But one thing is true, the more spectacular the tricks that are being attempted, the more spectacular the falls can be. So here are the likes of KSO, Small, Groen and many others at the WBC showing the world they are indeed human in this video that the WBC put together.

Barefoot Crashes and Smashes [video]

I like the one where the guy backfoots into the weeds.

Karen Putz (previously featured here) attended a did a story for Chicago Now. Be sure to read it and check out all of the pictures. There are also links to her personal blog in the story with even more details from the week.

The entry fee is $65 with registration starting at 7am, the skiers meeting at 730am and the tournament starting at 8am. The tournament will pay out $1000 for first place, $500 for second and $200 for third.

Typical figure-8 rules that follow the Footstock rule book with the exception of the ropes being on a standard tower. No duct tape or Ultimate Grip Clinchers or Masterline Pro Lock gloves.

Seeing as how it’s at the WBC, you’ll likely be competing against KSO, David Small and the rest of the staff from there.

A party will follow at 7:30pm at the WBC Headquarters located at 3915 Lake Conine Dr. East in Winter Haven and the flyer indicates FREE BEER!!!

Check out the WBC website for more details and contact info. It’s also the final stop on barefoot ski dot com’s Figure-8 Barefoot Series.

Click on the image below to embiggen the flyer…

Update 9/25/2010: The figure-8 tournament will be held on Lake Silver now. My understanding it’s a private lake so there won’t be any weekend warriors to deal with.

And As SacFooter always does, he shot a lot of video and put together this exclusive video for Tales from the Foot of David Small doing some footing. It features all 3 primary barefoot events with a whole lot of tricks, some solid slaloming and some inverted jumps.

David Small in Brentwood, CA [video]

Thanks for the video Roy!

The issue is primarily focus on the details of the Wisconsin Water Skiing Expo and Convention (previously called Think Tank) with details on all of the various sessions available.  But towards the back of the book there are three good barefooting articles.

The first barefooting article is by Jamie Kunlien.  He recently just competed at Worlds in New Zealand and in the summer is a member of the Janesville Rock Aqua Jays (a show ski team in Wisconsin).  His article went through many good things to think about when going to a barefooting school, or any type of water skiing instruction, and really any type of instruction in general.  He wrote about what you need to do be an Active Learner. There’s a lot there that seems obvious, but it is worth everyone’s time to read it. You can apply it to a lot more than just barefooting.

The second article is by Paul MacDonald, also a world class barefooter.  His article is about how to dryland train for barefooting. This is a good article for those of us in the frozen north because even if we do get out on the lake, we’re probably ice fishing right now.  He goes through several things to work on when you’re not on the water and how they’ll translate to making you better on the water.

The third and final article is by Dave Small, yet another world class barefooter. His article talks about how to do a tumble turn.  It’s a simple trick and his explanation is yet another rephrasing of every other explanation of how to do a tumble turn.  It wasn’t anything new, but hearing everyone give a consistent explanation means it must be the right way to explain it.

Finally, for those of you looking for something to do the weekend of February 27th thru March 1st, come to Wisconsin Dells for the Water Skiing Expo.  They’ll be several sessions about barefooting with topics about goals, driving, how to practice, stretching, figure-8 competition (by KSO), back deeps, 3-event (by KSO), and about what barefooting can teach you about life.

I know I’ll be attending some of these sessions, as well as many other sesssions about show skiing.  This year one of my goals for Think Tank is to do less 12-ounce curls on Friday night.  :)  I hope to meet some of you there.  Ask around for Wedge.  There are lots of people that know who I am.