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WATERSKI MagazineWhen we look back at our slalom ancestors, we're often shocked at the gear they used. Closer examination of their style is just as amazing until you realize that perhaps one caused the other. Let's analyze one small moment – deceleration and the turn – to learn about the present by looking at the past.
There was a time when a skier was taught to transfer up to 80 percent of his or her weight to the front foot and reach forward to initiate the turn. The strategy was to slow down a flat-bottomed ski in time to rock back to the rear foot for the next acceleration after the turn. The forward reach was accentuated by the fact that there wasn't a whole lot of line taken off back then – 12, 18 and 24 feet off the 75-foot rope was about it.
Today the philosophy is quite different. Tunnel and concave bottom skis with beveled edges allow us to hold more angle, but more important, hold more speed throughout the turn. We ski wider and faster at the buoy without the ski skipping out. Our weight distribution can be more even (50 percent on the front foot), and our posture more upright with an inward reach. Today's winning performances are at 38, 39-1/2 and 41 feet off the line.
Is it because of the style or the stick? Probably a little bit of both.
