In tournament slalom skiing, your score is defined by a combination of your boat speed, rope length, and how many turn buoys you get around in your final pass. In this article I break down the slalom water ski rope lengths and colors for you.
If you want the full breakdown of boat speeds and scoring of a slalom tournament, check out my article Anatomy of a Slalom Water Ski Tournament.
If you're only interested in the rope lengths and their colors, read on! And check out the sweet quick reference card I've made for you - perfect for laminating and keeping in the boat.
Rope lengths and colors
Tournament slalom ski ropes are made up of multiple removable sections which can be added and removed from the boat end of the rope, changing its overall length. Each section is colored to provide a visual indication of the overall rope length represented by that particular shortening.
Slalom tournament rope lengths and colors run like this:
Slalom Water Ski Rope Lengths And Colors (click to see a full-sized image).
Let's see that in a proper table:
Total Length (m) | Loop Color | Total Length (Ft) | # Feet Off |
|---|---|---|---|
23 | Neutral | 75 | 0 |
18.25 | Red | 60 | 15 |
16 | Orange | 53 | 22 |
14.25 | Yellow | 47 | 28 |
13 |
Green |
43 |
32 |
12 |
Blue |
40 |
35 |
11.25 |
Violet |
37 |
38 |
10.75 |
Neutral |
35.5 |
39.5 |
10.25 |
Pink |
34 |
41 |
9.75 |
Black |
32 |
43 |
9.5 |
Red |
31 |
44 |
9.25 |
Neutral |
30 |
45 |
Grab a free quick-reference card for the boat!
If your boat doesn't have automated cruise control (or even if it does!), you can confirm that your boat speeds are accurate by timing your passes. A perfect 58 km/h pass, for example, is exactly 16.08 seconds from the entry gates to the exit gates. In competition the acceptable tolerance is 16.12 seconds on the slow side, down to 16.04 seconds on the fast side.
I've created a handy reference card for you to download, print out, and keep in the boat. It shows one table for boat speeds and another for rope lengths and colors. They're identical in size so you can cut them out and laminate them back-to-back. Keep it in the boat along with a stopwatch.
Click the image to download yours!
References
International Waterski and Wakeboard Association // Rulebook
Wrapping up
Please leave your thoughts in the comment box below, I'd love to hear from you!
Your virtual water ski coach,
Todd
PS – Before you go, why not:
