Slalom score calculator
Pick the boat speed, the rope, and how many buoys you rounded. The total is every completed pass at that speed on a longer rope, plus the buoys on your last pass.
How a slalom pass is scored
A slalom pass follows the boat through the entrance gate, around the outside of any or all six buoys, and out the far gate. That is a complete pass: 6 buoys. The skier turns and comes back until they miss a buoy or a gate, or fall. That is IWWF Waterski Rules 2026, Rule 8.01 and Rule 8.10.
Rule 8.09 scores a buoy that is not missed, up to the first miss. The steps are 1/4, 1/2, and 1. There is no 3/4 buoy in the rule.
- 1/4 buoy when the skier’s front foot crosses line C-D and line X-Y in a skiing position.
- 1/2 buoy when the front foot has re-crossed line C-D in a skiing position before the next buoy or the exit gate.
- 1 buoy when the front foot has crossed the line of the next boat guide buoys in time, in a skiing position, on a tight line under the power of the boat. The rule says a slack line does not earn the full point. The exit gate, after buoy 6, is the exception: the skier may have a slack line through that gate.
- Exit gate. Passing outside the left side, or falling before the boat-guide line, scores 5 1/2. Passing outside the right side after crossing the boat-guide line, or falling after that line, scores 6, and the run does not continue.
Rule 15.03 credits the skier with all buoys from each pass waived or skied, up to and including the last perfect pass, plus the buoys on the last incomplete pass. Rule 8.11 adds six points for each pass the skier skips, and only if the first pass is perfect. If the first pass is not perfect, the score is only the buoys on that pass.
The count on this page starts at 18.25 m, at the one boat speed you pick. Rule 15.04 states the Open example in those words: “3@13 = 21 buoys starting the count at 18.25”. A complete pass at 12 m, written 6@12, is 30 buoys on the same count.
Rope lengths
Rule 5.09e lists the slalom loops, measured from the handle. The feet-off name is the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports 2026 Official Tournament Rules name for that same length (Rule 10.06.G, “Feet off”).
| Feet off | Metres | Loop colour |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | 18.25 | red |
| 22 | 16.00 | orange |
| 28 | 14.25 | yellow |
| 32 | 13.00 | green |
| 35 | 12.00 | blue |
| 38 | 11.25 | violet (blue/white) |
| 39.5 | 10.75 | white |
| 41 | 10.25 | pink |
| 43 | 9.75 | black |
| 44 | 9.50 | red |
Rule 5.09e allows ±15 cm on 18.25 m, 16 m, and 14.25 m, and ±7.5 cm from 13 m on. The calculator uses the listed lengths, not the tolerance.
Boat speeds
The speeds below are the slalom boat speeds on the IWWF Rule 8.05 timing chart. The mph column is the matching figure in AWSA Rule 10.06.G. Rule 8.02 is where the rope starts to shorten. Until that speed, the passes in the rules are at the long slalom rope.
| kph | mph |
|---|---|
| 25 | 15.5 |
| 28 | 17.4 |
| 31 | 19.2 |
| 34 | 21.1 |
| 37 | 23.0 |
| 40 | 24.9 |
| 43 | 26.7 |
| 46 | 28.6 |
| 49 | 30.4 |
| 52 | 32.3 |
| 55 | 34.2 |
| 58 | 36.0 |
| Division | Women/Girls | Men/Boys |
|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 49 kph | 49 kph |
| Under 14 | 52 kph | 55 kph |
| U-17, U-21, Open | 55 kph | 58 kph |
| 35+ | 55 kph | 55 kph |
| 45+ | 52 kph | 55 kph |
| 55+ | 52 kph | 55 kph |
| 65+ | 49 kph | 52 kph |
| 70+ | 49 kph | 52 kph |
| 75+ | 46 kph | 49 kph |
| 80+ | 46 kph | 49 kph |
| 85+ | 46 kph | 46 kph |
Rule 8.02 also says that starting November 1, 2026, 75+ men shorten at 52 kph instead of 49 kph. Open men count a slalom score from 58 kph / 18.25 m, and Open women from 55 kph / 18.25 m (Rule 15.04).
Example with a worked tally
Open men, one speed, 58 kph (36.0 mph). The skier runs the longer ropes clean and gets 3 buoys at 13.00 m (32 ft off). Rule 15.04 calls this 3@13 = 21 buoys, starting the count at 18.25 m.
| Pass | Rope | Buoys |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18.25 m, 15 ft off | 6 |
| 2 | 16.00 m, 22 ft off | 6 |
| 3 | 14.25 m, 28 ft off | 6 |
| 4 | 13.00 m, 32 ft off | 3 |
| Buoy total | 21 | |
6 + 6 + 6 + 3 = 21. The same count with a complete pass at 12.00 m is 6@12 = 30 buoys: five ropes from 18.25 m through 12.00 m, six buoys each. Tap “Load the example” to see the 21-buoy run in the calculator.
Slalom score calculator
Buoy total: 0
Passes in this total
Saved runs
No saved runs yet. Saved runs stay on this device.
The total assumes you completed every longer rope at this speed, or were credited for those passes because your first pass was perfect (Rule 8.11). It is not a judge’s score.
What this total leaves out
- Slower speeds. Under-17 is the contrast in Rule 16.04: “3@13 = 33 buoys starting the count at 49 or 52/18.25”. Those extra buoys are the complete passes at the slower speeds. This page adds passes only at the speed you pick. If you also ran slower chart speeds clean at 18.25 m, those are 6 buoys each and are not in the number above.
- A short rope below maximum speed. Rule 8.01: when a skier starts shorter than 18.25 m, passes below maximum speed are scored as if the rope were 18.25 m. Enter 18.25 m for a pass that the rule scores that way. Use the shorter rope once you are at the shortening speed in Rule 8.02.
- A missed first pass after a skip. Rule 8.01 gives credit for a skipped pass only when the pass you ski is complete. Otherwise the buoys count at the first skipped speed, or the first skipped rope if the speed stayed the same. Set the rope to that first skipped length and enter only the buoys you actually scored.
- The AWSA zero-based matrix. Rule 10.06.G also scores a 23.00 m long line and a 9.25 m rope (45 ft off), and a completed pass on that matrix includes every speed from 25 kph. Those two ropes are not in IWWF Rule 5.09e, so they are not in this total.
- Overall points. Rule 15.04 adds 12 before it compares slalom scores for overall. That 12 is not part of the buoy total, and the rule gives it only after a complete first pass.
Source: rope lengths, partial buoys, and the buoy count from the IWWF Waterski Rules 2026, Rules 5.09e, 8.01, 8.02, 8.05, 8.09, 8.10, 8.11, 15.03, 15.04, and 16.04. Feet off and mph from the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports 2026 Official Tournament Rules, Rule 10.06.G.
Log the set
The calculator keeps a total for the run you just skied. The slalom pass log is where a season of sets is recorded, and how to log a slalom set walks through one set. Trick runs have their own trick score calculator.