Your thoughts about Pro Masters playing in AM divisions?

[Patrick Harris]

A Grandmaster Pro player (941 rating) did took cash recently and decides to play in AM Master division at GMC. Sandbagger?

PDGA states that if the person's rating are below Pro Grandmaster (900+) or Pro Master (935+), then the person is allowed to play in AM divisions regardless if he took cash before or not.

But this guy's rating are not below but way above the minimum rating for Pro Master.

What gives?

Why do Pro players do that?

You took cash recently and are classified as Pro, then you stay in Pro divisions!!

[Bill Bertera]

GMC doesn't offer Pro age-restricted divisions, so he probably thought AM Master was closer to his skill level than an A-Tier Pro Open, which was also $75-$100 more expensive.

[Jeff Wiechowski]

GMC doesn't offer Pro age-restricted divisions, so he probably thought AM Master was closer to his skill level than an A-Tier Pro Open, which was also $75-$100 more expensive.

This.

I'm signed up for a B-Tier this weekend(in MPM) and the TD is pressuring the MPMs to play MPO because there's only 4 MPOs(all over 950) signed up. I'm currently rated 909 so if he forces the issue i'll just bail into MM1 because I will not enjoy myself knowing I have no shot at cashing.

[Jeff Prendergast]

Pateick, you were over 935 for a year and play AM Master. Maybe I don't understand the question. Is it the rating or the cashing that causes the issue?

[Josh Connell]

Pateick, you were over 935 for a year and play AM Master. Maybe I don't understand the question. Is it the rating or the cashing that causes the issue?

Patrick isn't a pro, so his rating has no bearing on his eligibility to play Am Masters. As long as he remains an amateur, he can play Am Masters any time he wishes.

A player who is registered as a professional with the PDGA, by rule, is not allowed to play MM1 if his rating is above 935. There are no exceptions to that. This player should be playing MA1 or MPO at the Green Mountain Championships as those are the only two divisions offered for which he is eligible.

[Jeff Prendergast]

Aha that makes sense.

[Jeff Wiechowski]

A Grandmaster Pro player (941 rating) did took cash recently and decides to play in AM Master division at GMC. Sandbagger?

PDGA states that if the person's rating are below Pro Grandmaster (900+) or Pro Master (935+), then the person is allowed to play in AM divisions regardless if he took cash before or not.

But this guy's rating are not below but way above the minimum rating for Pro Master.

What gives?

Per the Tour Standards, that should not have been allowed. But there he is, 4th place in MM1.

[Jeff Prendergast]

Tough week for the PDGA. They may have been distracted. The easy joke is that he should be suspended for 18 months but I'm not going there. But as far as the real issue, has anyone told the player that it's a no-no? (Not that it's any other player's responsibility) Is it likely to get rectified, ignored, explained away?

[Jeff Wiechowski]

But as far as the real issue, has anyone told the player that it's a no-no? (Not that it's any other player's responsibility) Is it likely to get rectified, ignored, explained away?

Up to the TD to notice the red text when he uploads the spreadsheet. Kinda figured there would be an error message and not allow a TD to complete the upload but I tried it last night with the Battle entries and it will upload fine. You have to go back into the player list(in the tourney admin area) and look over the list for red text.

Now that the player in question has played a round, I'm not sure how it can be "fixed".

[Josh Connell]

Tough week for the PDGA. They may have been distracted. The easy joke is that he should be suspended for 18 months but I'm not going there. But as far as the real issue, has anyone told the player that it's a no-no? (Not that it's any other player's responsibility) Is it likely to get rectified, ignored, explained away?

It IS the player's responsibility to know.

Competition Manual 2.1 General

A. Players are not allowed to enter a division for which they are ineligible. Please see the online Divisions, Ratings, and Point Factors table for specifics.

B. A player is solely responsible for knowing what division(s) they are eligible to compete in. Entry into an ineligible division may result in disqualification from the event and/or suspension from PDGA events.

After the player's responsibility, it's on the TD. The PDGA online tournament manager has a fancy function that red flags players who are in a division for which they are ineligible, so there really isn't an excuse to let it slip by.