Moomba Masters - 2016

[Than_Bogan]

Firstly, I'd like to state that It's all about me. :)

 

Given that, I can say I hate watching missed gates. The whole point of watching high level skiing is to see high level skiing, not folks denied the chance to run the passes I want to see.

 

Honestly, it's not that much about the competitors to me: They missed the gate. Next time, don't. :) It's really about the spectators. In fact, now that I know about these missed gates, I can retract my question about the archive -- I doubt I would watch it anyhow.

 

Every year after Moomba, Gategate returns. I remain in the camp that we need to do something about it, but maybe a baby step would be some special exemption for Moomba itself, due to the crazy moving water there. Who knows if the gate is even in the right place when the skier gets there!

[disland]

Moomba needs to consider doing something different. Certainly no one is there trying to break any records so why not try some rule modifications for the spectator appeal.

[Wish]

Moomba is unique in its water conditions. Has anyone come close to a World Record run there? If not, let's make it more for what it is..for the spectators. Pulled gates does damage the competitiveness whether its a valid criticism or not. We all feel it and so does the crowd. How about widening the gates just enough so the judges can make a clean call on the spot. At short line and moving current I believe it's a tough call for the judges. Yes it becomes a non record capable site but how often have we seen this and been disappointed. Increase the competitiveness and lesson the gate pulls. It's my understanding that not much of an advantage would be gained by the skiers in doing so and they would shoot similar lines. Just a thought but am in the camp of something should and could be done if scores are that far from a world record attempts.

[Horton]

I respectfully disagree with @Than_Bogan @disland and @Wish

 

I get the argument about the show but seriously is the this the first time Nate has missed his gates in a big event? (no) The rules say you must go between the gates.

 

Yes the water at Moomba is moving and it is crazy hard to ski there but they are the best skiers in the world and the difficulty is part of why the event means so much.

 

[jcamp]

Kitzbühel is a really tough downhill race course. They should let skiers miss a gate or two and keep going, you know, for the fans.

 

/still waiting for sarcasm font to be invented

[Orlando76]

The only bit I watched was Female Jr's and was amazed when the boat came underneath the bridge it'd bounce every time and the skier bounced like they were going over boat wake just as they'd turn in for the gates. I knew then the water had to be moving crazy fast and not to expect any whopping numbers to come through. One of the girls I saw fell at 2 ball and I could see then how turbulent the water was as she tried to catch up with her ski. My hats off to all who even attempted to ski there.

[andjules]

@jcamp if this was about letting downhill skiers miss gates, we'd be arguing to be lax on the slalom balls, which is not what others are arguing here. This is more like: imagine there's one downhill course where racers false start at significantly higher rates than other courses. And imagine it's one of the the only races that draws significant spectators. Racer's fault? yes. Good for the sport? not really.

[Wish]

Can anyone say first hand just how much they move in the current? Is it a couple inches or are we talking a lot more? Are they that hard to judge or that hard to make by the skier? And what other major sight has a moving target? I think a moving target/pole/gate in downhill would be something the skiers, judges and spectators would want to change. Especially if it's only at one huge important stop for any given downhill tour. I do see the other side of the argument that it is what makes Moomba...Moomba. Same holds true for some of the bumpy conditions at the U.S. Masters that we always see. Every one is getting the same conditions. Don't cut it so close next time.

[Than_Bogan]

I get the sense that @Wish is not really passionate about this and certainly I am not. If I get to vote, I'll vote for a spectator-friendly change. But I'm not going to campaign for anyone to change their mind.

[Wish]

@Than_Bogan passionate for a change..no. Open minded...yes.

[lpskier]

Re Nate: He seems to lose a lot of gates. That said, he probably has the best gate in the business, with a very small margin of error. An occasional yanked gate may be the "cost of doing business." Someone said that he has run 41 more times that the others combined. If this is true, he makes his gate plenty. As noted plenty of times before, Moomba is tough due to current. It would be interesting to hear Nate's perspective. I take it that Cory's 0@39 is a pulled gate. Anyone know how far he got notwithstanding the pulled gate?

 

Parrish has been nursing a seemingly chronic injury all last fall and winter. Shoulder, I believe. He might be smart career-wise to take a hiatus to heal up fully.

 

Congratulations to Bojan. 230/70.2 in the final. I'm not sure, but that could be a PB. Long jump last year was a 67 something, I think. Great time to raise his personal bar. Looks like it could be his year. As if it could get any better after marrying The Krista...

[aupatking]

This was a fantastic Moomba.

There were so many pulled gates in the final, you expected a review each run. Of course it takes away a little, but instant replay is a fact of life, and rights wrongs more often than the inverse.

The Yarra is a tough place to ski. That's why records aren't set there. It's what makes the tournament what it is, for the purists. The spectators just see awesome skiing. They likely couldn't care less who wins, but the show is fantastic.

That was such an awesome Moomba! I loved it.

I'm gonna guess me saying the finish was crazy awesome getting an "off topic" was a fat finger. But, if we want to get off topic, let's start a different discussion on gate sensors. Instant, in pass notification of missed gates. I'm not getting into it on turn balls.

Congrats Will Asher! Awesome skiing. Nate, you're a class act, skied up to the dock with a smile on your face, congratulated Will.

Then Bojan busts it huge! Not to mention the old course record only being good enough for 2nd in women's slalom. I was pulling for Manon, but what can you say to Whitney's lights out performance? I hate that I missed tricks (dang opposite side of the world time zones).

[fox197]

Cmon guys. A slalom course is a slalom course. Will won fair and square. Moomba is a tough event. Everyone has to ski under the same varying conditions. the gates are just as a part of the course as the bouys are. Removing the offside rule in soccer would make it much more spectator friendly(more goals) but it wouldn't be soccer. You could widen the gates but then if Nate missed it by an inch would you then say oh widen them a bit more next year. I'd say 70% of the spectators that watched from the bank haven't been exposed to slalom waterskiing. It wouldn't matter 1 iota if you changed gate rules for Moomba. Look at it this way. You want the sport to expand. People watching from the bank who don't understand why the missed gate passes don't count are most likely researching the ins and outs of slalom waterskiing right now.

[Than_Bogan]

I don't think anyone -- and certainly not me -- is saying anyone was cheated or that Will's win is anything but a first class WIN. The rules were clear.

 

The thought exercise is about the future of the event.

 

Way off topic, but I very much doubt that soccer would be more spectator-friendly without the offside rule. I expect it would degenerate into camping out, and the whole notion of runs, which I claim are the most exciting part, would simply go away. If you want more scoring, and I do, make the goal bigger -- especially in height.

[Andre]

24'' diameter right side gate bouy.

No one will want to miss their gate late. ;)

Easy to judge ...

[ozski]

What about 1 re-ride if you miss entry gates but still run the pass?

[Horton]

@ozski please no

[lpskier]

@Andre And I thought you were my friend. Crap, my ankles would never be the same!

[Laz]

It's so tough to watch the webcast live. I tried to hide from Twitter and all the rest of the internet while I wait for the archive to come out (maybe a week?). And I would have made too, if not for those pesky teenagers (my kids). Mystery gone.

 

But still looking forward to watching the archive, hopefully will be good quality since the rebroadcast will not dependent on lakeside bandwidth.

[ALPJr]

Really like this event - national spirit, city scape, river conditions, crowds and a festival atmosphere. Any videos out there?

[Stevie Boy]

Nate wins a lot, Will Asher wins the Moomba, Nate didn't, why are talking about Gates, Will managed to get them, every body else, had the same opportunity. enough said, Move On