Winter Olympics: Freestyle Skiing
Ski Cross added to freestyle mix
by Mike Morrison and Christine Frantz
Freestyle skiing saw its first Olympic action
at the 1988 Calgary Games as a demonstration
sport. Its immense popularity, particularly with the Gen-X crowd, made it
an official medal sport at Albertville in 1992
. It has been a staple of the Winter Olympics ever since.
New in 2010, ski cross will be contested at Cypress Mountain, along with aerials and moguls.
The aerial event is perhaps the most breathtaking freestyle
discipline. Competitors begin at a spot of their choice and ski straight down
the mountain toward a concave jump (which can be as high as 13 ft) that hurls
them into the air.
They perform a variety of twists and somersaults
in midair, and then attempt to stick the landing on their two skis. Sounds
easy, right?
A panel of five judges ranks the jumps, guided by the
following components: 50% form, 20% air, and 30% landing.
The 16 women
and 16 men with the best scores advance to the final round. Each competitor
then jumps twice, and the highest combined score wins the gold.
In
the moguls competition, skiers individually race down a mountain covered with
large bumps measuring up to four feet. They must make aggressive turns while
still keeping their shoulders parallel to the finish line.
There are also two jumps, placed one-third and two-thirds of the
way down the mountain. At each one, racers attempt to dazzle the panel of seven
judges with "helicopters," "back-scratchers," and other creative jumps.
The judges use the following criteria to rank the competitors: 50% turns,
25% air, and 25% speed.
Ski cross is similar to snowboard cross, and looks to be just as popular, with its mass start followed by a mad dash down the mountain.
Each heat features four skiers skiing down a course of turns, flats, traverses, rolls, banks, and ridges. Strength and endurance are key, but the most important factor is just plain speed.
The freestyle events will be held Feb. 13–25.
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