Malibu Open 2011. Awesome.

Malibu Open 2011 Crowd

We had a great time last weekend at the Malibu Open in Milwaukee. Just like last year we once again made a whole weekend out of it and had a blast.

Let's talk about Milwaukee for a second: clean, quaint, sufficiently urban without most of the inconviences of major metro areas. Big enough to be taken seriously, small enough for a suburbanite to fall in love with. Lakefront AND riverfront, great dining, great micro breweries, great ball park, great casino. What a place. AND, it's only an hour north on I-94. 

When I first dropped my boat into the lagoon in Veteran's Park back in 2009, I knew an event here would be something special, and twice now I've been blown away by what the Pro Ski Tour has put together. I took Friday off from work, arriving at around lunchtime. This is the way to do this tournament as a spectator: SPEND THE WEEKEND IN MILWAUKEE. Don't just stop by and catch an event or two- do the whole shebang. The event is pretty much NON-STOP action, all day, both days. Park your butt in a bag chair, grab a beer, and decompress. Enjoy the show. Then have dinner on the town and crash in one of the many nice hotels nearby. Do it. Trust me on this one. The neighborhoods just west of Veteran's Park are super neat and there are plenty of places to stay nearby. We asked about 20 different people from all over to come to the event and by some miracle they ALL showed up, and all had a good time. It was great seeing everyone.

This year the Milwaukee Air Show was scheduled for the same weekend, so low-flying jets really added some dynamics to the event. At one point in Men's Qualifiing slalom an F-16 banked extremely low and fast RIGHT over the pond in the middle of somebody's set. Talk about a re-ride! I believe they made it through the pass, though. I've heard of compensating for wind, water temp, and speed control but never for fighter jets! Although most of the air show action was not visible from the pond, the noise was a constant reminder of what was going on behind us and really added some excitement as a spectator. As a closet aviation fan I personally relished the bits of the air show that I saw. That B1-B really made sonic impact, every time it flew by!

As usual the pros at the event were just an outstanding group of people. Aside from their amazing skills and warm personalities, these people really put everything on the line for this sport. I'm guessing many of them fly themselves out and put themselves up for the tournament and the entrance fees. On top of that, they risk life and limb to compete for their own glory, their sponsors, and our entertainment. They support each other and cheer each other on. It was really neat to watch the pros actually watch other pros in the finals as spectators, just as eager to catch the action as we were.

The physics of jump and slalom are extremely powerful, and nowhere is that better learned than from watching these pros compete live. Slalom definitely has a danger factor but Jump is just unreal. No roll cage, no HANS device, no parachute. These guys and gals crack the whip across both wakes, causing the boat engine to scream in protest as they slam into a 5-6 foot ramp at extremely high speeds. Unfortunately physics did get the best of at least 3 jumpers, most noteably Damien Sharman's freaky yard sale in the night jump finals. We know Damien and his brother John from our repeat trips to Bennetts and we were VERY relieved to see him walk away from that one. Yikes!

Gaps between Jump and Slalom events were filled in with awesome barefooting from Chuck and the guys at BarefootCentral.com and freestyle jumping from some of the best show skiers in the world. Again, truly non-stop entertainment!

To sum it up, and I can't say this enough: we had a great time at the Malibu Open and can't wait to return next year.

Snapped a couple photos of the event here: Malibu Open Flickr Pics