Table Of Content

55 ttiippss Get that end-of-season PB p.64 TM nneexxtt yyeeaarr’’ss ggeeaarr Sneak peek, nnooww p.26 bbuuyyeerr bbeewwaarree 7 red flags when purchasing a used boat, p.78 THOMAS DEGASPERI 9 skiers changing everything From how you’ll ski to + where you’ll live, p.58 • Ski France • Best used boats • The toughest event • 4 slalom WINTER 2006 Volume 28 Issue 8 course fixes www.waterskimag.com U.S. $4.99 CAN. $5.99 DISPLAY UNTIL 12/26/06 WINTER 2006 • VOLUME 28 ISSUE 8 THIS PAGE: When Jamie Beauchesne’s not slaying buoys, you’ll fi nd him on his bike in the mountains of New Hampshire. Photo Karl Stone COVER: Could Thomas Degasperi be the next big thing in men’s slalom? We think he’s well on his way. Photo Thomas Gustafson DEPARTMENTS FEATURES 10 From the Dock 64 InSlalom 36 Sets A summer to remember 5 ways to ski your PB before the season Jodi Fisher shows his sponsors some love ends. Plus, how to keep your slalom course and his competitors what he’s made of. 12 BackWash up and running. 44 The World’s Next Big Skier Huey Lewis’ hidden affection for the slalom course. 72 OnBoard By Chris Tauber Why you should invest in a trampoline this Find out why Thomas Degasperi is poised 16 Shortlines winter. to become the next big thing in slalom. Our fi rst-ever Best of Clubs Awards. Plus, blueprints for a water-ski stadium and a 76 OverDrive 50 The French Connection chat with USAWS’s new head honcho. How Keith St. Ogne broke the world slalom By Todd Ristorcelli barefoot record — offi cially. A ski expedition through fi ve of France’s 26 Gear great ski sites reveals that the love of ski- 78 2007 product buzz InBoard ing is universal. Don’t shop for a used boat without these 28 Core tips from inboard expert Bubba Beck. 58 9 Skiers Who Are Changing Everything With a recent world record in the women’s trick event, Mandy Nightingale is fi red up 90 End of the Line By Adrienne Brice and Chris Tauber more than ever to make her mark as an Did you see the size of that skier’s head? Meet the skiers who are shaping the world overall skier. Plus, what’s the toughest you ski in — from the gear you use to the event? boats you drive to the places you live. 8 W I N T E R 2 0 0 6 FromTheDock Todd Ristorcelli EDITOR Adrienne Brice ASSOCIATE EDITOR Rob Stave ART DIRECTOR Tom James EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Bill Doster STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER/PHOTO EDITOR Chris Tauber, Darren Wendroff SENIOR WRITERS Kathleen M. Kiely COPY CHIEF Matthew E. Miller COPY EDITOR Jeremy Serkin ONLINE EDITOR Natalie Angley, Rachel Bayne, Lew Beck, Marcus Brown, Steve Cockeram, Bob Corson, Thomas Gustafson, Trent Finlayson, Ravi Jain, Tom King, Meridith Kohut, Paul MacDonald, Bryan Myss, Francois Robineau, Kyle Schmidt, Will Shilling, Seth Stisher, Chris Sullivan, Tim Walker CONTRIBUTORS Kristin Davis INTERN Patti Hall PRODUCTION MANAGER Alison Dobesh Club Nautique du Gatinais ADVERTISING TRAFFIC MANAGER 407-571-4740; FAX: 407-571-4741 Nemours, France ORCELLI MoniAcaD AVlEbReSrTutaIz,S aSInNhnaGen Dn OoEnbS IeMGrehNno dDltiIszR,e JEroChTnO DRigsby, T. RIST PRODWUeCndTyI OCNre AnRneTrI STS John McEver PUBLISHER Summer to 407-571-4682 [email protected] Jim Emmons ADVERTISING DIRECTOR 407-571-4684 [email protected] Naomi Haworth Remember ADVERTISING SALES 407-571-4662 [email protected] Rhonda Mock ADVERTISING SALES 407-571-4696 [email protected] Jessica Ranew I’mf eeling a little empty inside. highlight. The skiers, the food, the wine and ADVE4R07T-I5S7I1N-4G87 S8ALES [email protected] The water is cooling off, the the ski sites were amazing. I’ll never forget Focus Media & Marketing DETROIT SALES sets are dwindling and the exiting the gates at the Lacanau Ski Club 313-670-0553 winter is coming. I’ve skied so much this on my fi rst pass, in disbelief that the water Steve Thompson MEDIA CENTRIC INC. year that it’s going to be hard to face the off- conditions were relatively calm despite a SOUTH4E1R5-N43 C5A-4L6I7F8ORNIA season. But I’ve realized in these dark days, gusty wind blowing off the North Atlantic. Terry Dorner EVENTS & SPORTS MARKETING there’s some light for all of us. The towering pines surrounding the site 407-571-4724 [email protected] First off, I have to take a break from ski- were a gift to skiers. TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE GROUP Dave Freygang ing sometime. I do live in Orlando, so I could And for months, I’ll be replaying in GROUP PUBLISHER 407-571-4702 technically ski year-round, but my body my mind the sickest move I’ve ever [email protected] Barbara Lanning would kill me if I tried it. This past summer seen on a slalom ski. It was during Jamie EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT I wouldn’t pull myself away from the lake Beauchesne’s victory at one of the coolest [email protected] even though I had a disk herniation scream- events of the year, the BoardStock Toyota Laura Walker ONLINE DIRECTOR ing at me in my lower back. Amid the winter Last Man Standing Slalom Shootout in Elizabeth Cabrera MARKETING ARTIST chill, I’ll fi nally stay inside for a while. Sure, August. The guy rounded 3 ball at 39 off, Mike Tyler I’ll rest, but then I’ll work on all of the inno- then he hit a roller and the ski went airborne MARKETING COPY WRITER vative exercises for building core strength. as he hurtled through the air sideways. With My plan is to make a full recovery. catlike refl exes, he somehow managed Time off the water also allows me to to get the ski underneath him and back to Terry Snow ..................................................................................................................PRESIDENT Russ Cherami .....................................................................DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE SALES Martin S. Walker ..........................................................................ADVERTISING CONSULTANT refl ect on my skiing, the tournaments I com- the wakes, scoring that extra half buoy he Bruce Miller ........................................................VICE PRESIDENT, CONSUMER MARKETING Dean Psarakis ............................................BUSINESS DIRECTOR, CONSUMER MARKETING peted in and the new friends I met through- needed to win. Unbelievable. LPeeitgehr WBiinngnh ..a..m... .................P...L..A..N...N...I.N...G... .&... DSEUVBESLCORPIPMTEIONNT DDIIRREECCTTOORR,, CCOONNSSUUMMEERR MMAARRKKEETTIINNGG Vicki Weston ...........................................................................SINGLE COPY SALES DIRECTOR out my travels. For me, there were many You know, maybe the off-season isn’t Lisa Earlywine ......................................................DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION OPERATIONS Jay Evans ...........................................................DIRECTOR OF NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES standout moments in the ’06 season. Back so bad. It’s the perfect chance to refl ect MNaiknec yS tCeoaa ..l.t.e..r. ...........................................................D...I.R..E...C..T..O...R.. .O...F.. .N...E...T..W....O...R..K... .A..N...D... .C...O...M...P..U...T...E..R.. COOPENRTARTOIOLLNESR Dinah Peterson ...............................................................................................CREDIT MANAGER during the live Webcast of the WaterSki Pro and recharge. All the great moments on the Sheri Bass ........................................................................DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES Heather Idema ..........................................................................................RESEARCH DIRECTOR Slalom Shootout in June, I had friends from water this year will keep the stoke burning Dean Turcol .........................................................................DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS around the world cheering me on when I bright until next season. SUBSCRIPTIONS: call 800-879-0495 Occasionally, we make portions of our subscriber list available to carefully screened skied in the semifi nal round. It’s exciting to companies that offer products and services we think may be of interest to you. If you do not want to receive these offers, please advise us at 1-800-879-0495. think that someday every major ski event Publication Agreement Number 40018707 Canada Return Mail: 4960-2 Walker Rd., Windsor, ON N9A 6J3 could have a live Webcast (see page 62 for CONTRIBUTIONS: Address all editorial correspondence to Editor, WaterSki Maga- zine, PO Box 8500, Winter Park, FL 32790. All manuscripts and letters sent to World more on that). Ppuubblliiccaattiioonn sa LnLdC c owpiyll ribgeh tt rpeuartpeods aess uanncdo nadreit iosnuabljley cat stsoig needdit infogr. World Publications LLC does not necessarily endorse authors’ My two-week French water-ski voyage views. World Publications LLC is not responsible for loss of or damage to manuscripts, photography or art. Return postage must in July (page 50) was another summer accompany material if it is to be returned. Contents copyright 2006 by World Publications LLC. 10 W I N T E R 2 0 0 6