There’s competitive tobogganing etc. of nearly every variety, all in an ice-filled trench, yet I don’t know of a single person who’s actually done this.
Body fluming, OTOH, is something I do all the time at water parks – the ones that have actual body flumes, that is, as opposed to the ones that put everyone on a mat. That really cuts down on the skill and differentiation between people of different skills, which is probably why they do it, to cut down on linger times, in addition to not having to sculpt the slide so as to be almost non-abrasive to the back.
I’d like to ask two questions:
– Are there any competitive body fluming societies or events? I’d like to think I’m fairly good, since I tend to skirt close to the limit on many of the commercially available opportunities (i.e. almost falling out of the slides, hitting the bottom of the egress pool due to speed, and/or nearly coasting to the very edge of the egress pool upon entry. Don’t even ask me about the time I almost got injured by using the slide exactly as intended, only too well: I must have gotten two meters high off of a three-tiered slope.)
– Are there any body flume places that cater to those serious about the practise? I.e. ones that are steep enough on the sides that you don’t have a chance of falling off (to be fair, this has only happened once to me and it was at a “kiddie” flume, albeit one that did have one drop in it, and if the lines empty at the more adult ones I’ll take what I can get. But now I’m scared it’ll happen at the adult rides too!)
You may think this odd coming from an Orlando boy, but Wet ‘n’ Wild is out: all the flumes are mat rides :mad: I’ve never been to any of the water parks at Disney but some of them look promising: how conducive are they to those with a real need for speed?
Wikipedia doesn’t mention anything. Of course that just means that this is your chance to set up the World Flume Swimming Assocation (WFSA) and make a few bucks on t-shirts and advertising.
I’ve honestly never even considered competitive water sliding. That’s probably because whenever I’ve done it, I’m busy thinking “Whee!” and not focusing on how to angle my descent better. Then again, if I was steering a toboggan on an Olympic course and thinking “Whee!” I’d probably wipe out and kill several spectators. I prefer inner tubes anyway; you can “accidentally” fall out and careen your way down the course, which is more fun than a straight shot down a flume.
Sage Rat’s right: now’s your chance! Otherwise, you’ll end up being the guy standing on the sidelines saying “You know, I was into fluming before it was cool.”
I can remember watching a programme on British TV about 15/20 years ago where they interviewed someone who described himself as a ‘professional flumer’. He took it very seriously, even to the extent that he would shave his back and use vaseline before going on a flume.
His technique was to put his feet together, point his toes and arch his back so that the only points of contact between him and the slide were his heels and his shoulder blades.
I tried this technique myself (without the back shaving and vaseline!) and almost left the slide on a corner. It worked a treat but scared the s*** out of me.
That’s my technique too! (minus the shaving natch). Well, the basics anyway. At places that have not worked down the creases between blocks it can get…painful, but no pain no gain
Brahe, I don’t like the “straight shot” flumes: too little fun for too long a wait (unless there is more than one dip, in which case I can work on my dipping technique.) I’m talking the toboggan-like courses, like the ones you refer to that use an inner tube, only that don’t use an inner tube!
Y’all are right: I should go to the Disney parks and see if their toboggan-like body flumes are safe, comfortable, and fast, and then start the WBFA! Lord knows there are plenty of other wacky Disney-related fan orgs.
