Masters LCQ update

[Horton]

After round one men's slalom is pretty exciting.

 

Smith is in. ( VERY likely )

Asher, Mccormick, and Travers are tied at 4 @ 41. Only 2 total will qualify for Masters this weekend.

 

[Horton]

For the ladies - Regina is already in so the rest of the field is fighting for 3 spots

 

 

[Horton]

If you want more results... http://www.waterskiresults.com/WfwWeb/wfwShowTourScores.php

[Horton]

I am unsure how ties are going to be broken. Best backup score??

[dvskier]

There’s another round tomorrow so it will be the three top scores (less Regina)

[Than_Bogan]

No video coverage?

[Horton]

no

[LeonL]

I thought that 3 total will qualify at each of the first 2 qualifiers, and 2 at the final qualifier for a total of 8. I guess with the reigning champion already having a spot there will be 9?

[mmosley899]

Ready to start day 2...

 

[Than_Bogan]

(Edited. I see @EM_ is indeed in the competition.)

 

My big question:

 

Where did Vanessa Vieke come from? How can a name I've never heard of be "right there" in the mix to win it two weeks in a row?

[dvskier]

@Than_Bogan Vanessa won the Queens Cup a few years ago. She trains with Chet Raley and her Husband Noah coaches at Chets place. So she’s been around for some time.

[Horton]

@dvskier her husband is Noah? That explains a lot. She does seem to have come out of nowhere but is obviously legit

[dvskier]

A very hard working mother of 2 kids and still finds time and energy to excel. That says it all.

[Horton]

Open Women Slalom is wrapping up now with a few skiers to go. If I am reading this right, Venessa Vieke, Chelsea Mills and Whitney are going to Masters.

 

Maybe this is no big deal for Whitney but Vieke and Mills have to be STOKED!

[dvskier]

I would think that Whitney qualifying after giving birth to a son last summer is a major big deal. She has come back in a phenomenal fashion! Also Chelsea has been steadily advancing the past couple years and has put in a lot of work to get to the Masters.

[mcskier41]

I was on the dock at the LCQ stop #1 and both Vanessa and Chelsea were super stoked to qualify. All were pulling for Allie Nicholson and she was so so close to qualifying. Hopefully Allie gets it done on the next stop. Great skiing by the women!

[mmosley899]

My seat to watch OW slalom...

 

[Horton]

Watching the scores for Round 2 of the Men. Holy Shit I have no idea who is going to get through. 5 guys have a 4 @ 41 so far (Round 1 & 2)

 

[The_MS]

Pretty awesome. We are in a delay with some boat video feed issues.

[kc]

Vanessa has made a comeback into skiing in the past several years. She is from Australia. Her maiden name was Leapold (sp?). She was a world class junior skier Really cool that she and Chelsea punched their tickets to the big show!

[Horton]

looks like JT & Cole are through to Masters along with Smith

[BS74]

Is it Nate plus two more or 3 more like the women?

[Horton]

It is actually 3 for the event because Fred is the reigning champ.

 

I just assumed Nate would get through.

[Horton]

UPDATE I was wrong. They are running off for the Masters spots. I thought they would use back up scores.

 

5 way run off for all the guys who ran 4 @ 41

• Cole

• JT

• Asher

• Odvarko

• Pigozzi

 

[Horton]

If I understand my text messages correctly .... this is what happened

 

Run off # 1

Pigozzi 1.5 @ 41

Cole 3.5 @ 39

Asher 2 @ 41

JT 2 @ 41

Odvarko 2 @ 41

Run off # 2

JT 2 @ 41

Asher 3.5 @ 41

Odvarko 1.5

 

So JT and Asher go to the Masters

 

All of this is pending confirmation...

[BS74]

Should have used back up scores, it's about consistency. You are giving those who did not a third chance!

[Horton]

@BS74 yeah that was my first thought also but I am not sure there is a right answer ...

[disland]

are they using the same rules at all three LCQ events?

[Horton]

IDK

[randy meny]

Did Nate ski 2nd round?

 

 

[klindy]

Ties: For all 3 events, slalom, trick and jump, there will be one traditional run-off attempt before moving to a “sudden death” run-off format.

In the traditional run-off attempt, skiers will run-off in random draw order. For slalom, skiers will start one line-length below the pass where the tie occurred. Skiers with the highest score in the run-off will advance. Jump skiers will have 2 jumps and trick skiers will have one single (1) trick pass.

If, after the single traditional run-off, ties still exist then skiers will run-off again using the “sudden death” format. Skiers will now be seeded from the highest produced score from either round 1 or round 2 of the qualifying tournament. If a tie still exists, ties will be broken using the 2nd score from the said qualifying series event tournament. If a tie still exists, the Round 1 seeding procedures listed below in sequential order will break the tie. The higher seeded skier will choose to ski first or second off the dock. The second skier off the dock must beat the first skier off the dock to win. Should the second skier off the dock tie the first skier off the dock, the first skier off the dock will be pronounced the winner.

 

[The_MS]

Nate didn’t ski 2nd round

[Than_Bogan]

Two more questions:

1) What happened to Manon? Just not her day?

2) Did Montavon have a 6-no or did she miss the gate at 39?

[Ictjhawk316]

2) montavon fell before she passed through the gates at 6 ball at 38 off

[BlueSki]

@Than_Bogan Manon has dealt with back issues in the past. Hopefully that is not the case now.

[scoke]

Apologize if I missed it, does a skier have to ski all 3 events (unless they come qualify at the first event)?

 

Meaning, can someone show up at stop #2 only?

 

Any word on Jamie Bull?

[Cooper_Trelawney]

So, I thought in the past that the LCQ tournament was a path for a non-invited skier to punch their ticket in and there were several top skiers invited (based on world ranking?). Now only the champions from the most recent Masters are invited and everyone else has to fight their way in through placement at 1 of 3 LCQ events? Is that correct or am I missing something. If that is the way it is now, why?

[LeonL]

In a multiple round tournament the backup scores should determine placement. That's just my .02.

[Jody_Seal]

@LeonL Nautique writes the rules on this one.. its coffee cup ideology!

[Horton]

@Cooper_Trelawney

In years past the invite list has been based on the elite list. This year because there was no official elite list from last season they have chosen to have three qualifying tournaments as the sole qualification method.

 

This is not without a little bit of controversy. There are some in the sport that think there were enough tournaments last year or that those qualified for the event last year that didn't happen should have be qualified.

[NoahVieke]

Hi all, I am new to the site, but wanted to voice a different perspective on the masters qualifiers. I know not everyone will agree with this, but here we go.

 

Contrary to what appears to be popular opinion, I’m actually a big fan of the series. I like the fact skiers didn’t have to travel all around the world, chasing tournaments for elite points in hopes of obtaining enough to qualify. That is an expensive proposition, and I’ll use Vennesa as an example since I know 100% her situation. We don’t have enough money as a family to send her all over the world to compete in elite points events. We saw this as possibly her only chance to ever qualify for a masters so we put the funds together and went after it, and I’m glad we did. It was a 1 day drive to the site, and 1 day drive home. We made it a little vacation since we don’t do that very often and it was only 1 round per day which gave us plenty of time to do other things if we wanted. I also like the fact there is more than 1 event. It gives athletes like Manon, Cole, Robert, Allie, Kassidy, Daniel and so many others more opportunities at making it in.

 

For the few of us who were at the event, you know it was some of the best skiing the world has ever seen. 5 guys tied with 4@41 and Nate ran it to solidify his spot in the Masters. I like for format of 2 rounds, best score gets in. I also like the fact that they ran off any ties. If you think Swiss was exciting with the 4 way runoff, or MasterCraft pro was exciting with the runoff for first, THIS event was another level. 5 guys battled it out in an absolute dog fight for the final 2 spots available, and it did not disappoint in the slightest. This was the highest cut in the history of the sport in more than one way. First, the number of guys involved in the runoff. Second, to think that anything less than 4@41 didn’t give you a chance to go to runoff... that’s insane. The energy and excitement was, on the edge of your seat electric.

 

On the female side, 10 women ran 38. They were all hunting 3@39 or more, but knew if they ran 3 they would force a runoff for the 3 places going to masters (Regina didn’t count due to already being qualified). Allie nearly had it done with a 2.5 but couldn’t make the S-turn. Kassidy skied unreal good and hit the inside of 3@39. The women, like the men, were doing battle on the water and it was some of the most entertaining slalom I’ve seen to date. Add a couple missing skiers to the field and the entertainment level would have gone up without a doubt.

 

Sadly, not everyone was able to experience it, which is a massive shame, and I feel bad for those of you who missed out who are fans of the sport. I wish there was more coverage on this series because it was amazing to watch.

 

If you agree with the format or not, you cannot take away from the level of competition. But it’s obviously not a perfect format either. There are a couple things I would change to make it more worth while for the athletes, most obvious is prize money. I am an open rated skier, but was not qualified to compete at these events because I didn’t meet to criteria, so in essence this is an elite pro event, let’s reward those pros who are qualified with something more than an invitation to the masters (even though that is an awesome prize already). Second, coverage. This was hands down the best pro event I’ve ever seen, and I’ve watched many. Unfortunately nobody else could view it unless you were there. Bummer. Third, don’t make it consecutive weekends leading up to the Masters as that is tough on the athletes.

 

Ive rambled long enough, but I hope a version of this format will continue in the future with a couple much needed changes because the level of fierce competition alone was worth the entry cost for me.

 

And a HUGE congratulations to Smith, Asher, Travers, Whitney, Chelsea and Vennesa. Well earned!

[ColeGiacopuzzi]

Extremely well said @NoahVieke I would 100% would of been there if I had met the criteria as well. I agree that it gives a fighting chance to the people that can’t chase the elite tournaments all around the world through summer me being one of them. In the future I hope they adapt this qualification method.

[JAS]

I think i agree with Cole on this one. Masters this year will certainly have a group who are skiing at the highest level NOW. Everyone had a chance to give it a shot. Looking forward to a great weekend!

[Woodybc62]

Too bad we couldn’t watch it. I texted congrats to JT. He said it was a long day. 2 runoffs is pretty crazy and nerve wracking I imagine. Sounds like the veterans prevailed in a thrilling battle of wills and nerves.

 

Why no stream? Any chance Nautique filmed it?

[Cooper_Trelawney]

@Horton thank you for the breakdown. Whereas I see the point that Noah and Cole are making I find it odd that Freddy Krueger, Will Asher or Manon Costard have to go through this qualification process rather than being invited to compete. Perhaps a mix of invitations plus the chance to qualify would make better sense. These seasoned pros have put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this sport. I think the top (fill in the number) of the world ranking list have proven their qualifications. That said, this is an incredible chance for some new blood to make it in. Just seems odd that the best of the best have to ski in amateur events to make the cut.

[skiep]

LCQ to LCQ stop off point

[skiep]

Good crew!

[The_MS]

Awesome driving by Keith and Greeny.

It was great to see the sure path data with these guys behind the wheel.