slalom ski for kids

[rushman]

My daughter is now just learning to "drop" a ski and is getting balanced on the one. Right now she is skiing on a pair of Connelly Super Sports (wide skis) and is dropping one of those. The problem is it looks like she lacks control over it because the Sport Sport is so wide and bouyant???? She is only 90 lbs MAX and I was wondering if the single ski sat in the water deeper it may be easier for the ski to track and she may have more control over it. Teaching kids to slalom is new to me and just wonder if I should get her a different single ski or make her master the wider one first. Any thoughts???? She is athletic, has great balance in most sports and has barefooted for close to 5 yrs and skied behind the boat on two skis for 7 yrs.

[DONTW8]

OK, here's the old codger's idea.

I first skied on a single ski I made in wood shop in the early 1960's. Basically it was flat side to side with a rocker on the nose.

Over the years I have been amazed that the manufacturers continue to improve water skis even for the starter doubles which have complex concaves, edge patterns, and rockers and so forth. We get newbies at our annual waterski campout and they always get up even on the H.O. doubles that we bring to camp.

A couple of years ago I picked up a huge H.O. Mach One (a 71" ?) which had great bindings on it and had been used very little. I happened to pick it up for $30 or so IIRC. This baby works great for getting a newbie up for their first deep water start.

My suggestion: I would search Craigslist for folks clearing out their waterski gear that they are not using. I expect that over time you will find some good equipment for very little money that will work for your newbies.

[Chef23]

I would say just slow the boat down a little bit until she gets steady on the dropped ski. The wide ski will work fine for a beginning point. They tend to be more stable than the narrow skis. When kids begin to ski on one ski they are unstable at first. Slow down a couple of miles an hour then gradually speed up as she gets more stable.

[Soon2BV]

I have a pair of HO junior skis that are an excellent combo and decent slalom. They were probably less than $100 when i bought them 10 years ago.

I would suggest getting something like them. They are a good combo pair for learners and a good beginner slalom.

They are also sized correctly for her weight and will help her learn.

With a big ski she will struggle to control it, even at slower speeds.

I have taught all of my kids and many nieces and nephews and friends to slalom, and none learned by dropping a ski.

(this is partly because when my brother used to drop one, we ended up losing about 3 over a few summers ).

The sooner she learns the deepwater start the better, and if she is athletic it won't take long.

Here is a set from Overtons for $170.

HO Juniors

[davemac]

What is her age, and what speed are you pulling her at? My daughter started slaloming at about 8yrs/85lbs on a similar ski (HO Jr Vortex combos). I found that the ski would "speed wobble" at about 24 mph...possibly due to the plastic fin. I got her a legit slalom ski that made all the difference (64" HO Esprit). Currently she is 10, 110lbs skiing at about 28 mph.

Although this doesn't answer your question, I would highly recommend one of the Slalom Training/"EZ start" handles. from Overtons and others. They are a great help at keeping the ski straight when learning deep water starts (far more convenient then dropping). Since you mentioned that she barefoots...If you have access to a boom, that will also speed the slalom deep water start process.

Good Luck.

Edited August 21, 2009 by davemac

[Baddog]

A wide slalom will be the easiest ski to get up an and gain confidence, however, her lack of weight may just be too light for the square inches of surface area that the ski offers. I know it is counter to some fo the advice here but would a skinnier ski work better for her?