mshaw200

@dave2ball we can't be so quick to want to just get rid of MM, this isn't just a slalom division anymore. This is the ONLY division for me to ski and train to compete and get ready for events like the Pan Ams and Sr. Worlds. I agree that there are people that are skiing in their age divisions at Nationals that SHOULD be skiing in MM. I can't explain why they do it. Since the inception of MM overall I personally have not skied in my age division. Any time I see one of my scores mistakenly show up in M3 I get it corrected, but thats me

@MAD11 your scores only go into the MM ranking list if you ski in a tournament as a MM, not just because you achieve that level @eleeski there is no qualification (as in a certain score) to ski in a Big Dawg, only requirements such as being 35+, and haven't placed in the top 10 in a pro slalom event in the past 3 (or 5 years). @ Mr. Jones wow, you actually wrote that so people could read it? That you agree with horton? :) There was a discussion a couple of years ago when I was on the rules committee to make it mandatory to stay in MM (or Open) thru that years nationals if you decided to compete in either of those divisions during the year. Of all the "mandatory" division discussions I think this was the best ones so far but it didn't get past Rules...

Jody, I still disagree with any potential elimination of the MM division. You are right that I could compete under International Men and my scores would go to the right place but then what about Regionals and Nationals? If I ski in Men 3 at Nationals would I be included in the sandbagging conversation? Heck you call me a sandbagger anyway :)

@Jody Seal - I disagree that MM can go away. I am happy that @ShaneH has hit this on the head. MM is NOT just a slalom division. This is the ONLY division that we have were someone like myself who cares about competing at the Sr. Worlds and Pan Ams can train and compete on the same playing field as the 35+ (Sr 1) division that the rest of the world recognizes (55k in Slalom and 57k/5.5' in Jump). I also agree with ShaneH, we have to stop thinking of Big Dawg and MM as the same, they are not. That doesn't mean however that I don't agree that there are skiers skiing in their age divisions that should be skiing in MM at Regionals and Nationals.

@JayG80.....Thanks :)

Haha, come on. I think the fact that the tick was done by first bouncing off my back/shoulder/face should offset the lack of a tock.

Thanks Shane...I think :) I was a little, lets just say irritated with my 2 ball and I wasn't letting go. After I lost the handle I really thought I was hitting shore. Already did that once this year, didn't want to do it again. Luckily it looked worse than it felt.

Nice frame by frame of the fall! Thanks John T

Ed, there are other factors to consider when you talk about changing the speeds of a division. The Big Dawg event is separate but altering MM slalom speed doesn't just affect slalom skiers. While I am the only Big Dawg competitor that does 3 events I look at things a little differently then a single event slalom skier does. I complete at the Sr. Worlds as well as for the Sr. Team at the Pan American Championships. MM is the only division that USAWS has that matches the competing criteria (55k for slalom and 57k/5.5' ramp for jumping) of the 35-44 division the rest of the world recognizes as the Sr 1 division. Thus, MM is the only division I have where I can train and compete under those same rules/criteria. There is talks of trying to create another division for 35+ skiers where they ski at 35mph instead of 34. Until our Men 3 division matches the rest of the worlds Men 3 (Sr 1) division I pray that the current criteria of MM is left alone. Of course this is merely my opinion. Marc

I'll have my spreadsheet going as well that will be able to see each skiers score tell you who the top 8 single best scores (Seeds 1-8) are as well as Seeds 9-16 based on cumm averages. It may not be as fast updating with the two lakes but I'll keep it as quickly updated as possible. You'll be able to get a link to it on my website, www.marcshaw.net I'll get it up by Friday and hopefully make some updates to the site that sorely needs some loving.

When do we get to see the video and scores?

@Ryno, be careful about making such generalizations, that may be true for some for certainly not the majority of the Big Dawg Skiers. @jayski, Andy pulling out has nothing to do with his level of commitment and I would venture to say that you do not know him if you question his commitment level. The Big Dawg series has become what it is because of competition. At last years Big Dawg finals, 17 different skiers ran 39 1/2 off in the prelims....meaning one guy that ran 39 did not make the Sweet 16. That is competition, and it's awesome. In 2009 I had the privilege and honor to ski against Kris LaPoint, one of the legends in our sport and was lucky enough to win. That is and will be one of my greatest water skiing memories. I would welcome the opportunity to sit on the dock with another legend in our sport, Andy Mapple and then to have a chance to go head to head with him? What a rush that would be, win or lose it would be another memory that I would hold on to. Andy hasn't, to my knowledge, competed in a pro event in 8 years. How long is long enough for someone to be out? The Big Dawg rules state that to be eligible a skier can't have placed in the top 10 in a pro slalom event in the last 3 years. Do those that don't want Andy to compete want that changed? I just can't understand the logic behind not wanting him to ski with us. Would he dominate the Big Dawg? Maybe, who knows, strange things can happen in a head to head format. I watched Andy compete at the Sr. Worlds in 2008 in Spain. He and Mike Morgan tied for the win and had to have a run off that I believe took two attempts before the tie was broken and Andy won. The next day in the EAME finals Andy didn't win, he finished 2nd. This isn’t the first time people or a person has complained about Andy. He was entered to compete at the Masters Men event in Charleston in 2008 and withdrew. I can understand how people would think that with Andy and or Jeff there that might mean one/two less spots in the sweet 16 but as we’ve seen in the past ANYTHING can happen. Going back to 2009 again, I ended up 2nd at the Big Dawg Finals, was I the 2nd best skier there that weekend? Not even close. I never ran past 3 @ 39 and I would guess that 40 of the 50 skiers in the Finals could have done that. There is no doubt I got a gift from David Miller in the first head to head round but with the head to head anything can happen, it’s one of the beautiful things about the Big Dawg events. I am personally embarrassed that any of my fellow Big Dawg skiers would complain to the point where Andy felt so unwelcomed that he decided to withdraw his entry. Apparently not everyone out there agrees with me, but this is how I feel. Having had the pleasure to meet and ski with Andy, I would more than welcome him to any Big Dawg event he wanted to come to. He is a great person and ambassador for our sport. My 2 cents. Marc

5'9" 155lbs 63.75 Mid Goode Nano Twist WS9A34MSL I think it's the 168 amp but can't remember at the moment 2 @ 41 in a torunament

Heres my 2 cents and something else to consider: Obviously, the Big Dawg events and International Sr. Events are currently run at 34mph and I really don't see IWSF changing the international Sr. events to 35mph, I'm not sure there would be enough support from the Big Dawg skiers to make the change there either. In the fall of 2008 I convinced the Rules Committee to complete the Masters Men Division with Jumping (that matched the Sr 1 international division of 35mph off of a 5.5' ramp) and Tricking. Doing this gave skiers like myself who are interested in competing in these international events a place to ski overall and be on the same playing field as the rest of the world. This would be my biggest argument for not altering Masters Men from 34 to 35 mph. Unfortunately you can't just look at this from a Slalom perspective. Changing MM to 35 would have other effects. That being said, I'm not opposed to this being "tested" to see the results, I just wouldn't want it to replace MM. Marc

Heres my 2 cents and something else to consider: Obviously, the Big Dawg events and International Sr. Events are currently run at 34mph and I really don't see IWSF changing the international Sr. events to 35mph, I'm not sure there would be enough support from the Big Dawg skiers to make the change there either. In the fall of 2008 I convinced the Rules Committee to complete the Masters Men Division with Jumping (that matched the Sr 1 international division of 35mph off of a 5.5' ramp) and Tricking. Doing this gave skiers like myself who are interested in competing in these international events a place to ski overall and be on the same playing field as the rest of the world. This would be my biggest argument for not altering Masters Men from 34 to 35 mph. Unfortunately you can't just look at this from a Slalom perspective. Changing MM to 35 would have other effects. That being said, I'm not opposed to this being "tested" to see the results, I just wouldn't want it to replace MM. Marc

Hey Marco, 99% of the scores can be seen on my website at www.marcshaw.net. Click on the link that says Katy Ski Jam Scores. It should take you to a spreadsheet showing you the scores from Saturday but if you look at the top you'll see tabs for Friday's scores as well the Quarterfinals and Finals.

I'll be there for MM Slalom and OM Jump and as long as I can get confirmation on the formats I'll have my spreadsheets going for each event