Dawgs under the lights??

[Wish]

Should the Dawgs continue with venues under the lights? And please give your written opinions well.

[Wish]

Reasons

Bigger draw of spectators. Especially at Nats

Better skiing happens anyway at prelims during day

It just looks cool.

Who doesn't want to take a crack at night skiing. Think night car racing..

Let's be honest....its a show.

Jumping under the lights

Cause these days with technology ..... we can

 

[Razorskier1]

I want to see the best skiing possible. I'd also like the rule where you can't keep skiing (as referenced by Dave Miller) removed. I agree with Dave -- we are all on the webcast to see guys stroking 39 and working down the line at 41.

[A_B]

Couldn't get the NO button to work on my iphone.

 

Skiing at night takes away from the performances and sort of trivializes the event. Best skiers so we should see records not glimpses of skiers.

 

[SM]

I want to see elite athletes performing at their best. The dark is an unnecessary distraction.

[brody]

no

 

I prefer to see them ski at there best....on the web cast its very difficult to see them at all. If they do continue to ski at night, then they should remove re-rides for light/flash issues!

 

definitely agree with miller that they should be able to continue to ski....imagine running 41 to make it to the next round, everything is clicking and your not allowed to take your shot at 43!!! As a spectator and skier I would be mad.

[6balls]

Night looks cool, can't imagine running buoys myself at night. Even on those glass calm nights where visibility begins to wane I have struggled to run well.

 

Have barefooted a lot at night and wow does it give the perception of increased speed.

 

I'm for letting them have the best conditions so the best can do what they do best...which means good visibility and no bugs in the eyes!

[Zman]

From the spectators view from shore, you could see the skiers excellent end to end under the lights. The night scores overall were not much off from the day scores. There seemed to be more struggles just at sunset than later. Much prefer to see this as a night event, but totally at night. That said, I also respect what the skiers prefer.

[RazorRoss3]

If you could get the shorelines to be black abd only have light on the water (possibly under the water) and lights in the buoys then maybe you could keep it in the dark but I'd rather see the skiers at their best.

[Drago]

Silly

[Ed_Johnson]

Love skiing under the lights, did it all the time at Okeeheelee..Once you are use to it, I don't feel it inhibited my score in any way....Have been to every Big Dawg Finals under the lights at Okee, and best run and attended event I have ever seen in Slalom Skiing...Outstanding event every time.

[skiray]

One of a kind format for one of a kind skiers. The Big Dawgs are the best in the business. My kids thought it was the best "pro" event that they have seen. (Compared to AMA motocross in ATL and in the new dome in Dallas, SEC football, the Braves from the skybox, several Masters Waterski Tournament, Malibu Open, etc. )

[acmx]

I think it was the first Big Dawg finals at Isles of Lake Hankock, was during the day and showed the whole event. They had an injured big Ben Favret and Tadd doing comentary, Ben was giving great technique observations, I was glued to my computer for the whole event!! I'd like to see it done like that again.

[disland]

How many spectators watched open men slalom? not many from what I saw? Open women slalom even less. Thats nuts

 

How about the top 4 Big Dawgs head to head and then top 4 Open Men slalom head to head, promote the thing to the public, and put on show at Night when its cooler. Oh and more beer. Maybe a couple of bands. With some music and a beer garden no one would have cared about the hour delay

[Marco]

Watching the finals under the lights on Friday was awesome, notwithstanding the ending. The Dawgs were running 39, so I don't get the argument that the skiing was diminished. As @Zman pointed out, the scores were similar to daylight scores. The guys who went off at sunset appeared to have more challenging conditions, as the buoys were incredibly hard to see, so I think they should have waited a little longer to get going.

 

The best thing about the night finals, from a spectator's point of view, was that it had cooled down considerably from the 100+ degree temperatures of the week's daytime highs. The heat was stifling during the day, even in the shade. I think the crowd would have been much smaller if it was held in the heat of the day. You can only spend so many hours in that kind of heat and sun.

[Bulldog]

Before all of the controversy this was one of our sports favorite events. Leave it under the lights!!!!

[Horton]

I do not know if under the lights is better or not. I will say that this years final was a really good webcast until all hell broke. If it has been during the day I would have been working or skiing so I would not have seen it.

[rayn]

@disland is absolutely right open men and women should also be under the lights to give them the great exposure. I guess that would be the us open and that would be great.

[skier2788]

My girlfriend who is not a skier went with me to nationals. She just asked me if they were going to keep the Dawgs skiing under the lights because that was the coolest thing about the whole trip. Even above watching me ski.

[Wish]

Working, Skiing, to hot for spectators, all good reasons to not do this during the day. This web cast proved to be one of the best at night IMHO and it was really clear. Loved the slo-mo replay and the different angles shot, the interviews. That will only get better from year to year. So my question would be this; If it's so frign hot on site (TX FL CA or anywhere else for that matter in Aug), and most would rather be out skiing on a beautiful Sat vs watching a web cast, how do we expect sponsors to stay involved?. Why would they spend the money? No one is watching...just a few people there. So why web cast? Why have it in front of crowds of skiers? What's the point of the Big Dawg? Dave Miller pointed it out in every thread he has written so far...it is a show. No light's, no show. If you want to see who is the best at 34mph you can find that in seconds at USA WS web site. Pretty sure none of the pros are wining about having to ski the rough water at the Masters...another show. Have not heard one BD complain about being under the lights. They know the score and who is putting up the $$s to make them...well....famous. Almost as much as the Pros. Hard to deny that even the lights themselves have made this event more famous has it not? I bet many Pros have thought...dang, we should thought of that. They have even copied it. You really think any one of the BD would be like...." Oh ya, much better idea to run this on a private lake far away from anything or anyone and run it in the middle of the day on a weekend...ya, ya that's it...that's the ticket". Watch the fame of the event, and the skiers fame fade as fast as the lights if you turn them off.

[6balls]

@wish ok I've been converted...run 'em at night.

[Marco]

Well said @Wish!!

[Chuck_Dickey]

I'm for whatever boost the attendance and prompts more people to take up skiing. I saw them under the lights so Okee a couple Nat's ago, I had great seats on the north shore. The lights are in the north shore and point down and away, so the view was great.

 

Okee's East / West course is right next to the main thoroughfare and cars drive all over the place. No re-rides except for lightening!

[Klundell]

because its awesome!

[DW]

Whatever the sponsor wants because without them there are no records, webcast, events ....

[Booze]

I think it's a cool event. I agree with Wish's commentary.

[Moskier3ev]

I just think Tyler Boyd should be the permanent announcer he filled a ton of time.... That was impressive. He even covered knee boarding... I think.