In the spirit of creativity, progression, and just plain fun times on the water, the 2024 Herb’s Cup.
At the intersection of competitive fire and creative spirit lies Herb’s Cup, Radar Skis annual slalom event held in honor of our visionary, who paved our storied path, Herb O’Brien. This event allows us to illustrate our unique waterski ethos, a marriage of progressive creativity and full-bore fun.
The rules, while anything but traditional, are straightforward. With 8 minutes on the clock competitors do what countless skiers around the globe are doing on any given day; ski the most buoys on the shortest line possible. You need to run a full pass to advance to the next, but if you fall or miss, do it again until the clock runs out.
With the banks lined with the Pacific Northwest’s waterski faithful, the finals got underway with Jamie Calhoun. Having scored 3.5 @ 39 in the preliminary round, Jamie knew he would need to find a second gear if he were to have any hope of raising the Cup. Calhoun, to preserve time, opted for a 35’ Off start, easily running through his first two passes. After failing on his first attempt, Jamie found his way through a scrappy but committed 39’ Off and set the bar head-high with a solid 2 buoys at 41’; a score that would have real implications as the night wore on.
Jason McClintock would leave the dock next with a tall order in front of him. Having decided on a more traditional 32’ Off start, McClintock would need to run his first attempt at 39’ if he hoped to have enough time for a couple of shots at overtaking the lead. That’s exactly what he did: after running perhaps the smoothest 39’ of the entire event, Jason got to work at attempting to overtake Calhoun. After three solid looks Jason had to settle for a tie, another 2 buoys at 41’ Off.
If there was a potential odds favorite for the weekend, it had to be World Champion, Joel Poland. Having finished runner-up at both of the previous Herb’s Cups, Joel took to the water with hoisting the chalice squarely on his mind. After a 35’ off start that was more full energy than required, he re-entered the course and proceeded to run straight through his next two passes with his perfect blend of balance and power. Having used only half of his allotted time, Poland took four cracks at the leaderboard, each time coming up short at three ball, eventually flipping himself over the buoy and coming to rest only feet from the fans lining the shore. Another skier down, another score of 2@41’.
Top-seeded Stephen Neveu would leave the dock with a clear task in mind: somehow find his way to three ball, and the 2024 Herb’s Cup victory would be his. As the defending champion, Stephen has proved year after year that the best way to work the clock is to avoid it altogether. Taking essentially no wait time between passes, Big Nev quickly and efficiently worked his way through 39’ off with more than five minutes remaining. He wasn’t going to need it though. With a giant bullseye on three ball, he methodically skied his way around a full 3 buoys at 41’ off, earning his fourth title in the process.
In front of a setting sun, the awards were presented, and Stephen Neveu hoisted the cup yet again. “This one feels especially emotional this year,” Neveu addressed the crowd, “thank you to everyone at Radar, and thank you Herb!” His first sip from the cup marked the start of the evening and the close of the 8th Annual Herb’s Cup.
