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Make it Happen....
How you can get
involved with the Sport you love. by Derek
Koch
My name is Derek Koch, (last name is pronounced cook). I have been 3-event barefooting since 1989. I attended my first
US Nationals in 1993, and I haven’t missed one since. My parents got into the administrative portion of Barefooting as soon as they realized how much I loved the sport.
I am in a position where I get to eat, sleep, breath, and
even participate in the sport that I love. I get to help make the decisions that effect hundreds of Barefooters every year.
I want to share with you some of the important roles that we are always
looking for volunteers to fill (both skier and non-skier) that enable
the ABC to run a successful barefooting event. I'll do this by
telling a story of how I began my participation:
Back in the day, I had my first official position as a
“Timer”. This was before the invention of auto timers, so they would take the youngsters, and give them a stopwatch. We had a few different rules at the time, so you really had to be on the ball when watching a skier. We had to start when the skier started, or when they got through what we called the
mandatory start balls at the time. We had to watch the timer, and yell “Time!” at 15 seconds.
This technique was a little less accurate than the majority rule auto timers that we have today.
Here
Comes the JUDGE
After
several years of timing, I was old enough to start judging. As a kid I spent hours reading the rulebooks, and memorizing the short hand. The fact that I spent my entire summers skiing with Jon
Kretchman, and seeing all sorts of the best skiers in the world helped out quite a bit.
I’ll never forget the time that Jon had a Senior Judge named Joe Knapp come out in the boat to critique his skiing before the ’94 World Championships in England. After his first front Slalom Pass Jon got back in the boat and asked how he did, I piped up, and said that it was a 7.5. Jon looked at me in disgust, and said, “No way, that was at least an 8
pace.” I said; “ I know, but you were down early on your 3rd crossing.” Jon looked at Joe, and Joe said with a little amazement, “He is right you know.” I’ll never forget the look on Jon’s face. It was that point that they realized that I had been paying attention all these years. I was never a timer again. Joe had me in a boat crew for every tournament after that.
After many years of Judging, I have continued to
upgrade my ratings to the point that I am able to Judge at a US Nationals. I love doing this because I get to see Champions being made. I judged two
Nationals before I was noticed enough to be placed in the Open, and Open Pro Judging Crew for the first time in 2003. I got to witness skiers at the top of their Game. I was in the boat crew when my roommate, and long time friend Keith St. Onge set a pending world record in tricks. Your abilities to judge are watched by the “higher ups”. I have won 5 gold medals at the Nationals, and to this date my most memorable Nationals moment was when Dale Stevens asked me to join him in the Team Trials boat crew for the trick event. I got to judge the best skiers in the nation competing for a spot on the US Team, and I loved it! I would not have given that up for the
world. In fact I had to take a the red-eye flight home that night
from California to Florida just to have the opportunity.
You don’t have to be a great skier to know if somebody did something right or wrong. You just have to know what to look for. As a judge I have spent many hours in the hot sun watching, and judging. As a judge you have one of the most important jobs, because you decide weather or not somebody is going home with a title, or just going home. You have to be accurate, because skiers know if something is supposed to be credited or not. You have to stand by your opinion, and when somebody approaches you after the event is over questioning what you saw, you have to give an explanation of what happened, and tell them what they need to do in the future to clean up their pass. You have to stick to your opinion, because believe me, if you make a mistake your fellow judges will let you know. You have to listen to your fellow judges, because there will always be things that you can improve on, just like your skiing. Just like it is quite important as a skier to listen to the judge, because they see things in your skiing that you will never see by watching videotape.
As a Judge you have to determine weather or not a trick was completed
properly. If a person doesn’t take three steps on the dock before doing a front flier, then you have to be the one that says that that trick was not credited. You have to watch quite closely to see if a skier doing multiple turns hitches after their 540 going into their 720. You have to determine this in a split second, especially in this case, because if they are doing a 720 you can bet that there is another multiple turn coming right after. You have to say that this particular trick was a broken 720, and tell the scorer where the skier hitched, because the skier would get credit for the initial 540, but according to the rotation rule, the 180 is not credited. You have to determine which way the skier is turning by noting it on the score sheet with a dot on either the left, or the right hand side of the symbol. If that isn’t enough to make your brain fry, you have to consider that we are doing this in a boat going 40
- 46 miles per hour!
I
would have skied better if it wasn't for that Darn DRIVER
In the boat, everyone has his or her specific job, each as important as the last.
But we all know who gets blamed the most for poor skiing. It's always
the darn Driver. The driver has one of the most difficult jobs. Have you ever been to a tournament where the driver isn’t cursed out on the starting dock for not pulling a correct path, or giving to hot of a
pull when a medium pull was called for? My fellow skiers like Joey Erickson, and Nikki Soubliere have taken to driving. They can hear the engine, and determine what types of corrections to make, and they are confident enough to sit in the driver seat, and give the skier what they asked for. As drivers, they are also ok with letting the judges know that they screwed up. Although it is rare for a rated driver to screw up, they do, and you can bet that they don’t make the same mistake again. Their ability to feel the boat, and even the skier is uncanny. They have the natural ability to drive a straight line, and to tell what a skier is looking for. A new skier may need something like a Medium out of the Hole, a Slow over the roller, and a Fast up to the correct speed. They can pull the skier off the dock, give them the correct pull, take them up the proper speed, and do all of this while pulling the skier like an arrow down the course. I myself don’t have the intestinal fortitude to handle something like this, so I leave driving tournaments up to them.
What
does this chicken scratch say? Better get the SCORER
My parents, Doug, and Pat Koch have always taken the role of Scorer. They are, and were at one-point teachers, so numbers are their
thing. They have the ability to sit in a tent, away from all of the action, and crunch numbers. I myself am a rated scorer, but I get to antsy sitting in a tent tallying up scores, and trying to figure out what the heck the judges are trying to say on their score sheets.
Pat and Doug love this job, because they are the first to know who took what title, and they get the most opportunity to be
social with the skiers. They take all three score sheets, and a rulebook to figure out majority rule on all of the judges score sheets. If two people down-grade a trick to a butt out, and one person says that it was a feet to feet turn, they have to say that two judges over rule the last, and that skier gets down-graded. The scorer’s tent can be a source of the most tension on a tournament site. Having skiers come up all day asking to see their score sheets while trying to figure out
other's scores can wear on a Scorer's nerves. Scorers need to be a full active members of USA Waterski to maintain their rating!
I
cut my foot! Help, get the SAFETY DIRECTOR!
The Safety Director is quite important in that he is responsible for everyone’s safety, and well being on site. Rick Soubliere is one of our Safety Directors, and is
very good at it.. He checks out the tournament site for potential hazards before the event begins, and removes dangers, and obstacles that people could
get hurt on. The safety Director has many levels of development. These levels of safety determine what type of tournament that they can officiate. A
US Nationals will have more skiers, so that Safety Director has to have a higher level of commitment. The Safety Director is responsible to give the proper handling, and treatment of any injured skier. If a skier goes to the hospital, the Safety director makes sure a skier gets the proper care, and that the proper paperwork is filled out so that the skier gets the proper secondary insurance through USA
Waterski.
What
the heck is a HOMOLOGATOR.
Finally,
a Homologator is required for all Class L and above tournaments. The homologator needs
to know the specific measurements for everything. This person measures
all of the Jump & Slalom Ropes and Handles. They also make sure that the
Jump course in laid out properly and jump buoys are positioned correctly
and measured to specification. A major tournament can’t begin without the Homologators
sign-off. People that would make good homologators are very meticulous and
have an acute attention to details. If you've ever been accused of
being anal about numbers and measurements, you might be a Homologator at
heart.
So
what are YOU waiting on - Get out to a Tournament!
The easiest way to get into the sport is to attend barefoot tournaments. You can get a listing of every barefoot event at
http://www.usaws.net/public/default.htm.
This is where you will find the option to either apply for a tournament sanction, or look at the tournament
schedules. You can find barefoot tournaments of all types, and classes. If you are into 3-event
barefooting, endurance skiing, barefoot racing, or if you are a college student looking for a collegiate tournament, you can find barefooting in all shapes, and sizes.
Attend a tournament, and even if you feel up to it, ski in that tournament. There are plenty of people there to tell you the rules of the event. I assure you that you will find someone that is willing to explain everything, and answer all your questions. If you are intrigued with officiating, you will be pleased to know that there are entry-level positions available that may suit
you perfectly. We need officials to run tournaments, so your support may be more needed than you think.
If you hang around the sport for as long as my family has, you may be nominated to a position in the field of decision-making.
For instance, I now work at USA Waterski sanctioning, and approving tournaments at a national
level and I'm also the Southern Region’s Executive Director. I get to sit in on board meetings, and vote on the most important
issues surrounding the sport we all love. It really is a great feeling
knowing that your opinion could create policy. I am also on the Team Select committee, and it is my duty to pay attention to the best skiers in the nation. I know the Pro skiers on a personal basis, so that makes the job a little easier, but now when I ask them how they are skiing, it is
for business reasons as well as personal.
To be administrative in this sport is a great feeling. All of the effort is well worth the admiration you get from your piers, and loved ones. There really is nothing like helping
run a sport you love. So, what are you waiting on?
After
several years of timing, I was old enough to start judging. As a kid I spent hours reading the rulebooks, and memorizing the short hand. The fact that I spent my entire summers skiing with Jon
Kretchman, and seeing all sorts of the best skiers in the world helped out quite a bit.
I’ll never forget the time that Jon had a Senior Judge named Joe Knapp come out in the boat to critique his skiing before the ’94 World Championships in England. After his first front Slalom Pass Jon got back in the boat and asked how he did, I piped up, and said that it was a 7.5. Jon looked at me in disgust, and said, “No way, that was at least an 8
pace.” I said; “ I know, but you were down early on your 3rd crossing.” Jon looked at Joe, and Joe said with a little amazement, “He is right you know.” I’ll never forget the look on Jon’s face. It was that point that they realized that I had been paying attention all these years. I was never a timer again. Joe had me in a boat crew for every tournament after that.
You don’t have to be a great skier to know if somebody did something right or wrong. You just have to know what to look for. As a judge I have spent many hours in the hot sun watching, and judging. As a judge you have one of the most important jobs, because you decide weather or not somebody is going home with a title, or just going home. You have to be accurate, because skiers know if something is supposed to be credited or not. You have to stand by your opinion, and when somebody approaches you after the event is over questioning what you saw, you have to give an explanation of what happened, and tell them what they need to do in the future to clean up their pass. You have to stick to your opinion, because believe me, if you make a mistake your fellow judges will let you know. You have to listen to your fellow judges, because there will always be things that you can improve on, just like your skiing. Just like it is quite important as a skier to listen to the judge, because they see things in your skiing that you will never see by watching videotape. 
In the boat, everyone has his or her specific job, each as important as the last.
But we all know who gets blamed the most for poor skiing. It's always
the darn Driver. The driver has one of the most difficult jobs. Have you ever been to a tournament where the driver isn’t cursed out on the starting dock for not pulling a correct path, or giving to hot of a
pull when a medium pull was called for? My fellow skiers like Joey Erickson, and Nikki Soubliere have taken to driving. They can hear the engine, and determine what types of corrections to make, and they are confident enough to sit in the driver seat, and give the skier what they asked for. As drivers, they are also ok with letting the judges know that they screwed up. Although it is rare for a rated driver to screw up, they do, and you can bet that they don’t make the same mistake again. Their ability to feel the boat, and even the skier is uncanny. They have the natural ability to drive a straight line, and to tell what a skier is looking for. A new skier may need something like a Medium out of the Hole, a Slow over the roller, and a Fast up to the correct speed. They can pull the skier off the dock, give them the correct pull, take them up the proper speed, and do all of this while pulling the skier like an arrow down the course. I myself don’t have the intestinal fortitude to handle something like this, so I leave driving tournaments up to them.
My parents, Doug, and Pat Koch have always taken the role of Scorer. They are, and were at one-point teachers, so numbers are their
thing. They have the ability to sit in a tent, away from all of the action, and crunch numbers. I myself am a rated scorer, but I get to antsy sitting in a tent tallying up scores, and trying to figure out what the heck the judges are trying to say on their score sheets.
Pat and Doug love this job, because they are the first to know who took what title, and they get the most opportunity to be
social with the skiers. They take all three score sheets, and a rulebook to figure out majority rule on all of the judges score sheets. If two people down-grade a trick to a butt out, and one person says that it was a feet to feet turn, they have to say that two judges over rule the last, and that skier gets down-graded. The scorer’s tent can be a source of the most tension on a tournament site. Having skiers come up all day asking to see their score sheets while trying to figure out
other's scores can wear on a Scorer's nerves. Scorers need to be a full active members of USA Waterski to maintain their rating!
The Safety Director is quite important in that he is responsible for everyone’s safety, and well being on site. Rick Soubliere is one of our Safety Directors, and is
very good at it.. He checks out the tournament site for potential hazards before the event begins, and removes dangers, and obstacles that people could
get hurt on. The safety Director has many levels of development. These levels of safety determine what type of tournament that they can officiate. A
US Nationals will have more skiers, so that Safety Director has to have a higher level of commitment. The Safety Director is responsible to give the proper handling, and treatment of any injured skier. If a skier goes to the hospital, the Safety director makes sure a skier gets the proper care, and that the proper paperwork is filled out so that the skier gets the proper secondary insurance through USA
Waterski.
Finally,
a Homologator is required for all Class L and above tournaments. The homologator needs
to know the specific measurements for everything. This person measures
all of the Jump & Slalom Ropes and Handles. They also make sure that the
Jump course in laid out properly and jump buoys are positioned correctly
and measured to specification. A major tournament can’t begin without the Homologators
sign-off. People that would make good homologators are very meticulous and
have an acute attention to details. If you've ever been accused of
being anal about numbers and measurements, you might be a Homologator at
heart.