Hate to say it but @SkiBigDawg World Tour cld B really bad fr Pro Skiing. Sport isn't big enough....

[Horton]

@chrispenner sorry dude you are way off

[eleeski]

In my mid 50s I finally qualified for Open (in tricks). Been trying for a long time. In the two years I held an Open rating there were exactly zero pro tournaments for me to ski in. I certainly understand Marcus' frustration with the sport and any dilution of interest - but the pro skiing is already dead. Marcus is wrong - anything that builds any interest is good. The Big Dawgs are building interest.

 

Andy needs to enter Big Dawgs. That would increase interest in the sport. As an old competitor, losing to Jimmy, Russell, Storm, Brian and Kirk did not bother me. I skied my best and I am proud to have skied at a high level regardless of placement. Of course, since I have another job, I didn't need the money from ski prizes. Wait, there is no prize money...

 

Note that I'm not sure that any kids looked up to me. But some old farts might have been entertained enough to keep skiing.

 

Eric

[skierjp]

As a tournament skier I wish the Master Men ( BigDawg ) skiers would stay in their own division. Here in Florida one tournament a MM might ski MM the next tournament he skis Men 4. I've never seen a sport when you aquire a certain ranking you can step back to another division.

[eleeski]

The rules force me to jump divisions. I enjoy overall but my Open or MM scores don't carry over. I have petitioned to get the rules changed but I have negative political savvy.

 

George, since I didn't win the lotto, I can't personally underwrite a pro tour. Plus my focus is on junior and college skier development (UCLA's team training trip last week was at my lake, my boat and my gas). That's where the future pros and their fans will come from.

 

You also misunderstood my whining. An old guy should not be able to qualify into the elites (especially for the first time - I wasn't good enough at my peak?). While I will try hard to get back into Open, it IS discouraging that Open is so small that I have a shot at it.

 

Eric

[DW]

JP, professional athletes stepping back a class happens all the time. A good example is NASCAR, several of the top drivers, including champions, step back from the top Cup level to any one of several levels below to compete and win races. They even displace other competitors as many times the fields are oversubscribed, but more importantly to the event promoter: it sells tickets. Hockey and baseball are also good examples as rehabbing or underperforming top level pro's drop a level or two to get thier mojo back before resuming at the top level.

 

At this time, I would not think that limiting any opportunity for "professional" skiers whether at the "Pro Tour" or "Big Dawg" level is a bad thing. I think that more out of the box type events would be a catalyst to potentially place the sport where a non industry sponsor would find ROI in participating. Slalom is a hard sell in today's environment, there is a lot of competition in a wide variety of extreme sports to choose from.

 

BTW, I attend any publicized event from the Pro series to Big Dawg and find them entertaining and a fun way to spent a few hours of the day. Unfortunately, very few spectators actually do attend. It is also a dissapointment when any of those events are no longer put on in my area which has happened.