SFH LEADER TRIAL

We used a 10 ft extension and metal connector at last years nationals for those wanting to use the SFH for tricks.  The problem I see with doing slalom on that leader is unless we get the manufacturers to change their rope lengths, the plate settings on the inboard are set for a skier to be closer to the boat.  Moving them back appx 10 feet, the wake will suck.  A better choice I think is to put a standard rope on the SFH attachment point to be used for wakes and to have the leader as an option for tricks for those who have their own ropes.  Granted that moves the skier forward about a foot for wakes, but the plates could be set to accommodate that much easier than trying to adjust it for 10 feet further back.  Plus 10 feet further back, the wake is wider and scores would likely go down a bit.  Just my $.02

Oh, and one more issue with the method you recommend, if you shorten the ropes to be used with a 10 ft leader on the SFH, you will also have to put a leader on the tower to make things equal.

My thoughts were that for Jump and Slalom, we have two 75 foot ropes attached permanently, one on the tower and the other on the SFH. Both with identical handles. End of story because we must use the tournament supplied rope/handle for these events.

For tricks, we would have a 75 foot rope on the tower and a 65 foot rope with a 10 foot leader to attach to the SFH for tricks. Knowing this, footers who want to use the SFH with their own rope should adjust according to the distance behind the boat they want to trick behind. For instance, if a skier wants to trick at 65 feet behind the boat on the SFH, they would bring a 55 foot rope knowing that a 10 foot leader will be added.

Any more than one rope in the boat and you will have tourney slow down.  You have to pull them in and throw another out, as well as un-tangle them every three skiers. One rope getting switched from clip to clip would be far better for Slalom and Jump. 

I also think that keeping the leaders the same length for all three events as well as the Tower and SFH is essential.  One leader could pull everyone for every event and can be switched between Tower and SFH in a pinch.

My anwser, Shorten the leads to 5’ and include shock tubes.  Easier to grab and switch, weights the rope to the center of the boat between passes, and they would hang as opposed to flapping when not in use.

Has anyone ever measured to see how far away someone's head is from the attach point on the tower?

The judges already have slow-mo and rewind.  As far as I know runs are not "official" where they can count as a record until after the video review.  So why are we judging it twice?

The clip is a problem.  To clarify, I said that the clip becomes an unpredictable projectile, not a deadly projectile.  Paul got smoked by a clip last summer and lived to tell the tale.  Test confirmed...He said it hurt like hell.