, with weight on the ball of the front foot, rotate the hip toward the gate. You must have a slightly bent “soft” knee during the rotation.
3a) Do NOT initiate the gate turn in with your upper body. Do NOT try and rotate in with a straight front leg. Both will put your weight back on the ski and will result in loading and speed without angle to buoy 1.
3b) You can turn your head to look at the gate before turning in, but try not to turn your shoulders or upper body before the ski tip goes under the line. Do your best to maintain level shoulders during the turn in. Do not allow excessive dipping of the right shoulder early.
4) Do not overload the ski early in the lean. Advance the trailing hip towards shore at the wake so you are strongest behind the boat. Push your feet forward as if kicking them forward at the wake.
5) Make an early edge change after the wake, maintaining a smooth transition to back arm pressure, holding that until you HAVE to give up the handle
6) Keep your chest up approaching the buoy, do not reach down
7) The “1-2-3” concept. Approaching the buoy the ski is “behind the skier” (weight on the ball of the front foot) in position 1. The skier then advances the ski so that it is directly underneath the body (position 2) at the apex of the turn. If you are running early and wide position 2 happens BEFORE the buoy. The skier is then in CONTROL of the timing to finish the turn, and finishes the turn in position 3, with the ski slightly in front of them for a smooth transition into the lean. It is important to note that the skier needs to do all 3 positions in sequence, even if they are narrowly or late. Going directly from position 1 to position 3 will only result in more early loading and going further down course. Completing only position 1 and 2 before the rope tightens results in an uncontrollable loading and a possible “out the front fall”.
8) Keep the handle level and palm down during the reach on your strong side turn. This helps keep the shoulders more level and helps prevent excessive dipping of you inside shoulder
9) If all else fails, pretend you are Bruce Dodd and fight like hell for the next buoy!
Have fun, Scott Gibbons
Article Written by Scott Gibbons
Skier in Photographs Bradley Gibbons
Photos Taken By @johnnyhaywardphoto