Miami University

Waterki Team

Tournaments

The collegiate waterski season is composed of what are called three event tournaments in which athletes compete in three areas of discipline including Slalom, Trick, and Jump.

Slalom:

When an individual slalom skies, a proper speed and rope length are used, depending on one's skill level. For women, the speed range is 24-34 MPH, and for men, the speed range is 26-36 MPH in competitions. However, slower speeds can be used in practice as necessary. Speeds as low as 16 MPH are used for children, but for adults, skiing at less than 24 MPH could be difficult.

In competitions, an individual starts with the longest rope, with the slowest speed in their range, and goes through the course. The speed is then increased 2 MPH per pass within the range. Once the skier reaches the peak of the range, the rope is shortened according to the table below. The skier then continues attempting to complete the course at the maximum speed in the range for the division until he or she falls.

Each buoy is worth one point, starting at the lowest allowable speed in your division. Assume a male individual makes one buoy at 28 MPH with a 75 ft rope. He receives 1 point. Now lets say he makes all 6 buoys at 36 MPH with a 60 ft rope (15 off). He receives 30 points, because it is assumed that he can obtain the other 24 points (6 buoys x 4 passes at the slower speeds) plus the 6 that he just made.

Rope Length

The Course

Jump:

Bend your knees, assume a nice, firm, stance, stay on the balls of your feet, aim straight for the jump and.... Wha-La... After a few tries, you will finally land successfully and realize how much fun it can be to fly! Don't worry, the ramp is only somewhere around 5 feet tall, which is not even as tall as the high dive at your local swimming pool! Oh yeah, the 28 mph horizontal velocity is almost negligible...

Trick:

As stated above, trick can be done with either a pair of trick skis, a wakeboard, or a single trick ski. Using a single trick ski earns full points, while the other two options only earn half points. However, if you are a very accomplished wakeboarder you can easily earn as many points as someone on a single trick ski, so don't let that discourage you. The most common tricks are side-slides, surface 180s, surface 360s, wake 180s, wake 360s, and from there you can work on the more difficult inverts and rolls.