WaterSki Magazine

WATERSKI Magazine
2001-06-14 15:00:00 | 116 views |
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Have you ever wanted to learn barefoot turns but crashed so many times at 40 mph that you gave up? If so, here's some good news: You can master turns at less than half the boat speed you're now using. My dad Mike and coach Zenon Bilas helped me do it with both one- and two-foot turns. The secret? Shrinking skis.

First, I learned how to turn on a regular single trick ski at 16 mph. Turning on a trick ski taught me to turn only my lower body while holding my upper body still. Once I felt comfortable turning on the trick ski, I strapped on smaller Jaskis.

But instead of using the stock Jaskis, my dad cut the Jaskis' bottoms down to make the skiing surface even smaller. He made two sizes: a small pair, and ultra-small pair only slightly larger than my feet. As the shoes got smaller, the boat speed got faster (between 23 and 30 mph), making it feel more like barefooting. Soon I developed a real understanding of the turns.

Finally, on my bare feet I finished the learning process by continuing to use the technique that I started on the trick ski. By this point, turning on bare feet at 36 mph felt quite natural – and a lot less painful without all the falls.



Charity Merriman won the 1995 U.S. National Barefoot trick title in the Open division with her dazzling display of two- and one-foot surface and toe turns. She is sponsored by MasterCraft, Mercury, Liquid Force and Oakley.