NorCal INT 7/7 - 7/8

[dogbert]

He's 12 and always rides at 20. He'll need to adjust to riding behind a Mastercraft because that's what they have for the events.

[ragboy]

They will pull him 20, he just has to tell them. Bring your own rope, it will help him feel comfortable. They will tow with your rope and handle, at the length he likes. Usually get there the day before so he can get some practice runs, it will ease his nerves.

[dogbert]

Well, the good thing is that it's at the Texas Ski Ranch. They have Thursday night showdowns that are open to all riders and a kid's comp this weekend.

I've been wanting to get him some lessons, so maybe I'll just take him down there for them on the boat.

[ragboy]

Very cool, post how it goes.

[dogbert]

Thanks for all the tips, ragboy. It was his first time riding behind an X-Star. I guess the wake is a bit wider than our boat and a bit bigger. He crashed on his 2nd trick, which was a ts 180 with a grab. But, he got right back up and did a few hs w2w grabs, including a roast beef, followed by 2 hs w2w grabs and 2 ts 180s on his return pass, the last one was with a grab right at the end of his run.

He took 1st. Now he's really stoked! We've got another kids comp down at Texas Ski Ranch on Saturday and then another Thursday showdown. If he wins again, he may be in the running to take the series.

BTW, I met one of the owners at TSR. I have to say, they know how to put on an event. We had sooo much fun and everyone was really friendly. Of course, it's gonna cost me a fair chunk of change because now my kids want to do one of their camps (I guess most of the kids he competed against were campers). It's all good. So, I might bag the family vacation to send them there and then do a family vacation at my lakehouse. With all the travelling I do, it's definitely more appealling.

[chpthril]

Congrats, Dog That is awesome. I know you are proud

[da.bell]

Congrats to your children. Maybe you can influence the TSR to purchase Tige's now. Keep up the good work and let the children continue to have fun.

[dogbert]

Congrats to your children. Maybe you can influence the TSR to purchase Tige's now.

Not likely, they are a Mastercraft dealer. The X-Star is a nice boat, just not $94K nice.

[da.bell]

Didn't know they sold boats. I thought they were a camp only.... So, I see you have a lot of work ahead of you to convert them.

[dogbert]

Actually, I'd love to own a place like that. What could be better than being in the business of FUN?

[da.bell]

[ragboy]

Thats outstanding! Your experience is similar to ours. Very family friendly organization the INT seems to be. My whole goal was to give my kids inspiration and purpose boarding, and they got it in spades. Sounds like yours is too. We are going to be hitting the WWA comps also I think. Anyway, IMHO, how can it be bad if it makes them want to spend more time behind my boat?

Get a couple of sacs to make your boat wake bigger than the comp boats. Thats what I did. It seems to help them more if your wake is at least the same or bigger. When my kids get to comp, the wake doesn't scare or throw them off at all, just have to adjust for smaller size. Seems easier that way. Plus you don't have to hear, "dad, that mc wake is much bigger than ours." That just ain't right. ;-)

Very cool, have fun.

[dogbert]

Well, keep in mind that I have an older boat, still with the spray pockets. I can really only get about 1400 lbs in mine plus people before it starts to run like crap. We usually run with about 1200 lbs. I think part of it was that they were using a longer rope that what he was using. Plus it had some give to it. He likes to load up the line quite a bit, so it threw him off on his 180. Like I said, for having no practice run and just showing up, he adjusted pretty good. That was my goal. Winning was a nice bonus.

He wants to do more competitions, so he'd better get used to riding behind different boats.

As for the MC wake, it's my boat or no wake for him He gets that. He loves our boat. I'm contemplating a new Tige right now...can't decide between an RZ2 and a 22Ve. RZ2 is an extra $10K, comparably equipped. Not sure if I like the fiberglass platform either.

[ragboy]

Will they let him use his own rope? Thats what we do, the rope REALLY helps them feel "at home". We just take our rope, and so does most other people.

[dogbert]

Not on the showdowns. They do this to save time. It's less formal than an INT event. We're treating these like warm-up events for the INT event in August at TSR.