Freestyle skiing is a now standardized form of skiing
acrobatics that consists of four subdisciplines: mogul,
ballet, aerial, and the combined. Performance is evaluated for both technique and style.
History
The roots of freestyle skiing are in Scandinavia and the
European Alps, but it developed in North America.
Among the skiers of last century’s Telemark, Norway, the ideal was to master a series of techniques:
turning, jumping, and going straight downhill at high
speeds. Ville låmir (wild courses), located in steep terrain, included tough turns, moguls, and steep jumps.
During the 1930s, Norwegian ski champions used skiing acrobatics in training. Their simultaneous somersault ski jumps were well-known exhibitions.
In Europe, acrobatics was considered an acceptable
part of a skier’s training program but not a “real” competitive sport. The less traditional American skiing culture was more open to alternative practices. In North
America, skiing acrobatics had been part of professional ski shows since the turn of the century.
Freestyle skiing found its form as a standardized,
competitive sport in the 1970s. The first competition is
said to have taken place in Waterville Valley, New
Hampshire, in 1966. The first professional competition
was held in 1971, and the first World Cup freestyle tour
was staged in 1978. During the 1970s, national championships were arranged in several European countries.
A decisive step in the sport’s development was
taken in 1979 when the International Skiing Federation
(FIS) accepted freestyle skiing as an amateur sport. In
1986, the first official world championships took place
in Tignes, France. At the Olympics it was a demonstration sport in 1988, mogul skiing was part of the official
program in 1992, and both mogul and aerial competitions were contested in 1994 and 1998.
Rules and Play
Freestyle skiing consists of four subdisciplines: (1) aerial competition, (2) ballet, (3) mogul competition, and
(4) the combined, which totals the scores of skiers who
participated in the first three events.
The FIS defines an aerial competition as consisting
of “two different acrobatic leaps from a prepared
jump(s), stressing take-off, height and distance (referred to as ‘air’), proper style, execution and precision
of movement (referred to as ‘form’) and landing.” Performances are evaluated by seven (or five) judges on
three components. Five (or three) judges evaluate “air,”
which accounts for 20 percent of the score, and “form,”
which accounts for 50 percent, while the two remaining
judges evaluate the landing, which accounts for 30 percent. The scores are added and multiplied with a degree-of-difficulty factor (DD) defined for each jump.
For example, the DD factor for the most advanced
triple somersaults with twists is about twice the DD
factor for a single somersault.
A second subdiscipline is called ballet, but will, according to official FIS decisions, change its name to
acroski in the future. Ballet is described by some as
“figure skating on skis.” A ballet competition includes one run, which according to the rules has to consist of
“jumps, spins, inverted movements and linking steps
blended together with artistic and athletic aspects into
a well-balanced program, performed in harmony with
music of the skiers choice.”
In the third event, a run in a mogul competition is
defined by the rules as “skiing on a steep, heavily
moguled course, stressing technical turns, aerial maneuvers and speed.”
The fourth subdiscipline is the combined, which is
open to competitors who have started in all three
events. A combined skier’s score in each event is divided by the score of the highest scoring combined
skier in that event, and the result is then divided by 10,
which gives that skier’s event scores. When adding the
three events, the skier with the highest score is declared
the winner.Aerial, ballet, and mogul disciplines require
very different skills; good combination skiers are versatile athletes.
Cultural Aspects
Freestyle skiing occupies a middle position in the general trend toward differentiation in sport. Skiing acrobatics and demands on aesthetic qualities of performance have a long history. At the same time, freestyle
skiing carries the distinctive marks of a modern, materialistic sport culture with a basis in the norms and values of Western youth. Up to the 1990s, almost all competitors came from the United States, Canada, Western
Europe, and Scandinavia. Although requiring great
skill, freestyle nevertheless emphasizes entertainment.
The terminology of the sport and the framework
within which the events take place offer clues to its cultural background as well. Jumps are given popular
names such as Mule Kick, Daffy, Spread Eagle, Helicopter, and Back Scratcher, while ballet maneuvers are
called Gut Flip and Rock and Roll. The current change
of name from ballet to acroski was initiative by the athletes themselves, who wanted to avoid the somewhat
“feminine” image of ballet.
Freestyle skiing was viewed skeptically by the skiing establishment; it was also dangerously unregulated. Accepted by the FIS in 1979 and included in the
Olympic Games in 1992, the sport has now become
“clean.” Today, safety precautions have decreased the
risks. The main challenge today is to get a third subdiscipline, ballet, or acroski, on the Olympic agenda, considered unlikely given its limited commercial appeal.
Freestyle skiing is developing rapidly. With its high
entertainment value and its appeal to sports fans with
little or no roots in traditional skiing cultures, freestyle
skiing no doubt will experience growth and increased
popularity in the future.
—SIGMUND LOLAND
Bibliography International Skiing Federation. (1992) FIS
Freestyle. General Rules and Regulations. Rules for Specific
Competitions. Berne: International Skiing Federation.