bishop8950

If the format is straight up and hypothetically you get a H2H of 38 off guys, you could do other things to make the middle of the field more interesting. For example, awards like "best 32 off skier" where if your average going into the event is something at 32, the high score of the day from that group is recognized. Same for the other line lengths. You need other stuff like award for biggest crash. Rewards for anyone that skis with a big curly wig and glasses. You get the idea.

Horton could probably tell you what the average baller ski level is. I was thinking more about who would sign up for this event. Of course I dont know, but if it were 80 ballers I would assume the top of that field will be a group of 20 guys who can get mid 38 or more. So thats maybe 60 other skiers from 15 off to 38off. Probably a big block at 32/35. Like any event you will have to choose your reason to go. Maybe you have a chance to win. Maybe you would be stoked to make the H2H. Maybe you want to ski a pb. Maybe you will go hack your best 28off, drink beer, and throw tomatoes at Horten when he skis? All of which are cool reasons to participate. Now that I think of it, maybe I will come with no ski and just tomatoes.

There was no voting option for "Great idea, I am fine being excluded" but thats my vote. It would be like the Big Dawg was at the first event. I think your proposed cut of no former pros and no sweet 16 big dawgs would create the field of skiers you are looking for. You might not want to exclude sweet 16 skiers from the early years when there were 35 off guys making the cut. The idea of a cut at "never ran 39" would work too. I strongly believe it should be straight up buoy count, not handicapped. Handicap events are cool and fun for a lot of skiers, but its just a whole different deal. The crown is much more meaningful when its straight up. If the event is well attended (assume 50-80) you will have a competitive pack of deep 38and well into 39 guys that would create an interesting H2H bracket and thats where the excitement is.

@gregdavis how will tournament registration work this year? If your Senior Tour is successful there will be even more skiers wanting to ski in the qualifiers. So how will we manage the registration concerns of last year?

Snow ski as much as I can. Sometimes on the same day as I waterski. NorCal rocks!

@gregdavis how many guys skied Big Dawg qualifiers and were not one of the skiers that qualified for the finals? In other words, how many Senior Tour skiers would be left after the 50 Big Dawgs last year? Is it enough for an event based on previous seasons? Thanks for trying new things and keeping the series going. @schroed I hope you do come to FL next year, it was fun last time and I will try to make it again! I hear you on wanting to measure against the top guys. I never posted a M3 score after I qualified in MM because I wanted the challenge of chasing the top guys, even if at that time I wasn't competitive @klindy sounds cool but would take a lot of time. Probably have to reduce the number of people that qualify? How long would I have to wait before a change that big could ever go through?

If its rough, I often ski slower rather than not ski. If its dangerous, or you cant possibly ski they way you want, probably should leave the dock. Learning a shorter line length its sometimes helpful to slow down a bit, see the line you need to ski, get more confident, then ease the speed back up. I think the most important thing is you know what you are working on. What part of your skiing are you trying to figure out and improve. If its easier to work on this at a slower speed or longer line then do it. Once you feel good, speed up or shorten to see how you do. Just my 2 cents

@horton, got it. Only alternative is the M3 ranking list, agree its not the same as a one round who does best when it matters format. You can find that 1/2 ball, and you will. But, there is another way. When I got my first Open rating it happend in the winter months after I stopped skiing and when enough of the scores fell off the ranking list and the qualifying level stooped to my level...fingers crossed : -)

@horton, I know your position is strong, and this thread is not about age vs ability (directly anyway) so I am afraid to ask, but I have a question: If you did away with MM and went all aged based for Nats, other than clarity, how did that improve the event for the M3 guys? Now instead of just the "sandbaggers" you have all the 35-45 top guys joining you. Its clear, its predictable before the event, its still fair, but otherwise how is it better? I am not saying its not, I just forgot your rationale. I like MM as the top 34mph division, but I now have the Big Dawg for that just like the top 36mph guys can ski Pro Events. So I am not passionate about keeping MM if I was asked to vote, but thats only because we have the Big Dawg.

@Horton, I agree it only impacts a few skiers, but how many skiers could it affect? How many skiers around the world are there that want a chance to compete against other ~38 off skiers? At the Big Dawg events sometimes it feels like most of them are already there. I am sure many stay home because they know they dont stand a chance to make the cut to the H2H, so the Senior Tour may be a valued option. The experiment will be interesting, how many show up and how does it go? I think of this as one step at a time. Maybe a venue enabling a 38off title will inspire more skiers to train and step up? Can it help grow the sport? I hope. Probably more than the Big Dawg as it is today with the top guys all averaging into 41. I think the Big Dawg is awesome as it is and I am thankful its available venue for me. But there must be a larger number of guys working on 35/38 that would find the Senior Tour more practical goal delivering a tangible bragging right. As you say, take a 38 off skier who dont have a good chance of winning a National medal and return home after one round. Or, get 2 cracks at it with a good chance of making the H2H. Given a choice between the two I would take the Senior Tour option. Putting them together the same week is the best! I got to ski 5 tournament rounds my last trip to Okee.

I think the intent is right. I would rather do an experiment where the outcome is unclear than do nothing. I understand the issues between keeping the difference between divisions clear. At the BigDawg events, I was involved in many chats with guys like Chad Scott about how to keep the guys that are in the middle of the pack motivated to come to the Big Dawg events. I think there are about 25 guys of which you will see them in the sweet 16. There are 5-10 that are a lock, and the rest could be a dominate Dawg who had a bad day or guys like me who showed up in the H2H for the first time last year. What a blast! But what about the other guys who are awesome skiers with averages of deep 38 or shallow 39? Its a shame that they dont get to play in the H2H format which I think is the most exciting part of slalom from the skier and the spectators standpoint. This looks like a legitimate shot to give those guys a chance and see how it goes. You could structure it different in ways but I dont have a better idea, do you? Lets see what happens and I bet OB represents! As a slight aside, but related to H2H excitement, I will put on a 8 person H2H after our Class C tournament this summer just because its so much fun. I was talking to Seth at the BD Finals after we both went out in the first round and he said "the worst thing about loosing in the first round of the H2H is its so much fun you just want to keep going" and I couldn't agree more

I have used lights for years. Regular caged shop lights with 75w bulbs. I use two for redundancy. The frost in Northern cali is light so this is sufficient. In MI I would drain the block because its damn cold in Jan!

@Horton, I think/talk about skiing tournament 36mph again, but havent. It would be fun to confirm a spot on the world list. For me, I never ran 38a36mph in a tournament, but can now. I should tick that box at some point. For now, I am having too much fun chasing the Big Dawgs!

I think Rich Lambert

I would start with the fin at stock, and play with the boots until you like it. Boot adjustments are easy and have a big impact. When I dial in my boots I try different positions within one set (take the screwdriver in the boat). Once you like the boots, go to the fin for dialing. My 67" settings (and my best guess of the right range to pick from on a 6", add a bit for 68") 2.500 (2.48-2.520) 6.940 tips (6.90-6.95) 0.780 flat (7.40-7.80) 7 degrees (7 or 8) 30 1/16th front boot (my binding plates are slotted so I am not picking "holes") 17 9/16 rear boot 30.5" sounds close on a 68". Easy enough to try one hole fwd to see what you think.

Well, zero doesn't work, expand my profile pic. I often do the finger roll at 39, but only on my offside. Not sure why, it just happens.

@MrJones, not an X7, just looked like one. Prototype.

Fastest boat out of the hole ever, great for short set ups. Walk through transom was great. Drives like a race car. Wake is great other than the 22 bump. I remember the pull being very strong compared to other boats at the time. Not sure how it would compare today wrt strength. My buddy has had one since 2000 and not had one single problem with it.

@Triplett said "Now the concept that you can ski like a 36mph pro at 34, pro or not, is wrong". All due respect to my fellow Michigander, I see it differently and think guys like Dan should still aspire to ski like Nate. Will the edge change location be different 36 vs 34mph? Sure, I think a little. But I can run 38 at either speed and I change nothing in my approach mentally. At 36 there is more glide so I do ski farther inside to hook up, and get off it faster resulting in an earlier edge change than 34mph, but it doesn't require a major adjustment. For me, coaching a skier at either speed is the same even if the exact spot they changes edges shifts by at most a few feet for 34 vs 36. In other words skiers that “pull long” have a macro problem and the difference between a perfect 34 and 36mph edge change is micro. Otherwise everything he said about his edge change focus sounds spot on to me, I am working on those exact things

@OB, I agree, you have to be doing a lot of other stuff right before you work on this. I watch plenty of longer line skiers (15-32) and this almost never the first thing they need to work on.

@skidawg, cheers mate. Let me know how your X7 test ride goes :-)

D3 wants skiers to have a choice between 2 skis that both rip but have different appeal. There is no rule as to which is for you, try them both. The talk above is on point, and the website descriptions always seemed spot on to me. We can speculate about Nate's preferences, talk about other peoples perceptions, and debate for ever. There is nothing like a demo ride to find out what YOU feel and what you like. When the Nano Mid came out and guys were killing it I tried one. I see why it works great for many skiers, but its not for me. The point is there were pages and pages of discussion on BOS and as helpful as that is I still had to feel it for myself - now I know.

Of course 36mph vs 34mph changes things a bit, but no reason not to try to ski like Nate! I think the biggest difference between the tour skiers (and the top big dawg skiers) and everyone else is how the move through the wakes and out to the buoy. Nate does it so well and its easy to see in his skiing so its a great example. I personally feel there is enough whip in the rope to start working on this at 34mph/32off and it just gets more important as it gets shorter. The best coaches might argue you can work on it at even longer ropes.

I rode a bunch of skis and keep coming back to the D3 X7. It is slower than other skis but I like it that way. It does ride deep in the water and rips turns also the way I like it. If you haven't tried one you should. Its definitely on the short list of good skis out there, and definitely not "crappy".

What Shane and Seth said! This is the main thing I have been trying to make sense of and do all season. A really important part of this is if you didn't come off the previous turn and into the handle properly, its really hard to get it right behind the boat and influence how/when/where you change edges. Make sure you are in good shape coming into the first wake so you have a chance to own your moves through the edge change and out. Then go ski with Seth to dial it in.