Yesterday the AWSA Board passed the final stage of its migration to 2 year youth divisions by implementing B5/G5. The board also voted to make this change retroactive to the previous nationals so that it ties into the previously formed B4/G4 divisions.
So starting today B1/G1 remains U10, B2/G2 is U12, B3/G3 is U14, B4/G4 is U16, and B5/G5 is U18. The programming for this was released today so we would love more testing eyeballs to make sure everyone and their scores are correct. We still have some overall and qualification issues to work out but if anyone sees anything out of the ordinary please DM me so we have this 100% accurate before 2020 tourneys begin.
http://www.usawaterski.org/rankings/View-StandingsHQ.asp?pvar=National
Comments
I know it was probably considered and discussed; and can already be somewhat accomplished through ZBS; and I understand it would have brought about a different set of problems with past records.
I just think it makes sense because elite level juniors could always ski in a higher division if they wanted a higher max speed or more competition, but for the average skier in a tournament this feels like (subjectively) the right speed.
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http://usawaterski.org/rankings/View-StandingsHQ.asp?pvar=Junior
With the new divisions, there are exactly 4 G2 in the entire Nation who have landed a jump in the last year. So any girl in that age group can show up at Nationals and get a placement - even if they can't ride out a jump. Oh and BTW, what is the qualification to go to Nationals for this division and event?
This is obviously the extreme example, but this change really waters down the competition. And it was implemented before any experience with the new B4/G4 divisions. Wouldn't it have been a reasonable idea to give B4/G4 a try for a year or 2 before diluting the kids events even more?
Another poorly thought out idea rammed through by a vocal minority. Sounds good on the surface, but if you give it a little thought, its really bad.
How does this make anything better? It is already largely this way, but this will solidify that Nationals will be the only event where there is any true competition. There will be several "divisions" at our regional JD and championship tournaments where there will be one or zero competitors.
If having fun is the goal, tournaments of any sort aren't needed. Go to the public lake or just have fun skiing against your friends and family at home. I see competition as something that should be challenging. To be worthwhile it must be difficult. You want to get better. You struggle. You persevere. You may or may not win but you grow and learn something about yourself.
Kids aren't stupid. It won't take long for them to realize standing up on a podium, by themselves, to receive their first place trophy is meaningless and will move along to the next hobby.
I suspect it will be enlightening and sure hope this was evaluated prior to the rules committee and the board voting on it.
My point is I don't see where much has changed with the new divisions and understand the hope in why the change was made. That hope is the new divisions will stimulate youth competitors to continue competing at the Regional/National level every year and not skip a couple years after moving up to the next division. During this gap in competing at the Reg/Nat level many skiers find other hobbies/alternatives to skiing. An additional hope is this will have a trickle down effect and stimulate kids to compete at local tournaments because they won't feel so overwhelmed competing against a kid 3 years older they know are out of their league (performance wise).
Will this change grow the youth divisions/sport? It will take years to know but it's worth a try. My daughter skipped at least one year participating at Regionals/Nationals every division change because she didn't really feel competitive and I didn't want to take time off work/lose money/time to have her be frustrated. We probably wouldn't have skipped those years if the divisions were as they are now.
@Sunperch I really don't understand why your surprised. I get confused every time I sit down for diner w/your family too.
Another poorly thought out idea rammed through by a vocal minority.
I have to defend AWSA here, I don't know how we can be more transparent. We surveyed all members in which 77% were in favor. We then post all rules proposal publicly, including here on BOS, on December 1st, then each region has regional meetings in which members should have ample time to express concerns before it gets to national meetings, if you have a better way to make sure the skiing public knows about upcoming rules proposals please let me knows I'd be happy to implement them. You may not agree with the rule or how your region voted but the research and data that went into the reasoning behind it were well thought out and not rammed through.
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Though I agree the divisions will be smaller and there will be an increased cost of medals.
So to my request, how many of the new divisions will have 0-3 competitors at each regionals? And more importantly is that a good thing that will keep kids interested and grow the sport?
From being around alot of kid tournaments I think the chance of kids loosing interest is MUCH higher if there are few or no other kids to ski with/against than being at the bottom of a large group.
I hope I’m wrong.
States and regions should at least have the levity to run the junior divisions in a manor that better fits their respective region and or state championships.
For the record this multi junior age division ideology has been kicked around for quite a few years now, so it is not a knee jerk policy.
Does it dilute the sport to some degree?
I think so. Having brought two juniors through the system I can recall my son as a pretty competitive 14 year old in all three events. I think having a bar set by the older boys in the division made him a better skier and competitor.
One of the ideas surrounding the age group change is that it will give younger skiers a chance to win. Like it or not there will be monsters on all these divisions that would have been competitive skiing with the older kids...Ann Gay skied open events as a 14 year old... just saying..
Personally I voted against this rule change.
@sunperch well that’s unfortunate. I feel like she should take a different approach to it if she wants to ski in college. Our sport is not like most where the officials and officers are actual competitors in the sport and have athletes representation at all levels of governance. Not may sports can say that. I never seen feelings change the rules in any council or board meeting.
Just did a quick google.
Swimming and wrestling were the only two I found that are utilizing 2 year age divisions. Funny they just announced a age group change also.
Baseball , football and basket ball was a mish mash with 8 and under 10 and under and then any thing from 3 year age groups to 4 year age group for the older juniors 17/18 and under
Just a thought usa wrestling, aau swimming are affiliated with usoc! Hmm!!