How to Water-Ski a Slalom Course

To ski the slalom course, you'll need to hard cut around six buoys on opposite sides of the wake. Here's a step-by-step guide.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Safety Flags
• Life Vests
• Ski Boats
• Slalom Skis
• Water Ski Ropes
• Water Skis

1. Instruct your driver to drive straight through the boat buoys without varying speed. Have her drive through the course one time without a skier in tow. Begin practicing the course at 24 to 26 mph, using a 75-foot rope.

2. Swing wide left before entering the course.

3. Cut toward the first buoy as soon as the boat passes by it.

4. Stop accelerating (by letting up on the rope a bit) about 15 feet from the buoy and 8 to 10 feet wide of it.

5. Begin your hard cut even before you are outside the buoy, so you'll be around the buoy just as you finish your cut. (See "How to Hard Cut in Slalom Waterskiing.")

6. Keep your body rigid and straight as you pull back on the rope and cut from the buoy to the wake.

7. Stop accelerating as you cross the wake and allow your knees to absorb the impact of the wake.

8. Extend your arms to their full reach and lean slightly forward as you reach the next buoy on the opposite side of the wake. Release your outer arm as you enter your second turn.

9. Accelerate and cross the wake again. Repeat until all six buoys have been rounded.

Tips & Warnings

• Master the hard cut before you attempt the slalom course.
• Watch other slalom skiers ski the course and note the rhythm and timing of their turns.
• Remember that the slalom course is a race. As you improve, have your driver go faster, and practice to better your time. Tighten up the turn to cut off crucial seconds.
• Always wear a life vest.
• Observe all boating safety regulations.
• Water skiing is an inherently dangerous activity that can result in serious injury or death. We recommend that you seek proper training and equipment before attempting this activity.

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[wadewilliams]

on 8/22/2009 More on this subject at www.proskicoach.com

on 11/22/2005 It is a skill competition to see who can round the most buoys with the shortest length of rope. A standard 75 foot rope is put together in sections that can be taken off to shorten the rope. Each round, the rope is shortened. The skier who rounds the most buoys at the shortest rope length wins. In competition the boat always drives 36 mph for men and 34 mph for women.