Tom Costello Alan Rossi VT Champs

Last Saturday in August

3 round Slalom, Class C and Fun.*

LOCATION (since 2009): Wrightsville Beach Recreation Area (0.7 miles north of State Park/Boat Ramp location).

This location is a wind-protected bay just large enough for the course in a no wake zone north of the main reservoir. We have a one-day permit to hold the tournament. This venue also offers great facilities including a sandy beach for swimming, picnic areas, shelters, nature trails, volleyball and bathroom facilities–something for all family members. See www.wrightsvillebeachvt.com for more info and directions (it is 0.7 miles past the entrance to the main Reservoir tournament site).

Please note: Please pay the Wrightsville Beach parking fee. No pets or glass bottles are allowed on the beach.

This is a Class C and Fun Class* tournament (no Grassroots scoring). Entries MUST be received one week prior (see actual deadline in guidebook). NO LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED. PLEASE PLAN AHEAD. Your early registration helps us significantly by allowing download of your skier status and officials qualifications, thus allowing an orderly planning of running order and officials assignments. We are sometimes full, so please enter early. We will keep a wait list if needed.

*Fun skiers get a mulligan any round if a fall or miss in the first pass. The mulligan will begin at the far end of the course.

Directions.

Fun Class participants, read about tournaments.

We will still accept paper entries, but online registration is easier for all. Paper entries are not complete without waiver, bio and payment. Make checks payable to Green Mountain Water Skiers. Send to Darlene McCormick, PO Box 877, Waitsfield, VT 05673 before the entry deadline.

Starting time 7:30 a.m. We need everyone’s help in running the tournament. Please consider working toward your official’s qualifications and filling out appropriate paperwork.

Possible practice: Friday by approximate appointment time, i.e. let us know if and when you want to practice in advance and we will try to accommodate you. $15 for 4 passes, $20 for 6 passes. Practice must be paid for in cash to the driver (please bring exact change). Practice will not be at the new area, it will be at the main reservoir, so site familiarization is water-quality only, not entry setup.

Accommodations

The following were obtained from local information. We cannot guarantee that the information is up-to-date. Please tell us of your experiences so we may pare down the list. Or email Darlene.

For Waterbury tournaments, there is also camping at Little River State Park. This is only a 20 minute drive to Wrightsville, also.

Some History

Our tournaments attract competitors from all of New England and New York and frequently feature some elite/pro-level skiers.

During the ’90s and early ’00s the Club held two tournaments on Wrightsville Reservoir and one on Waterbury Reservoir. The Vermont Slalom Derby, a class C slalom tournament on the last Saturday of June, and the Barefoot Blast, generally on the second weekend in July, were both held on Wrightsville Reservoir. For years, a novice/class C slalom tournament was held on Waterbury Reservoir the weekend after the 4th of July, with the class C on Friday (to avoid boating traffic) and novice on Saturday. We moved this tournament to the latter part of August and once to Wrightsville while work was being performed on the Waterbury Reservoir and the water level was significantly down. The lowered water level benefited the Waterbury location greatly.

For 2006, we combined the Vermont Slalom Derby and the Reservoir Dogs Classic to form the Tom Costello Classic in honor of the passing of a fellow skier. A fun category was added to encourage new participation. All competitors including novices are welcome. In 2007, we renamed the tournament again to include memory of Alan Rossi.

After a couple years of speculation and preparation, beginning in 2009 we have been able to hold the tournament at the northern end of Wrightsville Reservoir in a no-wake zone, offering near-world-class conditions.

In 2016, we changed the name from Tom Costello Alan Rossi Slalom Derby to VT Champs and began recording Champions.