The Freestyle Discipline
The Freestyle Sport moves more and more into the limelight of TV and large events, such as Olympia. Spectacular tricks and races are shown, but for amateurs, it is not so easy to understand as to what it is actually all about. Therefore, I have summarized the 6 Freestyle disciplines, so that at the next event you can be one of the ones in the know.
Many areas have a lot in common and many disciplines have even developed through the other discipline. We talk a lot about the classical “old school” and “new school”, as is the case in Ski Freestyle.
Big Air
Big Air is definitely one of the most spectacular formats in Freeski and Snowboard. It’s all about showing the best jump you can do over a large kicker. A jury judges with 0 to 100 points, based on certain criterium. A lot of these Big Airs take place in large cities on extra built huge structural platform. In that case we talk about the so-called “City Big Airs,” which is often the most attractive event for the spectators.
Slopestyle
2014 in Sotschi, this discipline was, for the first time, part of the Olympic Winter games. On this occasion, you had to show your ability over many “obstacles“ one after the other. So, just like it is in the Funpark, there are numerous rails or boxes one after the other followed by 3 large ski jumps.
Halfpipe
A Halfpipe is one of the most complicated to build – half a pipe dug into the slope. By changing sides in the pipe, the athlete gets ever faster and can jump up to 5 meters on the edge of the Halfpipe. In an exceptional case, the athlete Shaun White won his 3rd gold medal at the Olympic games in this discipline in Korea.
Skicross / Boardercross
This discipline is for the hardcore ones: 4 riders build one „heat“ and race down a course, all at the same time, over waves, steep turns and jumps. Nothing is a given and only the fastest two get into the next round until the final. No scores are given to the other two, as is done in other disciplines.
Aerials (only Freeski)
Aerials are partially identified with the start of todays “Newschool”. This was definitely one of the first forms, whereby skis were used as a means of competition. The athletes jump from a nearly vertical Kicker and get a crazy amount of air, where they show off their flips and spins. In contrast to the “Newschool” the skis are not getting grabbed here.
Moguls (only Freeski)
The classic mogul slope skiing is one of the oldest disciplines amongst the 6 Freestyle areas. Since Albertville 1992, moguls are a part of the Olympic program. Besides two jumps, the skiing style and speed make up the final score for the athlete.
We hope you have liked our short introduction into the world of Freestyle and that we have cleared up one or two points from this world for you.
For all those who would like to give it a try – Bunny Slopes are the best place to try. A lot of fun and excitement is guaranteed on the 13-family friendly Funslopes and Funcross routes. Whoever is looking for a fun change from carving on the slopes, is in exactly the right place here. The moderate steep turns, tunnels and small jumps, spirals and wave slopes are perfect in order to get an adrenalin kick. Beginners can also test their limits under the guidance of a professional…
All information about Snowparks, Funslopes and Funcross can be found under https://www.skiamade.com/en/Winter/Freestyle
If you like see some crazy good tricks, you can watch the professionals of the international Freestyle scene at one of the numerous contests and events in the Ski amadé Snowparks live.
Have fun on the slopes or in the Funpark!
