IWSF TC Issue

IWSF Tournament Council Issue: 547
boats for the World Junior Championships
Date Opened 2018-05-10
Date Closed 2019-09-01
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Here is the issue


Correct Craft has written Jose Antonio requesting that the 2019 Ski Nautique be used at the World Junior Championships.  They cite that they are no longer manufacturing the 2018 model.  As part of the requirement that only approved boats be used, they immediately requested that the boat be tested.  Today I have received the results of those tests which are at this address:
http://www.iwsf.com/iwsftc/2018/USA%20Towboat%20Tests%20Nautique%202019.pdf

We are at the notification deadline for the boat details which are included in the report.
Jose Antonio has tasked the TC to handle this.
Apparently there is already one of the new 2019 boats at the World Juniors site in Sesena.
I will email Correct Craft to ask their plan for boat availability.

Also, as you can see in the report, there are rule issues that can be addressed.

Comment and discuss:
-------------------------------------------
2018-05-11
Christophe Duverger comments: Do we really have a choice!!!  People in most of the places  in Europe have already purchased there boat for the season, and I only know one place in Europe so far who has the 2019 model! It will be hard to train with this 2019 model ... to be fair for everybody we should have the 2018 model! But like always I am sure 2019 model will be use and it will be again a big advantage for people who train in America and specially in Florida .... the junior worlds is a world event that bellongs to all of us not just a boat companie...
2018-05-11
Felix Loreto has read the issue and has no comment
2018-05-11
Nigel Talamo comments: Christophe has presented a very strong case. With the new boat being so fundamentally different to the current model, most athletes will only have their short familiarisation window to try to get the best from the new model. Trick skiers would be most impacted by all the new variables. Until the 2019 model is more widely available around the world, I support the motion that the current (2018) boat be used. 
2018-05-11
Candido Moz comments: Just to add some information:
Boat company contract:
art. 2.1.2      
For waterski events, provide the use of two fully prepared Ski Nautique 200 (OB or CB) or equivalent tournament tow boats with trailers at no cost. Boats and trailers will be on loan and will be returned to Correct Craft at the conclusion of each of the relevant events. Minimum specification to be: Two Ski Nautique 200 (OB and/or CB) or equivalent.

Greg Meloon E-mail 
……………….., 
…………………….., support of the Waterski events is done at Nautique Boat Company and we will be able to provide you the most direct support.  Brian Sullivan has been in communication with Paul about the boats we intend to supply to this years events per our contract and the description provided to IWWF for inclusion in the documentation for the upcoming World Championship Tournaments should refer to the Ski Nautique. The Ski Nautique 200 is in its final days of production (with limited availability) as the new Ski Nautique model is increasing production rate.

Brian Sullivant E-mail
Hello ............., 
It was a pleasure speaking with you today. We are very excited to see what the new Ski Nautique brings to the three event world this year. 
I am officially writing you today to let you know that we plan on towing the 2018 U17 and O35 Worlds with the new 2019 Ski Nautique. This will be the case as long as it is officially approved by USAWS. I have already spoke to Will Bush regarding setting up testing of the new Ski Nautique, which will take place on or approximately on the week of April 30th. We will be testing the 2029 Ski Nautique with a H6 (6.2L). We will test the three and four blade props.
I addition, we will be pulling the 2018 Masters LCQ and the Masters event with the new Ski Nautique.

IWWF Rules
10.01: General Boat Description 
e)	A maximum of 4 different makes and models of boats shall be chosen from among those boats approved by the IWWF Tournament Council in accordance with the obligations. A minimum of two identical boats must be made available for each make and model chosen. The IWWF Tournament Council and the IWWF Federations shall be notified of the choice of boats at least 6 months before the start of the tournament and which boat shall pull each event 3 months before the start of the tournament. Full information (engine size, prop pitch, etc.) on each boat shall be published a minimum of 3 months before the start of the tournament. 

They have announced the Makes 6 months before (Nautique), and more than 3 months before the championships they have announced full information (2019 Model, engine etc....)

I really don\'t think we have an option, Nautique will provide two 2019 boats for Sesena and for Chile.
What we can do is try to give to skier more training time.



2018-05-11
Glen Williams comments: It’s hard for us to stand in the way of progress and Nautique are the major sponsor of the iwwf so we must support them . However we must also be careful to make sure rules are followed . 
In terms of fairness I agree with Nigel and Christopher . There is not a single 2019 nautique in NZ and despite our dealer requesting one they will not be here until September . This gives a huge advantage to Florida based skiers . As far as making 2 available for training on site in Spain that is great , however when the nz team went to book on site training last November all that was available was 3 hours on lake 2 on the 30th of July . My point is it will only be the federations that booked training well in advance that get an opportunity to train behind the 2019 in Spain . 

2018-05-12
Gill Hill has read the issue and has no comment
2018-05-12
Jacinta Carroll comments: Hi All,
Obviously some of you may take my comments with a grain of salt given that I am a Nautique sponsored athlete.
The way I see it is Nautique is by far the best supporter of tournament waterskiing. They invest into the tournament seen heavily and shouldnt be looked down upon by trying to produce a product that will take skiing to the next level. If this means using a new model boat then we do it. We must support the companies which support us. And Nautique is doing that far more than MASTERCRAFT and MALIBU.
Regarding training time and unavailability of boats world wide - i know this is an issue. It does once again favour those athletes based in florida. Personally I get it! I remember training behind the 196 for years as I didnt have the option of a 200.
The hydrogate has 10 levels - if according to the other discussion board the rules dont change for jump prior to the junior worlds and only level 1 or 10 can be selected than these settings are very similar to the 200 in full slalom or jump mode
I have not tested slalom or trick so cant make comment on these at the present time.
At the end of the day the 2019 Ski Nautique should be used and promoted at the junior worlds in respect to the company who gives back to our sport. 
Glen - maybe a discussion with Ricardio could be had regarding the countries who do not have access to the 2019 Ski Nautique and getting some test time ??
Just a thought.

2018-05-12
Dimos Alexopoulos comments: I am afraid that there is not much we can do about the use of the 2019 Nautique at Sesena, as the rule 10.01 was followed 
What we CAN DO to provide equal chances to all the skiers worldwide is to change (for the future) some of the time frame issues like the art 10.01 from 6 months to 12 or 18 months. The same could apply for other technology improvements, like new versions of ZO etc. But all these changes can be discussed in another moment. For now Christophe and Nigel are correct, during this junior Worlds there will be no equality concerning the preparation of the skiers between different continents...
2018-05-15
Geoffrey Kee has read the issue and has no comment
2018-05-16
Hannu Rintanen has read the issue and has no comment
2018-05-17
Paul Fong has read the issue and has no comment
2018-05-18
Bruce Cockburn comments: As we will have the new 2019 Nautique as the boat at the Junior Worlds 
and as this boat has a lot of new tech we will need to adjust our rules to accommodate
this new tech
At the LCQ and US Masters they are applying rules supplied by the AWSA Rules Committee
In this document they have some settings that are not allowed under IWWF rules
These are setting the hydrogate at halfway rule 10.09 and allowing the skier to add or subtract the ballast by 25%
I believe we need to state what if any changes we are going to make to our rules because of the many options available with this boat 
This needs to be done soon so skiers are not disadvantaged

As the US is applying these setting I think we should consider changing our rules to allow them to be used World wide 

2018-05-18
Bob Corson comments: AWSA has been working the details of the new features.  Here is what they have said do far:
\"The AWSA Rules Committee has had a lot of discussion regarding the 2019 Nautique.  We want to get these adaptations to the current rules out so that there is a smooth transition especially for the upcoming two tournaments.

Currently we appreciate the immense effort that all of these changes took to develop; we will need to limit the options that are available with the new Nautique. Our skiers have not been able to try out the options nor understand them. We would feel better if they had one season to focus on how to use what is offered. We will allow a few changes so that we can gather feedback and also allow our skiers to test out the changes. If there are more options that skiers feel they need, we can give that information to the Towboat Committee for the boat test at the end of the year.


SLALOM: No issues, but NO RERIDES for a setting different than requested, as long as the adjustment for the line length is within the Matrix provided by the company.

JUMP: The default setting is Jump mode (10). The Hydrogate may be adjusted to a setting of slalom mode (0), Halfway (5), or jump mode (10). 

TRICK: The default setting is Trick mode (10). The Hydrogate may be adjusted to a setting of slalom mode (0), Halfway (5), or jump mode (10). 

BALLAST SYSTEM: If equipped the ballast system starting level can be determined by the LOC. The skier may then adjust the ballast by +/- 25% before the first pass. The skier may select +/- 25% for their 2nd pass based on their first selection but not more that 25% over the original LOC limit. There will be no adjustment during a pass. The skier will not receive a reride for any skier selected ballast adjustments.

Recommendations regarding Hydrogate settings not used: It would be preferable to \"hide\" all the other settings in a tournament mode so that they are not available and no mistakes could be made by the driver. Would keeping 0,5,10 be a more acceptable option than 1,2,3 so that it aligns with a recreational mode?
As you can imagine this is complicated.  We would recommend these changes in the interim so that when we get to boat tests in the fall all of us will have more information to make the decisions that best affect our skiers.
Thank you again for your continued support of three event skiing and tournament water skiing.
Please feel free to contact me for more information.  We have been working very closely with Will Bush as Towboat Committee for guidance.
Richelle Muhlitner
AWSA Rules Chair

2018-05-19
Candido Moz comments: I\'m at the LCQ been in the boat for slalom and will be in the boat for Jump, we are using the proposed rules. Nautique people set the boat as per the descriptions above so no mistake are possible. For Slalom looks good and easy everything is automatic.
I will let you know for Jump.
2018-05-20
Paul Fong has read the issue and has no comment
Replied
Christophe Duverger - Commented
Felix Loreto - Commented
Nigel Talamo - Commented
Candido Moz - Commented
Glen Williams - Commented
Gill Hill - Commented
Jacinta Carroll - Commented
Dimos Alexopoulos - Commented
Geoffrey Kee - Commented
Hannu Rintanen - Commented
Paul Fong - Commented
Bruce Cockburn - Commented
Bob Corson - Commented
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