Freestyle skiing
Freestyle skiing began in the
1930s, when
Norwegian skiers began performing acrobatics during
alpine and
cross-country training. Later, non-competitive professional skiing exhibitions in the
United States featured performances of what would later be called freestyle. Aerial skiing was developed in about 1950 by Olympic gold medalist
Stein Eriksen.
Freestyle skiing began to develop further throughout the
1960s and into the
1970s, when it was often known as "hot-dogging." The free-form sport had few rules and wasn't without danger.
The
International Ski Federation (FIS) recognised freestyle as a sport in
1979 and brought in new regulations regarding certification of athletes and jump techniques in an effort to curb the dangerous elements of the competitions. The first World Cup series was staged in
1980 and the first World Championships took place in
1986 in
Tignes,
France. Freestyle skiing was a demonstration event at the
Calgary Winter Olympics in
1988. Mogul skiing was added to the official programme of the
Albertville Games in
1992, and aerials was added for the
Lillehammer Games in
1994.
Currently (
2006) there are two main branches of freestyle skiing: one encompassing the more traditional events of
moguls and
aerials, and a newer branch often called
new school, comprising events such as
halfpipe,
big air,
slopestyle, and
skier-cross.
Aerialists ski off jumps, usually built of wood and then covered with snow, that propel them up to 40-50 feet in the air. Once in the air, professional aerialists perform multiple flips and twists before landing on a 34- to 39-degree inclined landing hill about 100 feet in length. The top male aerialists can currently perform triple back flips with up to four or five twists. Quadruple back flips have been performed on snow, but currently (
2006) they are not legal in competition.
There are two varieties of aerial skiing competitions: upright and inverted. In upright aerials, movements in which a skier's feet come higher than his or her head are illegal. This is the most common type of aerials competition for junior competitors. In inverted aerials, skiers execute elaborate flips and someraults.
ScoringAerial skiing is a judged sport, and competitors are judged on jump takeoff (20%), jump form (50%) and landing (30%). A degree of difficulty (DD) is then factored in for a total score.
Summer TrainingAerialists train for their jumping maneuvers during the summer months by skiing off specially constructed water ramps and landing in a large swimming pool. A water ramp consist of a wooden ramp covered with a special plastic mat that when lubricated allows an athlete to ski down the ramp towards a jump. The skier then skis off the wooden jump and lands safely into a large swimming pool. A burst of air is sent up from the bottom of the pool just before landing to break up the surface area of the water, thus softening the landing of the impact. Skiers reinforce the skis that they use for water-ramping with 1/4 inch of fiberglass.
Summer training also includes training on trampolines, diving boards, and other acrobatic or gymnastic training apparatuses.
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Competitive
Mogul skiing arose soon after aerials became popular. During a moguls run, skiers must turn around large bumps (moguls) and also perform two jumps. The slope is very steep, usually between 22 and 32 degrees, and about 660-890 feet in length. The jumps in a moguls competition are smaller than those in aerials, and until recently inverted maneuvers were banned.
Judging: Turning technique counts for 50% of a skier's score; jumps and speed each count for 25%.
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Skiing and Skiing Topics*
Freestyle Skiing Topics*
2006 U.S. Olympic Ski Team bios ... includes freestyle
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Swiss independent Freeski Team ... includes freeskiing
