2003 World Championships Test Tournament Successful
by Bob Corson, Chairman, IWSF Tournament Council
On the weekend of May 4-5, 2002, the Swiss Spring Open was held on Lake Denise
at the Swiss Ski School. It was the first tournament held on this lake which is the
site of the 2003 World Championships. It served as a test tournament to shake
out the bugs and determine what minor adjustments might be made.
By all accounts, the tournament was a great success. The skiers remarked that
the water was slow and excellent for slalom.
One problem noted was that currently central Florida is in a severe drought
and the water level of the lake is approximately 1.5 m (5 ft) lower than its
normal level. If it appears there will be a drought next year as well, water will
be pumped in to raise the level according to the organizers. An additional
1.5m of depth should widen the lake also by perhaps 7-8 m (20 ft) on each
side.
The lake length seemed satisfactory. As you can see in the videos, recently
completed excavation widened the far end of the lake for the jump course.
There is also a cove in the jump landing area to provide plenty of width
there.
The permanent judges stand for the World Championships has not yet been
constructed, but will be in the Golf Course side (jump landing side) in
the vicinity of the jump.
The results of the tournament are posted in the tournament area of iwsf.com.
Results
Michael McCormick, the top rated skier there, ran 4@11.25m in slalom,
tricked 9240, and jumped 60.5m (199ft). He felt that there was lots of
room for improvement in these scores and felt that quite high scores
could be obtained on this site.
There are several videos shown here to give a good look at the site
as it currently is. The videos have been optimized for 56K modem
transmission. The Real Video player is required. Note the time display
on the video for elapsed times.
First pass of slalom from the starting dock
2nd pass of slalom from the far end
First pass of slalom from the starting dock
(different view)
First pass of slalom view from the starting dock
First pass of tricks from the starting dock
2nd pass of tricks from the far end
Panorama of jump course from far end showing
cut balls (210-180-150) and the boat path up the lake
Boat path and jump for Gary Knight with a tailwind.
Distance 54.6m (179ft) - jump start dock shown at the end
Jump shown from the other end coming towards the camera