The first Pro Tournament of the year was hosted at Okeeheelee Park in West Palm Beach Florida under bright blue skies. Many of the top skiers in the world were there, competing for $17,500.00 in cash prizes. Andy Mapple came out of retirement and skied in this tournament.
In the first round, three skiers were disqualified for their handles being too long. Setting a precedence to eliminate cheating, the handles were measured immediately after they came back to the starting dock due to an incident last year where a pro skier used a handle he had just modified and was about 8” out of tolerance. At the end of the first round, Matteo Ianni, the 19 year old from Italy was in the lead with 2 buoys at 10.25 followed by Andy Mapple with 1 and Chris Parrish with .5, all at 10.25.
The second round saw Chris (The Tower of Power) run 4 at 10.25 followed by Jeff Rodgers with 3 and Andy Mapple with 3, all at 10.25. Matteo decided to sit on the sidelines for round 2 as his first round score of 2 at 10.25 guaranteed him a spot in the finals.
In round three, Matteo scored 3 at 10.25 in a set that he called his worst of the year. Mapple started at 14. Ran a tailwind 13, skipped 12, ran an 11 headwind, then a tailwind 10.75 and then followed up with 2 10.25 desperately trying to get to 3. And then along came Parrish. Out he came at 13. Chris’s engine kept purring right on up through 4 ball at 10.25 where he just stood up, stopped skiing and raised his arms in triumph. The Tower Of Power had struck once again, extinguishing Andy Mapple’s hopes of again being in the number one spot. Chris embraced the challenge and rose to meet and exceed it. There was definitely a changing of the guard this fateful weekend in West Palm Beach. A changing of the guard which was witnessed by all. This story is not only about Chris Parrish and Andy Mapple, it's also about Matteo Ianni, the 19 year old from Italy who beat everyone in the first round, who beat Andy Mapple in the second and third rounds and who is making his mark at the highest end of this sport. This story is about Greg Sund and Harald Hintringer, the 2 old guys (45 and 46 years old), the guys who put this whole show together, the 2 old guys who both ran 11 in all 3 rounds (at 58 kph), the guys who tied in the finals with 3 at 10.75. This story is about Thierry Malhomme who runs a ski school in Bordeaux France who came to Miami to train 2 weeks ago after a 4-month layoff. Thierry ran 1 at 10.25, smoking the competition. This story is about all of the hard work that goes into this sport and the smiles that come out.
Final Results:
1. Chris Parrish 3.5@41
2. Matteo Ianni 3@41
3. Andy Mapple 2@41
4T Jason Paredes 4@39
4T Jeff Rodgers 4@39
4T Nick Parsons 4@39
7T Greg Sund 3@39
7T Harald Hintringer 3@39
7T Arturo Nelson 3@39
10. Billy Susi 2.5@39
11T Drew Ross 2@39
11T Doug Ross 2@39
13. Nicholas Fuldauer 1.5@38
For all the scores; http://www.jollyski.it/files/editoriali/Challenge_the_Pros.htm
As for the long handle situation Saturday;
Schnitz,
I was just checking out your site and noticed that I finally made the front page! I was pretty excited about this until I read the rest of the sentence. I just wanted to write in and mention that my disqualification for an 'illegal' handle was a complete rookie maneuver on my part. There was absolutely NO foul play intended. I measured my handle before I skied and it was in tolerance -- honestly the thought never crossed my mind that it would be out after I skied. Anyways, thanks for putting the work in to keep all of your web visitors up-to-date!
Thanks!
Wade Williams
