We are letting you all know of the battle that we have on our hands at present,  we would really like your help.

In short form Mary & Brock’s Entry to the 2011 50th Bridge to Bridge has been refused by the NSW Ski Federation, they have not given a reason but merely stated in their letter “that their decision is final and will not be reconsidered”.  This letter did not come from the Bridge Committee as they are merely a Sub Committee of the NSW Federation, so unfortunately the Federation is also made up of Wake Boarders, Bare Footers and Tournament Skiers who have the final say on Mary not skiing the 50th Bridge to Bridge, remembering that she is the only person to have skied the whole 49 previous Bridges and this was to be her 50th & Final Race.  You would be hard pushed to find any other Sporting Person in the world that would have competed for 50 straight years in the one sport let alone the one race.

We have known for a while before it leaked out on Social Media Sites:-

http://www.facebook.com/groups/srnsw/

http://letstalkskiracing.com

http://skirace.net

For a full run down of the goings on and the public outcry these sites really tell it all.   David has posted a couple of things but purely to set people right with the correct info.

Just to UPDATE everyone on how things have happened so far:-
- Jan Thurgar approached my Grandmother at the SRNSW First Aid Day and had a conversation with her that went along the lines of the Federation not accepting her entry.  As you can imagine this upset her very much and actually made her quite sick for a number of weeks.
- I then sent a letter to the Federation and Bridge Committee requesting clarification as to why this conversation took place and under what grounds would our entry be refused.
- Jan responded to me and requested a meeting with myself and Mary, which we were only too happy to attend.
- Then on a number of occasions Jan was unable to attend due to the injury of her shoulder
- Jan then suggested that we meet at Redcliffe leading up to the Worlds or after the completion of the worlds.  I was not able to attend prior to the Worlds, as I didn’t arrive until early morning of the Opening Ceremony, so I presumed there would be a meeting once everyone returned home.
- Our Bridge to Bridge Entry was lodged and there has been no further communications until Mary received the letter dated 30th September, 2011 via Registered Post refusing her entry in the 112km Event and stating that “the decision is final and will not be reconsidered”.  I am happy to email this letter to anybody that would like a copy.

Mary is a life member of Ski Racing Australia and does not have to pay her membership each year, she signs an Insurance Waiver each year and is not covered by SRA insurance.  SRA have no problem with Mary competing anywhere in the Country and they are the ones that give sanctioning to this Race.

I have spoken directly to the person at Waterways who issued the Bridge to Bridge Licence and he has told me that they have no problem with Mary racing and would be happy to work with us to accommodate her being in the race if need be, but the problem is that the Federation are the ones that hold the Licence.

We are happy to start whenever in the Race and stop if we need to get out of the way of Super Class just as we have done in previous years.   I would certainly not put any of my family or a fellow competitor in any danger, so I don’t see where the problem lies.

Mary has not deteriorated from last year, she has actually done more skiing and is fitter than she has been for years.  The rejection of this Entry not only affects Mary but also the rest of the family, especially Brock who also does not get to ski the Bridge.

It is true that there are Lawyers involved now, along with the Human Rights Commission, but do you really think this is what we want?   Mary is an 81 Year Old Pensioner and the Federation obviously must be prepared to use competitor’s funds to fight her.

All of the media outlets are pushing for interviews with Mary, imagine the bad publicity that this could bring on the sport and sponsors of the race – common sense you think should prevail and all of this should be used to promote the good of the sport, just like Mary’s Channel 9 Interview last Friday Night which was the first TV promotion of the Bridge this year.

So Maca has now joined Facebook and set up an email address letmaryski@bigpond.com so everybody could help us and get behind this quest, by simply sending an email showing your support for Mary to ski the Bridge.  It doesn’t have to be long a couple of words will do, just ensure that you state your full name on the email and address it to the NSW Water Ski Federation.     *There will also shortly be a Blog at letmaryski.com.

If you could also send this onto as many as possible to help our cause or if you have any suggestions that would be appreciated. By doing this hopefully people power will help get Mary over the line for the 50th Time and once again thanks to everyone for supporting this.