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Gladiator Trainer


jjackkrash

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We had one 2 yo on one but I think he was exceptional. My Grandson started at 3-4 yo. We taught him to ride it behind the riding mower. Then pulling into shore with a rope and someone starting him in the water. When he got behind the boat it was pretty easy to get him up at idle speed.

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The next year he went to this; Yahoo.gif

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Does anyone have any positive or negative feedback on the gladiator waterski trainer? What is the youngest you have seen a kid have any success?

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/de...1009&r=view

Thanks,

Jack

My neighbors boy learned last year at 24 months, plus we have got 2 other 3 yr olds up. One adult would float in the water and hang on to the rear tips of the trainer to keep it balanced initially, then let go after the child gets steady.

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Does anyone have any positive or negative feedback on the gladiator waterski trainer? What is the youngest you have seen a kid have any success?

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/de...1009&r=view

Thanks,

Jack

We used one last summer worked great - the rope ripped out of the plywood with one bad start on a 9 year old but they took it in for an exchange.

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My son did the skimmer at 3, platform start. He was VERY comfortable in the water and was used to seeing us in the water behind and around the boat. PM me an email addy and I'll send you a video clip.

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We purchased the obrian version last year for our 4 yo girl. It works great, start them off the platform if they are small. Idle speed is all that is needed, and feed the rope out a little at a time. Make sure you adjust the handle, it will need to be shorter on the water then what it is on land if your pulling them around on the grass.

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My son did the skimmer at 3, platform start. He was VERY comfortable in the water and was used to seeing us in the water behind and around the boat. PM me an email addy and I'll send you a video clip.

PM sent.

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We have done the skimmer with 2 of our children. Once as young as 18 months and the other at about 2 1/2 years old. Done platform and beach/shore starts. Personally I prefer the beach start for the kids.

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My son did the skimmer at 3, platform start. He was VERY comfortable in the water and was used to seeing us in the water behind and around the boat. PM me an email addy and I'll send you a video clip.

PM sent.

You have VIDEO! :)

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We have used one for 11 different kids so far. It is GREAT!!

One word of caution - I strongly recommend that you only use it with the rope NOT tied to the boat but on a ski handle that is held by an adult in the boat. Once when a newby 8 year old was on the skimmer she fell at very low speed and her knees got stuck such that the lower portion of her legs jammed between the ski skimmer and the handle. In that state she could not let go. We were able to stop her immediately by letting go of the other end of the tow rope but if we had to wait for th boat to stop she might have had a more unpleasant experience. In this case she took a 10 minute break (while her sister tried it) and tried again sucessfully.

All of the 11 kids who have used ours have suceeded on the first or second try. The age ranges were 4-9 years old.

I recommend doing a beach start with the kid standing on the ski skimmer. The driver needs to remember that the start can be quite slow (and probably should be). Our experience is that what Overton's says is true - the kid will be able to plane at slightly above idle speed (~4-5 mph). The ski skimmer can be steered by the skier by shifting weight.

Good luck and happy skiing.

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Our girls both started skiing around 2 1/2 years old on a set of trainers with the board between the skis. We were able to show them how it would be by jogging down the beach and they could ski in 8-10" of water no problem. We would then take them behind the boat right from shore in abot the same 8-10"of water. We always have the handle being held by an adult in the boat and if the skiier falls we just let go. It has worked for all ages of kids between 2 and 8 or so. There is nothing more satisfying than watching them realize that they can actually do it.

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It works great. We started our son at 2 first we did it off the boom with me dragging with him. Then to the back of the boat. He can now cross the wake with it we only go about 8-10 mph. Everyone loves to see him ski everyone waves to him and he will wave back the are all amazed.

We have since started him in the barefoot swing too.

I want to get our 16mo old skiing this year but the wife said are you crazy!

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Looks like we'll have to wait till next summer. Little JJK III won't turn one until September 4. Baby.gif Still, in the meantime, I could probably just sit him on the trainer and pull him around the yard so he gets used to the idea. Biggrin.gif

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My future pro Ava, this was just before her 2nd birthday and this was her birthday gift. First few pulls involved me at the other end of the rope pulling in about 8" of water at the beach, then moved up to Grandpa's mastercraft, and looking forward to the spring so we can get going on our new Malibu Rlxi! Yahoo.gif

The smile is very important...keep it fun!! Clap.gif

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We have used one for 11 different kids so far. It is GREAT!!

One word of caution - I strongly recommend that you only use it with the rope NOT tied to the boat but on a ski handle that is held by an adult in the boat. Once when a newby 8 year old was on the skimmer she fell at very low speed and her knees got stuck such that the lower portion of her legs jammed between the ski skimmer and the handle. In that state she could not let go. We were able to stop her immediately by letting go of the other end of the tow rope but if we had to wait for th boat to stop she might have had a more unpleasant experience. In this case she took a 10 minute break (while her sister tried it) and tried again sucessfully.

All of the 11 kids who have used ours have suceeded on the first or second try. The age ranges were 4-9 years old.

I recommend doing a beach start with the kid standing on the ski skimmer. The driver needs to remember that the start can be quite slow (and probably should be). Our experience is that what Overton's says is true - the kid will be able to plane at slightly above idle speed (~4-5 mph). The ski skimmer can be steered by the skier by shifting weight.

Good luck and happy skiing.

I wish someone hold told that to my parents when I was younger. After being "tricked" to try water skiing in exchanged for a ninja turtle popsicle, at the age of 4, I did not have the common sense to let go of the rope when I fell down, and as a result got dragged around under water for a little bit.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We started our kids on that at 3 and 4 years old and they did fine. I started by running in shallow water along the beach then migrated to the boat.

We start our kids right on the beach then idle them off the beach to get them going. If they lean back a little and hold the nose up it is no problem.

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We started our kids at 2 and 4 but went with the obrien trainers that have the bar between the front and rope in the back, and the two handled rope for the spotter to hold on to. Surprising they were both up on their first try and made a big loop back to mom who was anxiously awaiting in the shallows. Like others have said, we found it most important to a) get the kids comforatable with the water early. (they all start swim lessons at 6 months) B) Take them tubing before they are 2 so that they are comfortable and excited about being behind the boat. c) Make sure they are skiing because THEY want to and not becuase dad is asking them too. They are 4 and 6 now and its still hit and miss on when they want to ski. Definatley helps to have other kids in the boat who want to ski since they seem to feed off of each others desire.

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