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synopsis

'43@43' profiles the Professional Slalom Waterski career of Jeff Rodgers.

In the sport, a boat travels down a straight, fixed course with six buoys 37'6' from the center of the boat. A skier is towed by a 75 foot rope and goes around the six buoys in the course. The max speed is 36 miles per hour, which is what the 'Open Men’s' division competes with.

Scores for slalom passes are recorded by how many buoys the skier completes, followed by the rope length and boat speed. Jeff set the world record in 1997 with a score of 1 buoy at 43 feet off the rope with the boat going 36 miles per hour. In the fall of 2010, he tried to match that performance at 43-years-old.

'43@43' features Jeff’s world record matching attempt after taking a look at his career from when he started skiing, to the World Championships in 2007. After the attempt, it goes back into his career in the Fall of 2011, where he switched skiing divisions. In the 'Men’s Masters' division, the boat goes two miles per hour slower than the “Open Men’s” division. He set a record for that division in the first tournament he entered, which is documented in the film.

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