Slalom deepwater start

Subject:  Slalom Ski Start

Subject: Re: Single Ski Start
From: barefootr@aol.com (Barefootr)
Date: 6 Nov 1994 22:32:50 -0500

******Answer, part 2*********

Once you have mastered dropping a ski as we discussed in the previous
post, you now are chomping on the bit to leave that second ski on the dock
and do deepwater starts. One of the biggest issues here is simply
remaining confident, and keeping your balance.

Method 1, one foot in, one foot out.
"sstart" 72 lines, 3963 characters

Method 1, one foot in, one foot out.
     Since you  long ago decided which foot to place in front, the
question now comes in what to do with the rear foot during a start. For
this method, we will use the back foot as a 'sudo-"rudder", to help
maintain balance throughout the start.  The position in the water is one
much like a two ski position, with only one leg. The knee and ankle want
to be flexed/bent as much as possible, with the front knee right up to
your chest. You should be able to tilt your head down and take a bite out
of your kneecap. ;) Keeping your knee tight to your body, and your ankle
*under* you (try to kick your self in the rear-end), place the rope on the
opposite side of the ski. (ie, left foot in front, rope on left, right
foot in front, rope on right) Again keeping your arms out straight but
with your chin *down*, let the boat pull you and the ski up on the water
as a single unit, with your back leg dragging in the water behind you
during the start, to help maintain that balance. If you start to fall off
oneside during the initial start, you can "steer" yourself back upright.
As you come up out of the water, concentrate on keeping your front knee
BENT, and above all else, focus on balance. DON'T worry bout putting the
back foot in, DON'T worry about anything, except balance. Keep you head
up, and look forwards, towards the boat, or the shore....somewhere out in
front, rather than down at the ski. If you look down, you go down. Then,
when you feel stable, just like after dropping a ski, you can place the
back foot on the ski, and slowly find the binding, and then slip your toe
in.
   A common problem with this start for first-timers is standing up too
quickly and *straightening the knee*, *pulling in* on the rope, or picking
the chin up to keep their face dry. I mention this last item since it
seems to be very helpful in maintaining a forward body position to tuck
your chin close to your chest, and let the boat pull you up easily,
instead of keeping the head up, and resisting the boat's pull.

Method 2, Both feet in.
     This method is used by many competitive skiers, due to useing a
double-high-wrap binding, which requires you to start with both feet in,
since you are not able to put the back foot in while skiing. Although
different, some folks seem to find it easier or more controllable than
dragging a foot behind. With the rope/arms/chin in the same location as
above, you both feet in the ski, and yours chewing on your kneecaps again.
A must do for beginners in this is to really, really crunch the knees up
against your chest, and get your body as close as possible to the ski. As
the boat pulls, keep that chin down, let it pull you and the ski up on the
water, and slowly rise up to a skiing position. Throughout this complete
process, think about keeping that front knee bent, and once coming up on

water, and slowly rise up to a skiing position. Throughout this complete
process, think about keeping that front knee bent, and once coming up on
plane, pick your head up and look ahead of you.

Being late...I am going to end at this point....if anyone has a question
or something is not clear, just yell at me in the next post, and I'll
clear it up for ya. ;D

Bare. :)