This is my first post on here so please bear with me. I think this is great that there are more kneeboard contests and a big thank you very much to Michael Fernandez for being instrumental with the NSSA organization for making this happen!!
This is a very positive step to promoting the sport.
I have started kneeboarding a bit later in life, I am 50 now and I have been doing the kneelo thing for just over 3 years now. I love surfing this way-I find it is a great workout and exhillerating and exciting!!
I am interested in competing in the NSSA contests for this year and possibly the USA Titles in January 2013. I just have some questions on the overall rating system in general. I am not sure what an A, AA, AAA and Open rating means in terms of a kneeboarder's ability to enter and compete in a contest. I surf at an intermediate level. Any help and insight I really appreciate on what these mean! Cheers! Alpineskier7
Hi, Alpineskier. Glad to see you're getting back into kneeboarding, and being in the San Diego area you can see lots of great kneelo role models in the water. Just don't screw up your back or knees in skiing and lose both sports!
Although I'm not one of the contest organizers who can explain this the best, I think I can come pretty close with an answer to your question about the KSUSA contest US Nationals), and someone else can cover the NSSA format.
When entering the KSUSA contest, everyone (usually about 64 entrants) automatically starts in the Open Division,generally surfing in heats of 4 surfers. Those surfers who continue to take 1st or 2nd in these Open Division heats advance on, until they eventually reach a four-person final. Beginning in the third round (quarterfinals), any Open competitor who places 3rd or 4th is out of the competition--they are not dropped to a lower division. Those who place 1st - 4th in that Open final are considered the top four surfers of the contest, receive the highest ranking positions within KSUSA, and can qualify for better seeding at the World Kneeboarding Championships held every two years.
In most of our contests, those who take 3rd or 4th by the second round of competition are immediately out of the Open Division, but are automatically dropped to AA competition for the rest of the contest. As long as they place 1st or 2nd in those remaining AA heats they continue to move on in that competition until there is a AA final of four surfers, all of whom were knocked out of the Open Division right away. If these surfers place 3rd or 4th in any heat leading up to the final, their competition is over.
The AAA division is in between the Open and AA in a similar way. These surfers begin in the Open Division with everyone else, take a 1st or 2nd in the first heat and move on, still in the Open. However, if they place lower by the 3rd heat (I think), they are out of the Open Division, of course, but they are considered "more skilled" and are not dropped down into the AA comp. Instead they are placed in their own AAA division. They will continue to surf just against the other AAA contestants. They must place 1st or 2nd in these AAA heats to move on, until there is a AAA final with the best four surfers. If, after being placed in the AAA tier, they fail to place 1st or 2nd in a heat, they are out of the competition.
Other special divisions are created for our juniors and cadets, besides having them also compete in the Open Division with everyone else. The same for the women--they have their own division outside of the Open. There is also a crazy team competition after the Open Final where contestants from any of the various divisions may be asked to be on a team.
So, generally, the Open Division ends up with the strongest kneelos, then the AAA just a bit under the Open in ability, and then the AA with ability just under the AAA. Of course, there is some luck in the competition and certain guys who do better in certain breaks, so one year a guy might be in the AA and the next year go really far in the Open, or vice-versa. That leads to all sorts of excitement on the beach, lots of ribbing each other and wide-eyed high-fives after the judges announce heat scores.
At the awards evening, all three division finalists get killer trophies and "goodie bags." Just a lot of good vibes all the way around. I hope you can join us for the next one!
I just want to give you a thank you very much Scott on your explanation of the contest format on the USA Kneeboarding Contest; I apologize for not getting back to you sooner I have been enjoying the latest Labor Day weekend swell this week. Your explanation was excellent and understandable-I like the format in that it is so variable that any competitor gets a new start every time they enter the contest and the results can be interesting and unpredictable for each contestant. It sounds like a lot of fun!
I hope the contest is in Huntington Beach for 2013; we came up for the tail end of the second day of the 2012 contest to check it out and got to watch the team competition and sat in for the awards ceremony which was fun.
Yes I do snow ski and during the ski season I am a ski instructor (nationally certified) and teach adaptive skiing and beginning adult skiers up at Mountain High near Wrightwood. So far my knees have been fine and have not affected my skiing and kneeboarding thank goodness! What I find about kneeboarding is that there is so much cross over from downhill skiing to this sport. For instance the four skills of skiing, balance, pressure, edging and rotary movements do have application for kneeboarding; I am discovering new things all of the time! Have a good rest of the summer!
