Slalom Challenge: 
More Challenging Than We Thought
By Paul Jurbala

The OWSA's Slalom Challenge was the major new program unveiled for
1996. Based on the identified need for easy access to fun competition
and skill development, and on the runaway success of 3F' or fun-class
slalom tournaments in the United States, we expected Slalom Challenge
to be a big hit with skiers who had either stopped competing or weren't
quite sure they were ready to compete.

The concept was simple.  Any OWSA regular member could register for
Slalom Challenge at a host ski site (there were 11 ski clubs and
schools across Ontario) for $10. Then he or she could practice his
slalom skills and get coaching for the normal fee that site charged. At
the end of the summer a big novice slalom tournament (Slalom Challenge
Championship) would allow participants to try out their skills in a fun
competition setting, with a chance to win a slalom ski. The best
results would be printed in Ontario Water Skier magazine to ensure
bragging rights.

The sites enthusiastically embraced the program, as it was intended to
bring them business at no cost to themselves. For the association, the
program was intended to create a talent identification and
competition-exposure program, which could naturally lead to
participation in sanctioned tournaments. The sponsors liked it too.
Mercury Marine, Duvall, O'Brien and Connelly all agreed to come on
board. Slalom Challenge brought the only response to the volunteer
want-ads listed in the Spring 1996 Ontario Water Skier and Vince
Bonnici of Toronto, who works in marketing at Petro-Canada, stepped
forward to become the Slalom Challenge Coordinator. The skiers,
however, remained uncommitted.

By the time of the Slalom Challenge Championship, held at Bond Lake on
August 24, it was plain that the droves of rabid slalom skiers who were
expected to descend on the host sites had not materialized.

There appear to be several reasons for this: first, Slalom Challenge
was a totally new concept, and many hosts were not entirely sure what
to make of it despite the written and verbal instructions given to them
(and, to be fair, there were some first-time  bugs); second, there was
not enough advertising of the program to skiers who are not part of the
OWSA; third, the hosts did not have enough incentive to push the
program to their own members/customers.

At the tournament, however, the skiers who did take part had a great
time. Bond Lake was at its best on an ideal day for slalom skiing, and
Paul Roberts worked to create a format which would challenge the skiers
while giving everybody ample ski time for their entry fee. There were
Novice, Intermediate and Expert divisions.  Novice skiers got 6 passes
of the course without entry gates.  Intermediate skiers added the
gates, and had to complete a pass to move up in speed.  Both Novice and
Intermediate skiers could accumulated buoys, even if they fell on a
previous pass.

Expert skiers followed normal tournament rules except they were allowed
one fall per round. It turned out to be a flexible format which
encouraged the skiers to keep trying.

In the end, 14 competitors had a crack at the Bond Lake slalom course,
and over half set personal bests. Gary Gray took the Novice division
with 42 buoys (best pass 3 @ 49 km/h, 30 mph), Graham Allen the
Intermediate with 3.5 @ 58 km/h (36 mph), and Warren Hing the Expert
with 4 @ 55 km/h, 13 m (34 mph, 32' off). Then, in the ski draw, Steve
McWilliam of MacTier won a beautiful Duvall 1050S slalom.

Thanks to all the host sites, skiers, and sponsors Mercury Marine,
O'Brien, Duvall, and Connelly. Bigger and better next year!

1996 SLALOM CHALLENGE CHALLENGERS

Name	Ski Site	Best Performance
Allen, Graham		Dave Hueson site	4 @ 55 km/h, 18.25 m rope
Collins, Stephen 	McClintock's 		
Dennis, Edith		McClintock's		2.5 @ 49 km/h, 18.25 m
Ewart, Dustin		Rini Ski School
Gray, Gary		Bush's WS Centre	3 @ 49 km/h, 18.25 m
Grinell, Ryan		Bond Lake WS Club	3 @ 55 km/h, 18.25 m
Hing, Warren		Bond Lake WS Club	4 @ 55 km/h, 13 m
Holden, Doug		Bush's WS Centre	3.5 @ 58 km/h, 18.25 m
Kramer, Mike		Rini Ski School		4 @ 58 km/h, 16 m
Levy, Allan		Bond Lake WS Club	2 @ 52 km/h, 18.25 m
McWillian, Steve	Bond Lake WS Club	1 @ 58 km/h, 14.25 m 
Miller, Patrick		Kawartha WS Club	6 @ 49 km/h, 18.25 m
Pegg, Matt		Bond Lake WS Club	3 @ 49 km/h, 18.25 m 
Stungevicius, Jon	McClintock's		6 @ 52 km/h, 18.25 m
Thorne, Sharon		Kawartha WS Club	6 @ 49 km/h, 18.25 m (half-course)
Tomingas, Andrew	Bond Lake WS Club	3 @ 49 km/h, 18.25 m