Dwight,
The best advice is to just have fun.
My first local contest was 3 years ago, my only "trick" was a HS180, i could not even clear the wake toeside yet, it was my first year riding. I just showed up with my girlfriend and signed up. Rode behind a slumpin 07 vlx, first time behind a boat with real weight, it was so fun, I still remember blasting out into the flats my first HS jump. (That evening I was online trying to get info on how to dump by boat best). No warm up rides, just 2 passes, and 2 falls... If you stand up both passes you are looking at a 5 minute ride. Its short, but very exciting and fun. Everybody was super chill when I would approach them, being the new guy, you just have to take the initiative to go and introduce yourself.We met a couple people there that are still friends today. Bring your wife, chairs, umbrella (shade) food, and drinks just incase you need that stuff, sometimes you don't.
As for the riding, I will assume that you will not have any practice time behind the boat, and it will probably be a boat/wake that is new to you and it will most likely be heavily weighted (depends on what "class" you sign up for). I would recommend stretching heavily before you ride, there is no "loosening up" or "warming up" behind the boat, you have to come out banging. Start off with hs and ts jumps/tricks that you know you can land so that you can see how the wake feels. I will assume the rules are 2 falls and your done. Save a trick (bs 180) that you may not land as the last trick at the very end of your first pass, that way if you fall, the boat will have plenty of time to get you up and give you a full second pass. Then again, save another trick you may not land (bs360 or an invert) for the last trick at the end of your run... this is what I do to maximize the course. Where we ride you may only get 5 or 6 tricks in each pass.
Again, have fun, you will love it.
Last edited by johnny_defacto; 05-31-2010 at 11:24 AM.
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