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WATERSKI MagazineThere's no better time to learn the slalom course than right now. The reasons are obvious: You're a skier with plenty of experience, you've got the right ski, and summertime is just around the corner. Maybe most importantly, however, is that running the slalom course is the defining mark of how every serious slalom skier is judged. And it's easily within your grasp.
As a ski school instructor, I've encountered hundreds of students – all recreational, open-water skiers – who have been too intimidated to try the course, for fear they may fail or worse, look bad doing it. The fact of the matter is, the slalom course is simply a progression of what open-water skiers do every time they slip into the bindings: attach pulls across the wakes with turns that send them across the wakes again. The only difference is that the course scenario is bound by time (or speed) and space (buoys).
I've found that the course is most easily learned in seven distinct steps, the first three of which we'll cover this month. For the next three months, I'll take you step by step through the progression from body position to running the course with the gates. Your job is to take what you read in each installment and apply it to your skiing during the course of the month, and you'll be shortening the line by summer.
Step 1: BODY POSITION
Learning how to lean and cross the wakes effortlessly is a simple process. Begin on land, or in the boat. Tie a handle to a door, post or boat pylon, and imitate the photo (right). Take a close look at it. Notice how the skier's head and line of vision are parallel to the ground, his arms are straight, his hips are close to the handle, and there is considerable flexion of his knees and ankles.
Hold this position for a minute or so and feel the pull and strain in the affected muscles. You should feel tension in your legs and to a lesser extent, your upper back. Now do the same thing pointing the other direction and get comfortable leaning this way. The sooner you feel strong and confident in this position, the easier slalom will be. Practice this position on the water until you feel comfortable.
Step 2: Skiing The Mini-Course
The mini-course teaches you the rhythm that is vital for running the big course.
This smaller version is simply half of the full slalom course. The boat is driven down the right side of the course between the boat guide buoys on the left and the skier turn buoys on the right.
The driver should start between 20 and 26 mph for adults (slower for children) and hold a constant speed. Get in the correct body position and pull out to the right side of the boat, about 25 feet from the wakes. As the first buoy approaches, make a turn around the buoy and finish the turn so you are skiing across course as you pass the downcourse side of the buoy (see illustration). This is the critical area. You must maintain correct body position and lean as hard as possible, without breaking your body position, through both wakes. Hold your direction across the course and find a spot 20 feet before the next buoy (the left boat guide buoy).
Once you've made it across the second wake, immediately change edge and let the ski make a smooth turn around the No.2 buoy. Repeat the same process across the wakes, keep your head up, arms straight, knees flexed, and lean across the wakes looking to a point in front of the No.3 buoy. Make another smooth turn and head for No.4. Do the exact same thing. Lean through the wakes, turn and lean again to No.5 and then No.6. By running all six buoys, you'll soon get a feel for the rhythm needed for the big course.
Step 3: The Shadow Course, or Narrow Course
The narrow course is just a regulation slalom course narrowed by 10 feet on either side (see illustration). The difference between running the mini-course and narrow course is your intensity level. It's got to be high and you must be aggressive in your cutting.
To create a narrow course, just drop some buoys inside your existing turn balls, or simply imagine the buoys are in place.
First, have the driver go through the boat guide buoys between 24 and 28 mph. This may feel slow, but if you are leaning hard enough and long enough you will generate plenty of speed to carry you through the turns. Start with the rope at either longline (75 feet) or 15 off. Even though you will be running or shadowing the narrow course, I recommend starting by pulling out all the way outside the No.1 full course buoy. Get yourself at least three feet wider than the first buoy and start your turn 10 feet before you reach it, much like you did on the mini-course. This will enable you to finish the turn on the backside of the buoy. From there, it is five more turns, six leans, and out the exit gates.
As with the mini-course, your turns when shadowing or running the narrow course need to be smooth and slow, with strong powerful leans through the wakes. The emphasis is on holding your direction across the wakes. Resist the pull from the boat, especially at the second wake. By driving your shoulder away from the boat through the wakes (forcing it down and away from the boat), you will be able to hold the angle and lean longer. Since you are skiing from a wider position, you will have a tendency to generate your angle too soon and get pulled up at the wakes. The key is to have a progressive lean with your greatest resistance through the wakes.
When you get across the wakes and are waiting for the next buoy, don't get lazy and stand up; stay down, with your knees and ankles flexed. Remember to start your turns well before the oncoming buoy. I like to simplify slalom to a turn and a lean – don't try to think of a pre-turn. Just lean through both wakes and change direction in your turn and lean the other way. It's simple.
Next month, we'll turn up the microscope – and the intensity – and get you through the full course.
Pro skier and ski school instructor Ben Favret writes frequently for WaterSki.
