06/08/2022
Second Annual North Carolina Night Slalom Challenge Cup!
Second Annual North Carolina Night Slalom Challenge Cup
- Friday July 1 (Round 1) and Saturday July 2 (Round 2, Semi-final, and Final) at Lake Magnolia
This is the second consecutive year of the NC night slalom competition and will be held at Lake Magnolia over the 4th of July Holiday weekend. This exhibition will be a competition that is intended to level the playing field for skiers of all levels and reward consistent performance. Lake Magnolia will be lit up like a stadium and ready for a great night of entertaining slalom competition. All the action will be live-streamed over Facebook. The winner will take home the “North Carolina night slalom challenge cup” with their name engraved for 2022. There will be a fireworks show to kickoff the final round of competition.
Registration is going live on USAWS soon and entries are limited to the first 24 skiers (up from 16 in 2021). IMPORTANT - if you want to reserve a spot, contact Dave Harris ASAP via phone, text or email (919-457-2317 or [email protected]). 12 spots are already reserved, so contact Dave soon. Current skier list:
Jim Boulanger (defending night slalom champ, who will dethrone him?)
Ari Grode
Lauren Grode
Johnny Thomas
Alex Kiser
Matt Bishop
Brody Thomas
Shirley Coble
Alex Cockrell
Landis Eller
Jackson Beman
Delaney Harris
1. We are running the event over two nights (Friday and Saturday) so that we can open the event to more skiers (24 this year). All skiers are guaranteed 2 rounds of night competition.
2. We will run a 24 skier first round on Friday night, 24 skier second round to kick-off Saturday night, then the semi-final will be 6 skiers who win their “group of 4” from the preliminary rounds (scores from round 1 and 2 are combined to determine the winner), and the final will be 2 skiers competing for the cup.
3. First round will be 6 groups of 4 skiers (grouped by AWSA ranking score as of 6/26/22). First round skiers will get a guaranteed 4 passes limited by 1 fall. First round will be scored by:
a. Total buoy count - Maximum score is 4 completed passes and will be scored as 24 buoys, skiers must advance speed or shorten rope after each completed pass
b. First tie-breaker - highest score for a completed pass - for example, one skier scores 24 buoys with a maximum completed pass of 28 off @ 34 mph, one skier scores 24 buoys with a maximum completed pass of 35 off @ 34 mph. The 35off skier wins the round. Maximum boat speed for gender or age will be scored equally. Zero-based scoring is in effect.
c. Second tie-breaker - first skier to leave the dock
4. Second round will be the same 6 groups of 4 skiers as the first round. Second round skiers are guaranteed 3 passes limited by 1 fall. If skiers successfully complete their 3rd pass, they are eligible to ski a 4th pass to increase their total score. Scoring is the same as the first round. Total score to determine the winner of each group for advancement to the semi-finals will be a combination of the first and second round scores.
a. First tie-breaker for advancement to semi-final - highest score for a completed pass during the second round
b. Second tie-breaker for advancement to semi-final - first skier to leave the dock
5. Semi-final will be the 6 skiers that won their preliminary round groupings. Semi-final skiers will start their round 12 buoys (2 passes) prior to their maximum completed pass from the second round. For example, a skier completes a pass at 32 off @ 34 mph, but skis 4 buoys at 35 off. The skier will start the semi-final at 28 off @ 34 mph. No guaranteed number of passes. No falls. Skiers only advance to a second pass if they successfully complete the preceding pass. Scoring will be the same as the preliminary rounds: total buoy count, first tie-breaker - highest score, second tie-breaker - first skier off the dock.
6. Final will be the 2 best scoring skiers from the semi-final. Final round skiers will start their round 6 buoys (1 pass) prior their maximum completed pass from the first round. No guaranteed passes. No falls. Skiers only advance to a second pass if they complete the preceding pass. Scoring will be the same as the first round and the semi-final round.
7. Skiing will begin at 8:30pm on both nights. We will only run a final round if we can begin the round prior to 11pm. If we do not have time for the finals, the winner will be declared based upon the best score from the semi-finals.
8. Registration is first-come, first served. We will take first 24 skiers to sign up.
9. Night Challenge Cup registration = $60 per skier
10. Practice - there will be NO night practice. However, Lake Magnolia will be open for daytime practice on Friday, 1 July from 2pm until 6pm. Practice will allow a maximum of 4 passes per skier for $25.
11. RV parking with power is limited. We can support 10 total RV’s with power. More can be parked, but will not have power supplied. RV parking with power is $30 per day. Contact Dave Harris ASAP if you wish to reserve a spot (919-457-2317 or [email protected]).
12. A separate daytime 3 round slalom is being held this same weekend. 2 rounds on Saturday and 1 round on Sunday. See the USAWS website for details and registration.
Please contact Dave Harris with questions and your intent to ski in either practice or the challenge cup or both. Dave - [email protected] or 919-457-2317
