Officials NEEDED!
If you’re a competitive water skier and have not yet become an official, please begin doing so. A great place to start is by becoming a safety coordinator or even a safety director. Both are needed for various water skiing functions taking place throughout the ski season each year. Also, as a general principle, it just makes great sense to complete the USA Water Ski safety coordinator or safety director class if you are water skier. For that matter, regardless of your towed water sports discipline be it wakeboarding, kneeboarding, hydrofoiling, show skiing, etc., the importance of knowing water safety and water rescue cannot be underestimated.
The next official’s credential that you should consider attaining is becoming a judge. Begin working to become an assistant judge in slalom, trick, or ski jumping. If you participate in two or three of these events, work towards becoming an assistant judge in these events as well. From there consider upgrading to a regular and eventually a senior judge in whatever events you enjoy.
Are you computer savvy or do you like computers, work to become a scorer. Scorers are key officials and are in short supply. Just as in becoming a judge, you first become an assistant and can then over time upgrade to a regular scorer and a senior scorer.
If driving is your forte, there are boat drivers for slalom skiing, trick skiing, and ski jumping. You begin as an assistant driver and can work your way up to a regular and eventually a senior driver in one, two, or all three events.
Although I don’t have knowledge of show skiing or wakeboarding or any of the other towed water sports that so many of us Michiganders enjoy, I do know that there are safety officials utilized in all these disciplines as well as judges and drivers and I assume scorers as well. See what you can do to promote your respective water sport discipline.
For more information on becoming an official, here is one resource. Go to the following internet address: http://www.usawaterski.org/pages/officials/AWSA/HowtoBecomeJudge.htm
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