Tournament Results

Winter Slalom Series Round 1 Results

The Barron River Waterski Club held the first round of the Winter Series Slalom Tournament on Sunday 22nd July. The title to the event was fitting as the weather was a little on the cool side and the thermometer didn’t reach any great heights. But thankfully Aarron brought along a ½ tonne of wood to get the warm up area really going.

10 individuals braved the cool temperatures but were welcomed to some smooth water and a relaxed format of skiing. With the limited numbers we went with a new system of getting through the heats. Each group sat out in the pick-up boat and waited their turn. But this time after finishing the first round the skiers had a short 15 minute break then skied their second round. This worked a lot better as skiers were warm for their second round and didn’t have to sit around all day waiting.

The first group to go were Fiona, Ruth and Ross. Ruth was a newcomer to slalom skiing and demonstrated an improvement in her second round clearing an extra 2 buoys. Next to try her luck was Fiona, who has shown great improvement over the last 6 months. After her two rounds she was not only leading the ladies, but had a firm grip on the “stack of the day” title. Last skier for this group was Ross. Ross needed to ski early as he was needed to help develop the skills of the Tableland’s budding musicians.  His instrument of choice this time was a little out of tune and he walked away realising that his ski fitness needed a little work.

Second group to brave the winter chill consisted of  Mark, Aarron and Adrian. Mark was another newcomer and showed some promise for the future. His efforts in trying to reach an extra buoy in his second round got him in a little trouble and left him dazed and confused after a massive crash. Next in was Aarron, with a long break since his last outing it took a few passes before he dialled himself back into clearing the full course at 32mph. Last to go in this group was the clubs up and coming skier, Adrian. The young Atherton lad showed the others the importance of practise and was nearly able to clear the full course at 34mph, only missing it by ½ a buoy. With a little help with technique and some more persistence Adrian will be running into the shorter lines in no time.

The last group to go were the boat drivers and helpers, Peter, Craig, Bevan and Joel. As it was nearly 12:00pm this group had to contend with a rogue boat doing laps of the course. With a little patience they were able to ski without any major problems. Joel and Bevan are getting close to clearing the full course at 30mph and with some more time on the water will soon reach their goal. As for the old boys, Peter and Craig, the consistent skiing over the cooler months is paying off. Peter easily clearing the 18m line and skiing deep into the 16m, while Craig is finding the 14m line his nemesis and failing to get to his target of the 13m line.

In all it was a relaxed day with good company, a warm fire and delicious snags to eat. The club would like to thank Aarron for the wood, Grant for judging the passes and Rikki for taking care of the cooking. We hope to see everyone at the next event on the 16th September, where we might be joined by the Townsville Club.

Craig Rankin and Peter DeLai

Juniors

Ladies

Men’s Div 2 (Min Start Speed 30mph)

Div 1 (Minium Starting Speed 34mph)