Definition of Pro

[Surfdad]

Ok folks. One last rule development question. At the Tulloch contest we had some serious competitors. The winner of the men's open in both Surf and Skim, Jaime Lovett makes a living skimming. He's featured in video's, has been interviewed in magazines and has a pro model wakesurfer from Calibrated.

The general feeling I got from folks was...we want to have pro's riding at these contests, just not against "me"

First, in your opinion, should there be a separation between pro's and amateur's and if so...what is the defintion of a pro?

Ari Gold of wakesurfing magazine offered this definition:

Professional class riders would be anyone getting paid to ride, that has a pro model board or is generally considered a professional rider by contestants at large.

What does everyone think?

I really appreciate your input and time.

[wakeboarder247]

First, in your opinion, should there be a separation between pro's and amateur's and if so...what is the defintion of a pro?

Ari Gold of wakesurfing magazine offered this definition:

Professional class riders would be anyone getting paid to ride, that has a pro model board or is generally considered a professional rider by contestants at large.

What does everyone think?

I really appreciate your input and time.

I definitely think there should be a separation between pros and amateurs so that the amateurs actually have a chance to win a contest. People won't want to keep paying entry fees to contests if they know they are going to get stomped by pros all the time.

And I think that definition from Ari Gold is pretty good.. or at least a good place to start

[Greg Mallek]

Besides Ari's definition, I think that if anyone has a sponsership that supplies boards, pays entry fees etc. should be in the "Pro Class" . I know a few guys that don't get "Paid" to ride, but get all the benifits of Pro riders, and consider themselves "Pros".

[Lucky 275]

I'm sure there's a trick list, right? Could you separate based on # of tricks they are capable of doing?

[G-MONEY]

Pro means as soon as you get money or endorsements for your sport,,,, As soon as any money is exchanges you are now a professional......This does not include winning contest and getting free stuff....... but as soon as you get paid for what you do you are pro and can never come back to amateur…..

[wannabewakeboarder]

Surf Dad I think you and James should have some Pro model of your own sitting around, with your dedication to the sport. haha

[NICKYPOO]

Got sponsor = pro.

[typerider]

you can write in or send video's to a lot of companies and they'll pick you up as a "pro" but you get zero pay except winnings. when they are giving you a paycheck to ride you are a pro. has anyone considered age limits or do you use them currently? in wakeboarding they have been an issue since there are so many young guns that are just as good as pro's.

[Tanner]

Don't know if this would work, but I used to play professional paintball until this last year. Quite a while ago, we implemented a nation wide tracking/registration system called the APPA (http://www.paintball-players.org/).

The way we have things set up is there are 4 levels of competitive play. Div. 3, Div 2., Div. 1 and pro. It was formerly known as Rookie, Nov., Am, and Pro

Div. 3 is set up for first year tournament teams (or wakeboarder in this instance). After the first year, you are FORCED to move up to div. 2. In div. 2 you are pretty much allowed to stay there as long as you want, or until you win more than 2 events or a series title. Then your forced to Div. 1. In div. 1 you can stay there forever if you choose not to make the bump to Pro. However, alot of teams make the bump b/c the skill level isn't that much higher, the pay is better, and the sponsorship money is higher.

Once pro, you have to sit out for two years to have your level dropped back down to AM.

A similar system could be implemented here w/ some success I would think. If anyone at a local tournament was questioning someone's status, all they would have to do is log onto what ever governing body's website and check the status, as all the players (or rider in this case) profile and status are readily accessible. Along w/ their attended events.

[sagmanaur]

My first thought was if you receive money, sponsorship or "salary", that would be considered pro. But I like Conner's system from his paintball days, it seems like it would be fairly easy to keep track of.

[Tanner]

But I like Conner's system from his paintball days, it seems like it would be fairly easy to keep track of.

who's Conner?



Surfdad,

If your interested at all in that system at all, send me a pm. I sat. on the board that developed this system some time back, and am pretty good friends w/ the guy who has the software that runs this system. Converting it would be a simple task, and he doesn't charges VERY little to make use of the system.