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Official's Corner Latest information from the Official's Advisory Panel for Kentucky

Driver/Towboat info from Tim McKune KWSF Driver Advisor
Zero off has some new experimental software that is being tested now and
will most likely be approved for the 2009 season. This will be yet another
curve for our drivers and skiers, however like the ZO first versions it is
not too hard to understand but drivers will need to be able to explain to
the skiers. It does seem that Zero Off is starting to listen to the
skiers. If you have any questions on slalom or jump, don't hesitate to
call!

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I entered into a Q & A with the KWSF Judges advisor, Carl Marquess, on some judging clarifications and following are the questions and his responses.

Leon: How do you interpret rule 10.13(c) that states: "1 point when the skier has crossed the line of the gate buoys before passing the level of the next buoy (or the end gate in the case of the final buoy) with a tight line under the power of the boat without falling"?

Carl : I assume you are referring to the situation in which
you round a buoy with so much speed that you travel back across the
line of gate buoys but have so much slack that your arms would be
pulled off when the rope becomes tight and a fall would become
iminent. Do you get 1 point or only 1/2? The ruling has gone back
and forth on this. It is now 1/2.

Leon: Briefly explain the differences in each of the following classification of tournaments "C", "E", "R", "L".

Carl: R, L, and E are tournaments in which World or
National Records may be set (Rule 1.02 and 15.01). R an L
tournaments are played by IWSF rules - so the AWSA rule book is out
the window for some events at Regionals and Nationals. I personally
do not like having 2 sets of rules. Personal story: At this year's
Nationals I tricked in Mens 4 and Carly pinned for me. Mens 4 was
an E event so we played by AWSA rules. The starting buoys were
between the yellow and orange buoys like we have at our local
tournaments. I asked the boat crew, in the presence of Carly, where
we were starting just to be sure. After my outstanding performance,
HA HA I returned to the starting dock to pin for Carly. Womens 1
was the next event. As she was skiing down the lake she was
looking for the yellow buoy to do a positioning trick before the
course. I pointed out the buoy. The BOAT DRIVER said NO! she was
to have started at the buoys set up for the ISF course she had
already passed. There was no boat judge in the boat, the other
person was the video person. So the boat driver and I were
screaming at Carly to go, which she wasn't ready to do. Needless to
say she wasn't too happy. I think the video judge probably gave her
a break and did not start timing her pass until when she actually
began - she did stand her 1st pass up. Carly was not the only one
confused. A lot of the higher seeds did not start until the AWSA
course, which was further down the lake than the ISF course. Both
courses should not have been in at the same time.

Leon: Can a trick skier receive a reride if a tournament supplied trick release prematurely releases?

Carl: No, the skier accepts responsibility for any release or
malfunction of the device. Except if you are skiing under IWSF
rules, which allows for a reride if you want to use your release but the
tournament supplied release cannot be removed. (11.16c)

Leon: If a boat is equipped with more than one speed control, what determines which one is used?

Carl: I cannot find the answer in the rule book. But the
point will be moot next year since all the new boats will have Zero
Off.

Some additional comments by Carl on rules clarification:

Joe B attended a judges clinic this past weekend and a item of
discussion was: skier does a sideslide for credit
skier does a reverse sideslide for no credit
skier repeats the reverse sideslide which is good. But does he get
credit for it since the creditable reverse did not immediately
follow the original trick? Does he have to go back and do the
original sideslide again to get credit for both?

My opinion: He does not have to repeat the original trick. I think
Rule 11.12(d) applies. The last sentence is "Tricks may be
repeated, but a repeated trick scores zero unless the judges ruled
that the first attempt or attempts were unsuccessful. I wonder what
the computer would score: sideslide - credit
R - N/C
R - credit
If any of you have questions about rules interpretations, contact Carl Marquess. If you have questions about driving/drivers contact Tim McKune, or scoring contact Cathy Burkhead (see bottom of home page for contact info)