Three Big Dawg competitors got together to take a few practice sets. The 3M’s, Fabrizio Merlo from Italy, Thierry Malhomme from France and Andy Mapple from Great Britain, Orlando shared an afternoon together skiing, but not without some trash talking. Andy was giving Thierry a difficult time and kept asking his age. At age 55, Thierry is one of the older of the competitors. Thierry in return tried to speak good English with Andy, possibly giving Andy a few wine selection tips while waving his arms in some sort of sign language. Fabrizio prepared by meditating and stretching on the dock, staying clear from the other two. Andy took the time to watch Thierry’s ski set and gave some great coaching tips.
The Nautique Big Dawg brings competitors together to train, have a good time and share the passion of the sport, but
Thierry and Andy sharing ski tips
when it comes down to the day of the finals each athlete will be ready for the fight and one of the goals for some of the top skiers will be to take down water ski legend Andy Mapple.
When we asked Andy who he thought would win the Big Dawg Finals he said “it’s not who wins the finals but rather to have a good time with skiers of the same age with no pressure. It’s not like when you are on the pro tour and it is your livelihood. Night events have made the sport of water skiing more of a spectator sport, the action under the lights is exciting and different and people enjoy watching a different form of a classic sport.”
You can see all the action from the shore at Okeeheelee in West Palm Beach, Florida during the GOODE Water Ski Nationals. The preliminary rounds will take place all day on August 16th to determine the Sweet 16 finalists. The Sweet 16 will ski head to head rounds on Friday, August 17th with the Elite 8 taking the stage under the lights around dark at approximately 8:00pm.
Fabrizio takes a ski set with Andy and Thierry
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Watch the webcast on Friday, August 17th at 7:00pm at http://nautiquebigdawg.com
