You probably have been told, “you cannot teach an old dog a new trick”. With some luck, maybe this old dog can teach a new blind water skier a trick or two about learning to compete.

Goal

Get you qualified to compete in the Tricks and Audio Slalom events at the 27th USA Adaptive Water Ski National Championships & Team Trials on Champions Lake in Auburndale, Florida.

Requirements

Prove that you are capable of scoring 100 points.  

Equipment

A wakeboard with a maximum width 35 percent or less of the overall length. Keep in mind, you want to be able to easily turn the wakeboard on the surface of the water (Because the wakeboard you choose to ride meets the 35% requirement, it will score points equal to 1 Ski point values.).

Tricks

You will need to perform two tricks on your wakeboard (which scores as 1 Ski) for a total of 120 points.

You will have two 20 seconds passes to complete these two tricks.

Trick 1 – Back: Starting in your preferred skiing position, either right foot or left foot forward, you will need to make a 180 degree surface turn towards your heels resulting in you riding in the back position. After completing the trick, your opposite foot will be forward.

Trick 2 – Front: Starting in the back position, you will need to make a 180 degree surface turn towards your heels resulting in you returning to ride in the front position.

You Did It

In summary, performing a Back followed by a Front to your heel side scores 120 points which is enough points to qualify you for the National Championships in the Tricks event. Of course, you could use any other combination of tricks totaling at least 100 points to qualify. Regardless of the tricks you used to qualify, do not forget to Get a proficiency certificate.

Good news, for as long as I can remember, your Tricks event qualification also will allow you to enter the Audio Slalom event even if you have not met the Audio Slalom qualification standard.

You can check out the Tricks Dryland Training and Tricks Behind Boat Training posts for additional details and videos.

Good Luck!

IWWF Disabled Waterski Rules

Following are excerpts from the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) Disabled Rules related to the Tricks event. The information inside ‘(* *)’ is based on my recollection of the entry requirements to compete in the National Championships in prior years. A post to confirm this information applies to the 2024 event will be added as soon as 2024 National Championship entry requirements are released.  

You should review the rules for more details and to verify the below information for yourself.

D5.01: Skiing devices

A skiing device is defined as a piece of equipment which fully supports the weight of a skier when he is in skiing position (D7.03).

If the maximum width of a skiing device does not exceed…35 percent of the overall length for trick skis, it is defined as a ski.

Rule D9 – Tricks

Skiers from…V1 and V2/3 may use one or two ski(s) and must have a standing attitude.

D9.09: Trick Values

SURFACE TURNS

Code	Description	No.	1 Ski
B	180 F-B	3	60
F	180 B-F	4	60

D15.02: Entry requirements

In order to enter the tricks event, a skier of category…V1 or V2/3 must prove that he is

capable of scoring 200 points. (* Like prior years, the 200 points for World qualification per D15.02 most likely will be reduced to 100 points for the National Championships.)

In order to enter the audio slalom event, a skier of category V1 or V2/3 must prove that he has completed a pass on the audio slalom course at any competition speed. (* Like prior years, a V1 or V2/3 skier qualified in the tricks event most likely will be allowed to compete in the Audio Slalom event (unqualified) with valid documentation showing that the skier has met the above listed criteria in the Tricks event. *)

These performances must have been performed during the year of the competition or the two years prior.

A skier…shall provide a proficiency certificate. A proficiency certificate is a free-form document signed by a level 1 or level 2 judge for Tournament (or a judge for disabled of an equivalent standard) in which the signatory certifies that he has personally observed the skier achieving the qualifying performance successfully in conditions similar to those of a competition. The date of observation must be stated on the certificate.