Virtual Slalom Skiing App Development

Update

The Virtual Slalom Skiing App MVP launched on August 8, 2018.  We now have 885 users. We are ready to move on to the following features to make the app fun but we still need your funding help to bring these to reality for this summer:

·  Real-time coaching - a way to call up a real ski coach instantly for a 5-minute video review.

·  Match Play - where you can challenge another skier to a match in handicapped mode. The player that beats their par score wins.

·  Team Match Play - Lapoint ski park can have a team that challenges another player's team.

·  Tournament mode - a group of skiers can compete using one phone in the boat in a handicapped mode to see who is best for the day.

·  Fantasy team play - you can pick a team of friends and a team of pros scores from a major event like the MASTERS to compete against other teams.

·  Buddy leaderboards - you and your friends can have a running tournament on your own group's leaderboards.

·  Skier Log book - this will allow you to keep every detail about your skiing in a log and the app will analyze the data for you to help you get better.

·  Boat Driver competition mode - it will track driver path and deviation from a perfect path.

·  Advanced Motion Data collection - acceleration, g forces and more. We believe that we will be able to show the skier the difference in their runs when ski/fin adjustments are made.

·  Android version

Every dollar counts and no amount is too small.  Seed capital is the hardest part of the founding a startup. ...but I have the faith that your small donation will be like the mustard seed and that this can grow into an incredible foundation for our sport!

For real venture capitalists to consider this project we need users, people using the app and revenue. You can help us by making sure all your friends download the app and play this summer as often as possible.  If each of the 885 users shares with their 5 best friends VSS will have about 4500 users this summer...can you imagine!


Why

The sport of water skiing, as many lifestyle sports, has fewer and fewer participants and needs strong efforts in gaining new grassroots development. The second problem, the sport has no major TV and Media coverage to expose it to new participants unless the sport raises the funds to pay to put it on air. This new project achieves both goals, more people enjoying water skiing at a higher level and creates a potential funding source for new media coverage of the sport.

The Story

 My Dad learned to snow ski in his 40’s, after being a lifelong water skier. One winter day he and his wife went skiing at Snow Shoe in West Virginia, while skiing they saw a NASTAR snow ski course. They decided to give it a try. They both loved challenging themselves, turning gates and trying to race down the hill. A few months later they were surprised to receive a large Budweiser sponsored poster with a list of the top 10 skiers on it from West Virginia, an even greater surprise was to find their names on the list for their age group. With pride, they realized "we must be good skiers, we should do more skiing." They immediately booked several more ski trips and bought all new equipment and continued spending money on the sport for years. 

The moral of this story is that when people who enjoy sports get a chance to compete and can measure their success, it motivates them to spend more time and money in that sport. Could we bring competition and a measurement of success to everyone who goes water skiing? 

The Idea

 This brings me to an idea I have had for 30 years, as a lifelong competitive water-skier, I have met hundreds of people who said they also loved to ski but wished they had known about competitive skiing and where to find a ski course. Unfortunately,  courses are typically on private man-made lakes, and an EPA permit is required to put in buoys on most waterways if allowed at all. This lack of access makes it very difficult to grow the sport.  Is it possible for every boater anywhere to start competing and measuring their skills in water skiing just using their phone?

The answer is yes!  Would it be even better if they could have a never-ending ski course that could go with them anywhere at any time by just putting on augmented reality headgear?

COMPETE App for  Water Skiing  Details

The COMPETE App for virtual water skiing will allow the player to use their phone to film themselves skiing from the boat and the APP will tell them whether they have successfully turned a buoy/buoys of the ski course at the line length and speed the player selected. The player will get a score of how many buoys they made in a set time, like 30 seconds for example. The player will then be able to upload the score to a central database to see how they are doing compared to others on their lake or in the world. It will be more motivating to a beginner than a regular ski course because the skier will get points for every inch of water they ski, not just a point for each full buoy that they ski around.

To make the experience even better, the player will have the option to use special eyewear leveraging augmented reality technology to see the ski course buoys while they are skiing. With this innovation, slalom water skiing is no longer going to be just available on private lakes with courses. It opens up a whole new market.

Have you ever been driving down the road and seen a perfect calm lake and thought to yourself that would be a great place for a ski course? With this App every waterway can have a ski course, so stop dreaming and support this project.

The player can then run the ski course on any lake, anywhere without having to put in a course. With that, if the weather is bad on the east side of the lake then they can simply move to the calmest spot and ride on. The App will also show the player who else is playing or has the App so skiers can join up to compete in impromptu competitions. The spectators in other boats that have the App will be able to set up their own leaderboards as well as gamer's at home on their couches...hopefully being inspired to try it themselves.

This concept could get new people competing, enticing some of the 3.9 million who water ski every year to do more of it.  It will encourage more people to ski at a higher level which should inspire them to buy better equipment, better boats or join a ski club and eventually compete in real ski tournaments. Boat dealers can have their database of boaters download the App and start competing on their local waterway every weekend of the summer as well all the kids attending summer camps across the country. 

What's Next

The possibilities are endless. 

After we have a successful APP, the next efforts will be to funnel some of the proceeds back to developing future media and TV exposure. The COMPETE App concept will promote the grassroots and pro level at the same time…building it up from the bottom and pulling it up from the top.

The big picture is to create a COMPETE App that promotes getting people off the couch and out moving. According to the Outdoor Sports Foundation, the most significant reason people don't participate is that they don't have someone to do the activity with. With the COMPETE App, you will always have a way to have someone to play with. You can find someone on the App to play and compete against in real time, or you can compete against the ranking list.

The funds raised through this Go Fund Me are to finish the development of the proof of concept. The hope is to be testing and using the proof of concept in 90 days.  

What is Needed?

We still need your support by downloading and playing the Virtual Slalom Skiing app, sharing with friends, donating money, time and giving feedback and ideas.

Want to own a part of this app?  

Contact [email redacted] for investment opportunities.

Why Trust Me?

I understand what water skiing needs having been in the sport for 48 years from the novice to pro levels. I have seen its growth and decline. I have been successful in founding a grassroots organization that taught over 1000 new women skiers. In addition, I developed a women’s only pro tour which ran for 5 years producing over 50 TV shows for the sport, including a 30-minute show airing primetime on the coveted Fox Sports’ Rush Hour block.  Why is that important? It shows that I have what it takes to make a new venture work at the same time I was a good steward of the money that was entrusted to me by the sponsors. I know the hard work it takes to make something successful and how to take an idea and make it a reality.  

Why Go Fund Me?

I have had this idea for 30 years and the time is right to bring it to the market. I do not want the lack of investment capital to be the reason this idea never gets off the shelf. I have shared it with many of you over the years and you have agreed that it’s a great idea that would help the sport. Many of you wanted to give me some money from your pocket on the spot since you love this sport so much. This is the way to make those contributions go to work today. Go Fund Me allows for the funds to go to work as soon as they are received. 

What Can You Do to Help?

You can make a small donation or a larger one to help make this new project come to life. Every dollar counts. You can share this post with others that also want to help save this sport from extinction.

Ownership opportunities in the business are available with larger investments. Please contact me for more details.

My Guarantee

I promise to be a good steward of these funds. Using them only for developing this idea and increasing interest and participation in the sport.

My GRATITUDE!

I thank God for the opportunity that he has given me to be a skier and enjoy a lifetime of fun, smiles, and success in this sport and the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful people who also love to water ski. I feel a duty to make sure that the same opportunities are given to those that come behind me.

I thank you for your faith and support. LET’S DO THIS!

“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is a reality.” -John Lennon