Aug 23, 2016

Malibu Open: How we learned to enjoy the entropy and quit wishing for Night Jam

A waterski event goes on here


There are very few perfect things in life, sex isn't always good, your work day isn't always fulfilling, your bank robbery plans are occasionally fraught with logistical troubles, your partner has a debilitating STD.

Life, like waterskiing, does not always work in the ways you hope they would.

That doesn't mean they aren't important, or impact the world, or have value.

But, they may not be the LA Night Jam.

The LA Night Jam, which is the singularly greatest single waterski event we have ever been to in our lives, here at CRB.  The most enjoyable, the funnest and best run tournament ever.

Don't @ me bro.  Its truth.

Do we live in a world were that is the norm now?  Where perfectly run waterski tournaments / events, are held and we all rejoice and love each other and experience the moment and have casual sex with someone we just met that night?

Doubtful.

Because it wasn't casual for me Rebecca!!!  Call me.  #truelove #4pumpchump

That isn't something that can be repeated, btw, the perfection of how a specific event is run.  From CRB life, the first few Night Jams were the greatest experiences watching waterskiing we have ever had.  It was run tight, it was under lights, in a unfamiliar land, and all of a sudden up close to the best skiers we had/have ever seen!

It was mind blowing.  Standing there on the beaches at Bennets, drinking beer, talking shit with fellow skiers and non-skiers alike and watching people BOMB off the ramp, watching barefooters do amazing tricks and sweating like whores in church...because, turns out Louisiana is HELLA humid.

And there was probably, what, 1000 people?  Seemed like alot of people to be at a ski event in Zachary, LA.  not really a hot bed for randoms to come watch Freddy turn a $20,000 beamens ramp into fucking sawdust.

But, it seemed big.  It seemed important.  It felt LARGE.  :)

And then there is the Malibu Open.

This is an equally efficiently run tournament, a TON of skiers ski, its webcast with great production values, its at an amazing site...'

Time out.  Lets cover this quick.  Veterans Park in Milwaukee, WI could be...no.   Should BE! Be the site for every major waterski event ever...in this county.

Its absolutely breathtaking.

A CRB Minion sent us this picture.

BRUH

Look at this picture, and the one at the top of the page.  Same place, different year.  Thats a big city. Stuff changes, but, waterskiing remains!

Thats a major american city with waterskiing, THE BEST SKIING, right in the middle of it!!!

Are you shitting us????

There is land for days to park all of your stuff, there is a city full of fun shit to do, vendors to vend, playas to play, water to drown so many people.  Its perfect in every way shape and form.  The city of Milwaukee actually reached out to a show ski team to have their ski shows there.  ITS WISCONSIN, THEY LOVE WATERSKI AND BEER!  Make babies for gods sake!  Lets go!!


That is Ryan Dodd impregnating the ramp with balls.

Ok, so, it was crummy weather and there was no advertisement going on in town leading up the event and, in general, it was run like a USA Waterski fun tournament.

This event has been going on for some 7 years now.

It has legs.  It has staying power, and we think, its time to get behind this thing and get loud, get rowdy.

If you aren't sure why.  Lets repeat.

ITS A MAJOR TOURNAMENT IN THE MIDDLE OF A GOD DAMN MAJOR CITY IN THE UNITED STATES!

*super trump voice*  We have the best site, the best skiers, we will get the best people to run it, its going to be great.

This is why CRB approves of the Malibu Open, We love LOVE the LA Night Jam, but, damnit, the Malibu Open NEEDS to be great.  It HAS to be great for our sport to not only survive (which is will), but to FLOURISH!!

Get people involved, get randoms who have no idea who Ryan Dodd is to appreciate it, watch it, maybe...MAYBE...go skiing themselves.

There may be issues with the way the tournament is currently run, done at 6 pm on a saturday in downtown milwaukee, really?  No party, no Slalom Under Lights? no nothing??

CRB may not have been active posters on this here webblogger recently, but that doesn't mean we dont have our ears to the ground, to the traintracks, to your mom, we know what is going on.

Money is tight.  Not T.I.T tight, but, tough to get.  Thats fine.  Whatever.

LA Night Jam 2009.  R U SHITTING ME??  Thats Baller

Look at how the LA Night Jam was run.  There was money, there was sponsors, there was fun, there was booze, there was a fight or two!, there was an event that was run to impress non waterskiiers.

And that is the important part of everything, a pro-tournament is NOT for the skiers.  They are the entertainment for the people.  They are there to put on a show.  We are there to witness in that greatness, in that show, in that competition.

NEVER EVER, should someone be watching an event, a tournamanet and be thinking about anything but, how will win and wow this is dope.

When you run major events and it resembles a local 3-event competition where you are trying to get through the running order and then tell people to help clean up the site, that doesn't do anything to engage the fans.

Our entertainment dollar is spread thin now days, we have kids and spouses and hookers and blow to spend our money on, we don't want to come and watch an excel spread sheet...

The final, final part of malibu was the slalom run-off, the bracket style deal at the end.

That is our sport at its best.  Either slalom finals or jump finals.  Thats the best.

It was announced by a great person, who we dont know his name, who was awesome all weeekend, either live or on webcast, but, man did he fail at the end.  Dude needed to get 5 balls to win, and we had no idea.  Busy talking about malibu boats and D3 skis and then...dude falls, and well, guess its over.

There is a production aspect, an entertainment value that we are missing.

We need to embrace that.  Make that important and embrace the community you are in.

LA Night Jam set the bar SO HIGH, that we may not achieve that, but, we need to learn how to take our waterskiing entropy and maybe herd it towards something better.

Take our chaos and run, make it awesome, make it ours, make it bad ass and for the love of god.

MAKE IT FUN