WaterSki Magazine

Risto
2006-09-25 15:00:00 | 143 views | 0 Comments

Keith St. Onge's world barefoot slalom record is approved

After claiming to break the record five times only to have it stripped away, Keith St. Onge finally has more than claims now — this past year he officially broke the world barefoot slalom record with a score of 20.6 at the Gauteng North Barefoot Championships in Bronkhorstspruit, South Africa. The previous record of 20.5 was set by Brian Fuchs 12 years ago.
 
The competition works as follows: Athletes try to cross the wake on one foot from crest to crest as many times as they can in 15 seconds. They do this twice, one run skiing forward and one run skiing backward. For each wake crossing successfully completed on one foot, a full point is awarded. If the athlete touches down on two feet during the wake crossing, a half point is awarded.
 
“Slalom has always been a strong event for me,” says Onge, “so I knew I had a good shot.” Traveling to Africa to train with Heinrich Sam and his father Eugene, Keith had only five days to familiarize himself with the Raven tow boat used for the tournament. “I had to relearn the wake on the Raven,” he says. “It's an outboard and has smaller wakes than we have here in the States. I mostly had to work on timing, learning how wide the wake is, where the crest ends, because if you put your foot down early the judges will downgrade the cross. You need to make sure your crossings are extremely clean.”

Keith's first run tallied 21.1, and his second was 20.7; he ended with 20.6. The competition was filmed and the tapes sent all across the world to the judges in England, America, Canada, Australia — the entire world committee — for verification. It was a full two and a half months later that Keith learned his record had been validated. But for Keith, the wait was worth it — now he's not the only one who knows he broke the long-standing record.

Keith St. Onge's Five Edging Tips

1. It's all in the handle. Ninety percent of the pull needs to be on the arm in the direction you're going: If you're going left, 90 percent of the pull should be on the left hand.

2. The bottom of the lifted foot needs to face the direction you want to go.

3. You want an extremely low stance. The lower you are, the stronger you are — maintain a low center of gravity.

4. Obviously, the foot on the water needs to turn in the direction you want to go.

5. Usually your ankle is underneath your knee, but to get speed throughout the crossing — and through the wake — drive your skiing foot in front of your knee for quickness.