[ Home | Contents | Search | Post | Reply | Next | Previous | Up ]
From:
Date: 02 Mar 2008
Time: 03:12:47 -0800
Remote Name: 222.159.17.181
<a href= http://limosuines-for-sale.aidiplomf.cn > limosuines for sale </a> <a href= http://abercombrie-fitch.aidiplomf.cn > abercombrie fitch </a> <a href= http://long-haired-dachsunds.aidiplomf.cn > long haired dachsunds </a> <a href= http://livecricket-score.aidiplomf.cn > livecricket score </a> <a href= http://craigslist-philadephia.aidiplomf.cn > craigslist philadephia </a>
From:
Date: 30 Jan 2008
Time: 20:06:34 -0800
Remote Name: 219.101.29.238
<a href= http://biltmore-hats.bjyhajri.info > biltmore hats </a> <a href= http://american-pittbull-puppies.bjyhajri.info > american pittbull puppies </a> <a href= http://amozon-river-facts.bjyhajri.info > amozon river facts </a> <a href= http://adoption-lewiston.bjyhajri.info > adoption lewiston </a> <a href= http://appleton-oktoberfest.bjyhajri.info > appleton oktoberfest </a> <a href= http://avalonbay-community.bjyhajri.info > avalonbay community </a> <a href= http://ava-gabor.bjyhajri.info > ava gabor </a> <a href= http://apparatus-jumpsuit-red-th.bjyhajri.info > apparatus jumpsuit red th </a> <a href= http://bejewel-2.bjyhajri.info > bejewel 2 </a> <a href= http://barbeque-galore-calgary.bjyhajri.info > barbeque galore calgary </a>
From: John Skobrak
Date: 09 Jan 2003
Time: 11:35:26 -0800
Remote Name: 163.2.30.147
I don't think that a manufacturer discontinuing a towboat has a significant effect on tournament participation. I think it's coincidental that this happens. Towboat companies do a lot of research in marketing to determine where to best invest thier money and time. The towboat companies feel the decline of the sport (boat sales / participation) long before the tournament community and they take action to cut thier losses. It just seems like all of a sudden there are less skiers and fewer boats to pull them with. Granted, the loss of the Barefoot Nautique and the FlightCraft was devistating to some skiers. I personally love both boats and have done plenty of skiing behind them. For me however, tournament skiing is more of a social event than a head to head competition. I'll ski behind what ever boat is there because in reality I'm competing against myself and I use tournament skiing as a personal measure of accomplishment. The open/professional class skiers have to ski behind the same boat regardless of thier preference so quiting barefooting just because thier favorite boat isn't there would be an excuse to hide some other reason for quiting. I think that the decline in tournament barefooting has been more affected by the popularity of wakeboarding, lack of spectator appeal, over structured rules (lack of fun factor), and the aging tournament skiing population. Note that I use the term tournament barefooting and specifically 3 event tournament barefooting. Figure 8's and endurance races are on the rise and this is definately where the fun factor and spectator appeal go up exponentially. Overall, I think that the towboat evaluations held by the AWSA and ABC do serve some purpose in that they ensure towboats used for tournaments meet minimum specifications. On the barefooting side of the house I think that since our tournament skiing population is so small now compared to previous years we need to do some restructuring of the rules pertaining to towboat usage. Dave Miller mentioned extending towboat eligibility out 10 years as an example. This is a nice idea but in reality it hurts our cause of trying to raise manufacturer support for the sport more than it helps. Unfortunately for us (skiers)the towboat evaluations are designed to help the manufacturer promote boat sales through a process of introducing/qualifying new models to be used at the tournaments while phasing out the old. For the ABC this is done every 2 years in that once a towboat is 2 years old it can't pull Nationals, Regionals or any other record capability tournament. This is also subject to wetted surface changes for example with the FlightCraft being replaced by the Response. Once the Response became the approved towboat from Malibu the FlightCraft couldn't be used at Regionals for Malibu to gain credit towards Nationals and now the 2 years is up it can't be used for any record capable event. This promotes boat sales by the fact that if you want to train on the same boat as what you'll ski at the tournaments you need to upgrade. Non tournament footers, Figure-8'ers, and Endurance Racers for the most part could care less about what boat they ski behind as long as it meets thier needs. If the ABC extended the towboat eligibility out too far then there would be nobody in the Barefoot Community needing to upgrade thier boats and hense no reason for a towboat company to have a new barefoot model or promotional program. This is why the FlightCraft and the Barefoot 200 died and now we have the Response and the ProStar to replace them with. These boats are already used for other disciplines with a strong consumer base. It's no big deal for Malibu or MasterCraft to tweek an existing hull by adding a big motor and a wake plate. It doesn't matter to them that the FlightCraft and Barefoot 200 were better boats for the sport. What matters is boat sales and our community is too small to warrant a seperate product line. For that matter when you get right down to it, our top level skiers (Scarpa and KSO for example) are simply another paid advertising medium for them to promote boat sales within the barefoot community. These guys struggle to make ends meet by traveling half the year running clinics and competing while the other half the year they're running a full blown ski school. Why? It's because our sports numbers are too small to support a big cash prize payoff at the tournaments. There's no Budwieser sponsored Barefooting Pro Tour to pay our top competitors 100,000.00 if they win. If this was any other major sport they would be nationally recognized and rich enough to not work another day if they properly invested thier winnings. This says a lot in that to participate in our sport of barefooting you have to love it. Anyway, I could go on an on about this subject but I'll stop here to see if any interesting conversation arises. Thanks, JOhn Skobrak