More Hawkeye love...

with some mixed emotions thrown in.

     I have a degree form Auburn University AND the University of Iowa.  More importantly, I skied for Auburn ('94-'98, War Damn wet eagle!).  I currently ski with the University of  Iowa waterski team, as I live in the Iowa City area.  Over the last few years, I have become somewhat of an unofficial coach for the Iowa ski team.   As is the case with any college ski team, there are members with all levels of passion and dedication to the sport.  
    
      Well, with a combination of some talented newbies, and a core of passionate skiers already in place, the Iowa Waterski team  earned the wildcard, grabbing the final division 2 spot in the 2011 NCWSA Nationals.  It was "only" division 2, and the very last spot, but nonetheless, the wildcard was an achievement to be celebrated.  So they celebrated:    



Credit to Brian  for the foresight to record this emotional explosion 


    Given the circumstances, one could make an agrument that the Iowa team reacted with a modicum of restraint.  To put the wildcard selection  in perspective, Iowa had not even qualified for Midwest Collegiate Regionals since 2003, and has NEVER received an invite to NCWSA Nationals, division 1 or 2*.  Whatever their placement may turn out to be, they can be proud of what they have accomplished.  It is not easy to get to Nationals.   Skiing primarily on a practice site  currently without a slalom course, much less a ramp, ups the difficulty immensely.  


    That brings me to the mixed emotions part:  As excited and proud as I was of Iowa 's wildcard Nationals invite, I was disappointed that Auburn, my undergraduate and ski team alma mater, placed 5th in the wildcard standings.  Since either 2002 (or 2003, I am not exactly sure), Auburn has practiced at Faith Lake in Shorter, AL, a private 3-event tournament site only 30 minutes from campus.  In water skiing, quality of practice site has a huge impact on a  team's ability to develop and recruit skiers.**   That being the case, Iowa, without any buoys or ramps to call their own, took the last Nationals spot.  


     The guys and girls who lube 'em up and strap 'em on for Auburn right now should learn from this.  Auburn has the resources to get to Nationals.  I am confident that I speak for every Auburn Waterski Team Alum when I say that I want to see them get back to Nationals.  WAR EAGLE and, next week especially, GO HAWKS!






*Unless you count Purdue or Iowa State offering some Iowa skiers a chance to tag along on a Nationals road trip to defray the twin burdens of gas and beer expenses.


**length of the ski season notwithstanding

In honor of their...

first trip to Midwest Collegiate Regionals in a looong time,  I will show a little Hawkeye love

In your head, substitute "tournament" for "game"



here are a couple of the top Hawkeyes in action

Maddy: UI team president and  matriarch.  She also happens to be the baddest chick in the Great Plains conference.

David: Dedicated protegee of yours truly.  He Starts as soon as the ice melts, and skis until it comes back.  He has had top 5 finishes in tricks this season (I attribute this to coaching) 

Mitch:
(no video available)
His slalom scores (and boat towing)  make up for  his clumsiness on a pair of tricks (he's getting better).  Each week, he leads Iowa's men's slalom team, and hopes that he does not have to jump.


Stephanie:  "Who is the new girl that just came out?"  "I don't know."  "Damn, she can really ski.  Usually when we get newbies we're lucky if they can do a deep water start... on jumpers."

  

GO HAWKS!

I swing both...

ways.  I have proof, finally.

Waiting slightly longer through the top of the wake = ride the damn reverse out.

Still preturning...

that toeside flip.  Otherwise, this was a decent sequence.

Despite the preturn, I could have ridden that one out had I let go of the outside hand on the landing.

First, I bring her to the lake.  The next step is to get her to ride in the boat while skiers are being pulled.




Done.

 Despite the squniting, and a life Jacket that will fit much better next summer, she was all smiles.   Ok, maybe that was not exactly a smile.  but I am going to claim victory because there was no crying involved.

The first of hopefully...

many trips to the ski lake



Step 1: complete.  Lots more to come.

If you take one thing away...

from this clip, it should be unintentionally profound comment from the Greek guy.



He mentions that "it is a real family event." Mr. Patounis is exactly right. One of the best parts about competitive waterskiing (its inherent adrenaline-junkie satisfying nature notwithstanding) is that an ENTIRE family (the family dog notwithstanding) can get out and compete. Competitions, from local tournaments all the way to the National championships, are organized around that very principle. Everyone from kids under 5 years old to Great-grandparents can lube 'em up, strap 'em on, and try to rip it.

This aspect of competitive waterskiing runs counter (thankfully) to the prevailing  sports culture. There seems to be an idea in our society that from birth through high school, competing in organized sports is second only to school in a kids' life, but after that, it is vain, selfish, and childish to go out and compete in anything not work-related, especially if one has children of his/her own.

Personally, I think that is a load of crap.


Why aren't there more outlets for oragnaized competition for every member of a family?  Perhaps if that were the case, this country would boast a lower percentage of  type 2 couch potatoes.

Oh 35mph, how I have...

missed you so. Admittedly, the longing for faster speeds is harder to see from that jump.

 Thanks to AWSA's recent (no-brainer) raising of some jump speeds , I am jumping at 35mph again. The M3 official ramp height will stay at 5'. To tell the truth, I would be happy either way on the ramp height, as I have always been more of a speed jumper than a big lift jumper. Now I just need more jumps that look like this one,  only farther.

There must have been...

an updraft.



Two things catch my attention from this clip:

1. That recovery would send Sir Isaac Newton back to the drawing board.
2. Ski tournament announcing gigs are neither the time nor the place for porn voice-over work.

Official video evidence of...

David becoming a bona fide tricker,



Yours truly coming tantalizingly close to the Toe Wake O,




And Maddy schooling the both of us in the ways of the toe strap.

I would have built some...

side curtains too.




Ahhhhhhh, remember the good old days when it was almost practical put a ramp on a public lake? Maybe there was another commercial in which the group of skiers used their Stanley tools to repair the frame after it was damaged from jet skis trying to jump the ramp.

Eddie Pola, George Wyle, ...

and Andy Williams are, in the immortal werds of Lloyd Christmas, "full of shit." Tournament season is the most wonderful time of the year.

Although, sometimes, it can be less wonderful than it should be


Despite the hand pass debacle, Maddy placed a solid 5th Overall in her division.

One of the best parts about going to a tournament is the ability to pack lightly.

We had no need to bring portable buildings, large appliances, or any similarly sized items that might add unnecessary bulk to the drive up.
So roomy...


We had arrived.

10 days and a....

full course of Keflex later, Nola is on the mend




It's time for that dog to start doing what she does best,

harassing skiers.

Signs you least expect to see...

at a ski lake:
#1

No peeing in the lake? Huh?

Apparently, the folks at Trophy Lakes in Minnesota are quite particular about the chemical composition of their lake water.



Stay tuned, Vids from 2011 Midwest Regionals are soon to come.

This past weekend was not all...

Veterinary emergencies.. Between rain showers, there was Iowa State Championship Tournament.

My performance was, well, I'll let Randy Jackson describe it:


After a pass on the third jump, I took a jumper's walk of Shame.

Had I taken the jump, there would have been no walk, only shame.



Taking that last jump might have looked like this:

thankfully, Brian walked away from that one

I had planned to take a bunch of pics and video, honestly.

(Both) readers, blame the dearth of video on this:

Lakerykert team member injured...

this past weekend.

When not concocting elabotate schemes to foil the CRB's
drinking plans, Nola is my tournament sidekick.


Her normal tournament duties include swimming, shaking off on other skiers and/or spectators, soliciting anyone for free petting, and giving me a pre-ski pep talk.* While performing said duties, Nola makes a few assumptions:
1. All humans in attendance are her newest best friends
2. All other dogs in attendance will be her new best friends.
3. All humans in attendance want to throw the racquetball into the water
4. All food, if it's on the ground, goes to the hound.


This time, Nola was wrong about #2.



She was very wrong.
In exchange for an inquisitive sniff, a 40 lb. pipsqueak of a Labradoodle bit off a chunk of Nola's right ear. As always, she showed her true fighting spirit while cowering onto the ground. It's not too serious of an injury, but the vet will have to sedate her tomorrow to shave the ear and give it a good cleaning. She also got a course of antibiotics. Interesting sidenote: The standard large breed dose of Keflex is the same as the standard adult dose.

In about a week or so, she should be back to doing this:


In the meantime, enjoy the drugs Nola.

*Nola's pep talks entail loud barking in my ear while I slip my my feet into soapy bindings. If she deems I am not sufficiently "jacked," she jumps in after me.

I need a jumpsuit...

for flips

Much have you learned...

young Padawan.



David decided to strap on a trick ski (two, actually) about a year ago. after a set or two, he could do a full complement of surface tricks. So I decided to let him try one ski. The clip above is 1) evidence of his progression, and 2) validation of my coaching ability.

Not bad for one year's work. He almost has the toe back/toe front as well. Footage in a couple more sets.

Approved or not....

this is pretty bad-ass stuff.

I bid you...

welcome to the waterski blogosphere, Matt. (Both my readers) give it up for knoffed-it.
Matt's stated mission is "to utterly and completely eff things up to the point of non-recognition." Few pursuits have been nobler.




This is the signature Pic on Matt's blog. Readers (again, both of you), don't let the rough jumping fool you. "Knoff" is a very solid tricker and slalomer (is slalomer a word?).