Ohio Tournament & Novice Rules:
Here in Ohio, we LOVE coaching new three-event water skiers to success. We all get nervous, so to make sure that new slalom skiers keep coming back to tournaments, we use the novice rule to help them acclimate comfortably to competition water skiing.
Am I a novice skier?
In Ohio, a novice slalom skier is anyone who has never run six or more buoys on their opening pass at any speed in a class C or higher sanctioned tournament. If you are unsure, find the chief judge or the chief scorer at the tournament you are going to, they will be happy to help!
We consider you a novice until you complete a full scoring pass. By AWSA (American Water Ski Association) standards, this means scoring six full buoys at 15.5 mph or faster. |
How does the novice rule work?
Essentially, novice skiers receive one mulligan per round. A mulligan is defined as a fall or a missed buoy. So, if you miss your opening pass, don't worry, we'll give you another go! After the mulligan, the novice skier will receive a second pass through the slalom course in the opposite direction.
Novice skiers may start below AWSA scoring minimums of 15.5 mph (25 kph). Speeds below 15.5 mph will be as follows:
13.7 mph (22K)
11.8 mph (19K)
9.9 mph (16K)
8 mph (13K)
6.2 mph (10K)
4.3 mph (7K)
Novice skiers may start below AWSA scoring minimums of 15.5 mph (25 kph). Speeds below 15.5 mph will be as follows:
13.7 mph (22K)
11.8 mph (19K)
9.9 mph (16K)
8 mph (13K)
6.2 mph (10K)
4.3 mph (7K)
The Mini-Course is more my style, how does that work?
Novice skiers in Ohio have the opportunity to begin their competition round with the mini-course for their first two passes before they move to the regulation course. So if warming up in the mini-course is more your style, feel free to get your swerve on and then we will give you a shot at the regulation course with the mulligan option if you fall or miss a buoy on one of your passes in the regulation course. If a skier falls or misses a buoy in the mini-course, then that pass will not be considered their mulligan. After a skier’s second pass in the mini-course, the skier shall advance to the regulation course and may start at any speed or line length they choose.
The Mini-Course sounds interesting, what is that?
The mini-course shall be defined as the 1, 3, 5 red turn buoys on the right and the 2,4,6 yellow boat guide buoy(s) on the left. The boat driver shall make his best attempt to drive a straight path centered between the turn buoys on the right and the outer most boat guide buoy on the left. There are no start gates or end gates in the mini-course. The mini-course shall not score towards any AWSA ranking lists, however it will be scored toward overall standings in Ohio tournaments which utilize handicap scoring. **
** New Mini Course rules may be released soon.
** New Mini Course rules may be released soon.