IWWF Rule Exception Request
I wanted to share notes from the AWSA winter meeting on Saturday, January 29, 2022. There was a long conversation about IWWF rules and an exception request that is being promoted for L or R events. The IWWF representative is hoping to see tournament LOCs request to allow Slalom and Jump skiers to select the boat of their choice. This in reality aligns with how trick skiers have an option and was proposed but rejected by the IWWF. There are a variety of ways to administer this and feedback on how it was handled would be appreciated. The rules exception cannot be used at Regionals, Nationals or title events, but should be a real benefit for many of our skiers, especially those that spend a majority of their time behind a particular boat. I support this move and hope all event sponsors will include this request. I want to caution LOCs to include the request in their sanction as it will not be approved after the event.
We were also alerted that availability of boats has already been a voiced concern. It seems promotional boats are not going to be as prevalent as we have enjoyed in the past. For this reason, reach out to your area boat providers early to insure you don't get caught without boats you are expecting to be used. Within the rules approved boat definitions, older boats can be used in tournaments and may be a needed resource for some events.
Update on the IWWF License
The IWWF license has created some coding and utilization issues for AWSA administrators and skiers. The problem has been addressed by restricting AWSA purchased license to only the annual $25 license which can be used at all L or R events through the 2022 calendar year. The OLR will review the existence and downgrade any entry to E events if the license is not currently attached to the skier's profile and account.
For our Trick Skiers
There is a change in the rules that impacts our trick skiers skiing in E events. There will not be a "practice fall" in tricks starting this year. A practice fall will result in loss of the upcoming pass in tricks. This rule change doesn't impact a fall out of course identified as a driver error, a tournament supplied equipment problem or other non-skier related issue.
The number of flips scored in E, L or R events will be limited to 6 flips. This changes aligns with current IWWF rules and should have limited impact on our top skiers. These changes do not impact Class C events.
For TCs in Jump
This change really has no impact on existing jump ramps, but the vocabulary in the rule defining the tolerance for acceptable dish in the ramp has been revised to 2.5cm. This actually reverts to easier to comply with surface expectations and won't change those ramps that have been approved for past tournaments.
Many of the items related to technical requirements and tolerances for tournaments have been moved to IWWF rules so that a single source for the changes and updates is more easily accessible and will not require multiple sources when changes are approved. Examples of these items include buoy sizes and colors, rope specifications and ramp details.
Watch for posting on the new AWSA and IWWF rulebooks which should be compiled and posted by March 2022 if all goes well.
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