Triple Crown Of Slalom Skiing

[Horton]

I put this together while doing some research for a podcast. These are the 3 longest-running and hardest to win events in slalom skiing.

• Worlds has the most complete field and only happens every other year. 
• Until the last few years, Masters was the hardest to qualify for - not to say it is easy now. The conditions are far from ideal. 
• Moomba is expensive to attend & happens during the North American preseason so the field is rarely as deep as other prestigious events. The conditions on the Yarra River are like a box of chocolates "you never know what you're going to get."

	Worlds	Masters	Moomba
Andy Mapple	6	14	13
Bob LaPoint	5	5	1
Nate Smith	3	7	6
Will Asher	2	5	1
Frederick Winter	2	2	1
Thomas Degasperi	2	1	3
	Worlds	Masters	Moomba
Regina Jaquess	4	10	1
Helena Kjellander	4	2	1
Liz Allan	3	5	1
Cindy Todd	3	3	1
Emma Sheers	2	2	3
Whitney Mcclintock Rini	2	1	9
Kristi Overton-Johnson	1	6	3
Manon Costard	1	1	1

 

 

I will do Trick, Jump, and Overall when I get time. When you look at what skiers have won any one event or overall at each of these events you get some names you might not expect or have never heard of.  Who knew that Chuck Stearns had 5 Moomba Gold Medals?

[buechsr]

49 minutes ago, Horton said:

Who knew that Chuck Stearns had 5 Moomba Gold Medals?

Appears he won worlds (slalom and overall) in 1959, too.  Hence "tied" with T-Gas and deserving of being listed?

Hell of induction photo into Long Beach State HOF.  Wish my hair (ever) looked that good, let alone at 1 ball lol.

https://longbeachstate.com/honors/hall-of-fame/chuck-stearns/70

[Horton]

@buechsr

this list is specifically for skiers that won at least one slalom event at each of the three events. Unless I am mistaken, Chuck did not win slalom at Masters

[Taperflex]

Liz Allan should be on that list

Liz Allan

Masters     Worlds    Moomba

     5               3               1

[buechsr]

59 minutes ago, Horton said:

@buechsr

this list is specifically for skiers that won at least one small event at each of the three events. Unless I am mistaken, Chuck did not win slalom at Masters

got it...but I think you meant slalom not small.

[Horton]

@Taperflex

thanks man. Good catch

[NoahVieke]

@Horton I’d still argue masters is hardest to qualify for even with the change in the way one goes about qualifying. Both of the other events have athletes that don’t run 38 off for men and 32 for women

[RAWSki]

I find it interesting that two of the three events listed are constantly 'asterisked' for being less than ideal conditions.  But when most Ballers reminise about the 'good ole days' or "hot summer nights era"...... They seem to forget that none of the sites were ideal or even of Robin Lake Quality.   So did the sport loose favor+sponsors or did the we, as a sport,  transition to a private "Country Club Mentality" ??

[MISkier]

@RAWSki, all I know is that the tournaments in the late 80s and early 90s would get thousands of spectators on shore, including podunk stops outside of Lansing, MI.  And, those stops would be broadcast on ESPN.  I don't know why everybody lost interest.

[Horton]

@NoahVieke

 We do not disagree. I was just saying that the path into the Masters is not as crazy as it used to be. Under the current format the field is still very limited and generally only the very best get in.

[NoahVieke]

@Horton

 

I see.  The wording had me questing the meaning.  
 

I know the masters qualifying system is not the most popular especially for the individuals participating in it.  However I think it’s pretty fun, admittedly because Vennesa has benefited from it.  
 

I do wish they would webcast the events and give cash prize for them because the level of skiing at the qualifiers has been insanely high at least 2 of the 3 years they’ve had them… I paid less attention to it last year with V having a recovering knee.
 

I’m sure that’s a topic for a different thread though.  The achievements of the athletes listed above are absolutely mind boggling.  

[Woodybc62]

Really interesting.  Thanks for putting this together.  Look forward to the trick and jump lists.  

[Horton]

@buechsr yeah that is what I get for using voice to text to post while driving 🙂

[Broussard]

@RAWSki In a lot of ways we focused on performance and standardization. Kevco was spot on in his podcast echoing what I have been proposing for years. Pro skiing is entertainment. Period. Just like college football. Until we (organizers) accept that and start to tailor the product in a manner that increases the spectator appeal which creates more value for sponsors, I don't see much changing.

The problems that we are facing with professional skiing are not unique to our sport. Major programs in college football are struggling to fill the stadium on a weekly basis. No doubt the increased production quality of broadcasts have had an effect on attendance, but our lives are also much more complex these days. There are so many other things we could be doing that the time investment required to attend events in person is less and less palatable. There are ongoing efforts to figure out what drives people to attend these football games in person, and how they can improve the in-stadium experience to help with attendance.

We used to go out of way to create atmosphere at events: beer trucks, vendor tents, music on site, etc. and often made concessions to try and increase spectator appeal: four buoy courses, head to head formats (even tried in W jump at one point), announced line lengths in "feet on," freestyle jump...

Now its more like a golf tournament with death by slalom.

[MitchellM]

Remarkable list!  

I own a cottage at Callaway Gardens.  My kids all learned to ski on Robin Lake.  One of my biggest regrets is that I never went up to see Andy Mapple ski the Masters.  We always went  there the week after the tournament.  I just didn't know about competetive water skiing back then.  Sad.

[mfjaegersr]

Simply astounding.

Andy’s 33 Majors vs 35 between BLP, Smith, and Will.

 

[MitchellM]

How is it that Whitney owns Moomba?  With such variable conditions there, is it a testament to her strength and adaptability?  How do skiers in our hemisphere even prepare for that tournament?

[mike_mapple]

18 minutes ago, MitchellM said:

How is it that Whitney owns Moomba?  With such variable conditions there, is it a testament to her strength and adaptability?  How do skiers in our hemisphere even prepare for that tournament?

ski on rough days, and just suck it up when they are there pretty much. Nothing else to do. 

[RAWSki]

9 hours ago, Broussard said:

 

We used to go out of way to create atmosphere at events: beer trucks, vendor tents, music on site, etc. and often made concessions to try and increase spectator appeal: four buoy courses, head to head formats (even tried in W jump at one point), announced line lengths in "feet on," freestyle jump...

Now its more like a golf tournament with death by slalom.

@Broussard  I mostly agree with you, ----- I do think if colleges are putting a good competitive product on their field they will fill their stadiums and most are selling beer now!.  

And yes my point is that we used to take "the show" to where the people would be or want to be anyway.  Lake Lanier Islands, Sea Worlds, Central Parks etc.   The skiers understood and dealt with the conditions because there was money to be earned plus the atmosphere created by the tour and TV coverage really added to the event.  Could it be done now?  Maybe not, the Masters is close, and the event I watched last year on TWBC from Lake Hancock looked great, I hope they can keep building on that.

 

@Horton thanks for doing this it does remind us about some great skiers from different eras.

Looking forward to seeing the T, J and Overall standings!

[LOTW]

42 minutes ago, MitchellM said:

How is it that Whitney owns Moomba?  With such variable conditions there, is it a testament to her strength and adaptability?  How do skiers in our hemisphere even prepare for that tournament?

Ck. out her insta post from New Years Day, She's at the lake first thing cranking it while the rest of the world is in bed hung over! Commitment and dedication from a true champion!

[Cooper_Trelawney]

Man, Andy was even more of a bad ass than I realized when you look at it like this.

[mike_mapple]

I cant wait to see the jump one, I believe..could be wrong however the only person with more masters wins than my dad is Freddy (single event) 

[NoahVieke]

7 hours ago, mike_mapple said:

I cant wait to see the jump one, I believe..could be wrong however the only person with more masters wins than my dad is Freddy (single event) 

I think they are tied 14 each

[aupatking]

Just seeing that win list of AM is insane. Some of that was my elementary-middle school years, when i made my parents (free skiers only) buy me a subscription to Waterski Mag. I wanted to be him. I didn't even like it when fellow American, Wade Cox won. The field AM skied against was So Strong! and he just kept rolling them. I met him at the Masters when i was a 12 year old kid and I carried his bag out to the pavilion. Not that he needed any help, but he was gracious to let some kid who asked if he could help do so. I still think about that guy every day. Not that any of this has much to do with the list Horton put up for us. Thank you for doing it

[Horton]

I have to admit I was not expecting Freddie's attitude toward the Triple Crown. I guess I could make the argument that in 2024 winning the Swiss Pro would mean more than Moomba. 

When I was prepping for the interview I thought about mentioning that more than ½ of the top 10 skiers were not there but decided that would be a “dick thing to say”. I certainly did not want to throw shade at Freddie’s win. It was pretty authentic of Freddie to bring it up.