Anthony Boronowski on halfpipe being in the Olympics

greenman

greenman

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http://www.sbcskier.com/features_article?news_id=743We want to talk about the Olympics. I know you have a few things to say, so why don't you start?I feel like the people who are motivated to get [halfpipe] skiing into the Olympics have ulterior motives. I feel like those motives generally boil down to money, and there's been little discussion about why [halfpipe] skiing shouldn't be in the Olympics.I know firsthand there are skiers who don't back it. It's a non-vocal minority, and it's people who have been around since the beginning. That's an important thing to consider. You have a lot of people who aren't saying shit, who share the same feelings I do. Which is a sense of caution, because right now the only story you get is a one-sided, "Let's hope skiing gets in the Olympics".The reason you have these experienced people who aren't allowed to say what they think is because they're employed by companies who have the potential to make a lot of money off of this situation and I'm saying potential on purpose because it's not a guarantee. These guys can't say shit, and yet they're the ones with the knowledge and experience within skiing to know it's a dangerous call. You have a great group of experienced people who are in a position of compromise because they can't say what they think.Precisely what do they think?They think that it's dangerous. They think there's a reason we broke away from FIS. There's a reason freeskiing started and that's because FIS sucks. There's a reason you had the brightest stars of freestyle skiing quit and start their own thing without [FIS] rules. But moguls was in such a sad state of affairs, and it was miserable because of FIS. You couldn't even do a Backflip, because you weren't allowed. Because it sucked. Do you think they wanted to quit? Do you think they wanted to not go to the Olympics? Not get funding from a government? Not have all these great opportunities?People are concerned because they've been there. They should not be ignored because they're wise. There needs to be a dialogue of temperament with the gung-ho-over-the-top push that we're in right now.The fact that there are certain important voices within freeskiing absent from the debate is a warning sign.Undoubtedly. I think it's sad that debate isn't encouraged. When snowboarding was going to go in the Olympics, Terje wouldn't go for Norway, and there was a dialogue about why snowboarding shouldn't go.Because he was the most important figure in the sport at the time, and he flat out rejected it.But he had the power to begin a dialogue. I think that skiing needs to have a dialogue with both sides of the story. [Remember,] we were in a position where skiing was totally stifled, it sucked, it was boring, it was miserable. Why do we need to go back to that?Money is the only reason?It has to be money. What's your argument? It's progression? No, because halfpipe skiing is going through the roof, slopestyle skiing is going through the roof, everything is going crazy. You've seen guys do back-to-back Double Corks in the pipe, amazing stuff, three Double Corks in one run from Kevin Rolland. Progression is not the issue. I don't think people look at what FIS' involvement in our skiing is going to mean.Will their involvement negatively affect the evolution of freeskiing because our best and brightest will be coming up skiing to please judges?I think that's an important part of the debate. Will FIS change? The way they approach mogul skiing is not the way you can approach freeskiing. Case in point, you have mogul skiers who don't even try to grab, because if you miss, your deduction is so high you're better to do a fucking Iron Cross, super ugly, and never try to grab. You see what I'm getting at? There has to be change in FIS that's reflective of our sport in order for things to be right.But the FIS judging and the stifling of progression is only a small part of the discussion. I believe that if FIS works hard and they consult with the right people they could potentially do it right. They've done it with snowboarding. You had the right winner at the Olympics this year. There were judging errors in certain areas, but in general, those men and women just snowboard as well as they can and trust that the judging is going to work out-and I think that's great.If they can get it right for skiing, that's perfect. But if they can't, then it's fucked and we're back to the mogul days. Which is a pretty big risk I'm not even sure skiing has acknowledged it's taking.Don't you think some of the push from young people to have freeskiing represented in the Olympics is because they want skiing as a whole represented more accurately? When I was watching the reallocation of money in certain areas, with the most favoured Olympics I could barely stand the mogul events.That's fair enough. When I watch moguls I lose my shit.None of the world's best skiers ski moguls, they all freeski.Just theoretically, imagine freeskiing never happened. Imagine what the mogul final would have been like in Vancouver. Could you imagine all the male freeskiing talents we have right now competing in moguls? The finals would have been berserk.Do you think freeskiing needs its own governing body?I think it has to be. That's why snowboarding worked, because they have the USSR. They totally did it their own way, and I think without that there's a larger chance of failure. Skiing needs to seriously consider getting involved with FIS, and the alternatives.I feel the reason we never created a governing body is because it's only been 10 years that this has been going on, and guys had such a bad taste in their mouth from FIS. Why would you want to create a governing body? The whole reason this is happening is because we don't want rules. It's about being free.The real merit and beauty of freeskiing is that it's always been people successfully following their hearts. They pioneered all these tricks, and did them because they were cool and had never been done before. They were no longer skiing for judges, and look at what they were able to do.My concern is that the focus is going to be so direct and so strong on halfpipe skiing-and only halfpipe skiing. It's going to inherently limit the ability for creative people to do creative things and live a lifestyle that allows them to go skiing and get exposure.The richest skiers will be the ones in the Olympics getting richer.And the poorer skiers will be even poorer. I'm not saying those guys are going to stop skiing, or that there's no future for them if skiing gets into the Olympics, but our industry isn't that big.I'm not going to deny the scale of exposure that comes with the Olympics. I will never deny that, but skiing needs to be careful, and contemplate what this choice will mean. Yes, you will have progression and creative expression within pipe skiing, granted FIS figures it out, but you're going to have a gnarly focus on pipe.We have all this other stuff that's really special within skiing, and by granting halfpipe a position in the Olympics, you're really narrowing the support structure for any skier who is not competing in that arena.If halfpipe skiing gets into the Olympics, I assume most companies will do whatever they can to have a rider in the competition because that is the ultimate exposure. Olympic athletes are going to command way more money, their salary might eclipse that of several other non-halfpipe riders.And not even just riders, think about it on a broader scale. You have a brand that is speculating on a rider who could make it into the Olympics, and they're going to give all that money to that kid. That's great for that kid, fair enough. I'm not hating, take advantage of your opportunity. But what about the film companies? What about the ski magazines? What about the kids who deserve to make a living skiing?You think if you have a brand paying a ton of money to a very select few, they're going to have any money left over to do anything else? It's happened in snowboarding and I've seen it firsthand. You have brands paying riders a lot of fucking money to come 11th in the Olympics. Who came 11th in the Olympics?I have no idea and I watched the finals.Exactly.Do you think having halfpipe skiing in the Olympics ultimately sells more skis? Does it bring more people to skiing?Do you think Burton sells more boards because Shaun White won a gold medal?Burton likely sells more snowboards, but are there more total snowboards sold by all the brands, including Burton? I don't think so. I think Burton just takes a bigger piece of the pie, because I haven't seen any indication of that pie growing in skiing or snowboarding.Exactly. I think you're going to see a reallocation of money in certain areas, with the most favoured riders getting short-term non-endemic deals, just like in snowboarding. With the discussion about growing skiing, the question I would have for you is: Do people want to skicross because skicross was in the Olympics?No. And the more cynical would call skicross a failed sport for failed racers.Right, then why is there this massive push within skiing to get halfpipe into the Olympics? Because really all that's going to change is the focus within our own community.We're doing a pretty damn good job right now. It's awesome. There's support for guys who want to do cool little things like Traveling Circus and CASG, for guys who want to go on the big mountain tour, guys who want to film a movie part, and for guys who want to compete. There's small companies, there's big companies...It will negatively affect the diversity of our support.Ultimately that's my fear. Whether it's in the type of riding, or trick selection because of judging, or in skier support because of money and speculation. That is what I think we have the potential to lose. That's my biggest thing. Why do we need this push so bad? What is the ultimate goal?Which is what you were getting at initially when we were talking about who is motivated by the goal of getting into the Olympics.Everyone directly correlates Olympics with growth, but mofos, you're on NBC three times a year with the Dew Tour, you're on ABC, ESPN and EXPN, there's tons of exposure. I worry you're going to limit the diversity of skiing further by creating this artificial hype around the idea of growth when it may not happen at all.Do you think that once FIS starts regulating halfpipe their reach will extend into other kinds of ski competitions like slope style? Right now, for all the controversy about judging, I feel we have a very competent group of judges, and we are judging ourselves.I kind of believe in FIS in this regard. They know they fucked it up, and if we're going to do this, we have the power to regulate how it's done. There are enough smart people out there, like Mike Douglas and Josh Loubek, and with the right consultation and management it doesn't have to be negative.Snowboarding had the most amazing year of progression for their sport in men's halfpipe riding ever. You could never deny that, and that's because of the push for the Olympics. And they managed to figure out a system that encouraged growth and progression without stagnationYou think that if the right people are involved, there's the possibility that FIS will not mismanage it? They might actually be able to do it really well?My concern is within the industry. What is going to happen to us? FIS is also a major issue, but I'm someone who believes in people and I believe they can do it if the right people are involved.I don't believe freeskiing is going to grow that fundamentally to augment the weird prospective change we're going to have. People who say, "I want to see my sport grow," I would say to them: How? Where? Why? It's going to grow because it was on TV for one hour of one day and you've got three guys who got multi-million dollar endorsement deals?Let's say skiing had made it into the Olympics in Vancouver. Would someone like Tom Wallisch, who is undoubtedly a phenomenal talent, have devoted his time to being what Tom Wallisch is today, or would he have spent more time trying to be a well judged halfpipe skier?Put it like this. What do you think Sean Pettit would do? Do you think we would have Sean Pettit as a bigmountain skier? Because undeniably Sean has a God-given talent, although I don't really believe in talent, but he has the ability and the opportunity to become one of the best skiers ever. Ask yourself, would Sean be skiing the [game-changing] way he is now?Quite possibly not. Remember how good he was at halfpipe?And that's fucking sad to me. Look at how good he was at halfpipe. Don't you think he would have kept doing that? And what if we didn't have Sean?
discuss. . .
 
People need to understand where anthony is coming from. This is someone who has been in the industry for an incredibly long time and does not want to see his very livelihood taken away from him and the community he so dearly cares for.

I feel like a lot of people here just want skiing in the olympics caus ther're pissed snowboarding got in before us and blah blah blah. But this is the first time someone who holds a position like Anthony has stepped up and spoken his opinion, which im sure many others share. Dont go flamming him to hell cuase he doesnt apporove of this. Read what he has to say and try to be mature in understading that somethings are not always best for what you love no matter how large they may be.
 
I can finally state my opinion with out being judged naegatively.

Freeskiing is about being free. Simple as that. I'm sure when people first started skiing moguls that was there general thought process as well. Thanks to FIS that is no longer true. Do we really want to change the way the sport is currently progressing by getting them invovled. I say no.

I hope this opens some eyes on the opposite side of the debate.
 
i see our type of skiing in the olympics going to be a great thing.
Its our chance to change the books. For once, I'll get to watch an event that i actually can relate too. (the only exception is the biatholon, guns and skiing = the shit)
Money is money, its always gonna be the center of things. Who cares if sales go up or down, who cares if we see more or less people on the slopes as a result, who cares if people start skiing just to go in the pipe or the park. In the end of the day, olympics or no olympics, ill still ski whatever I want to ski.
 
Saloman essentialy is the same as burton.... except they don't use marketing to talk shit on skiing (or boarding). but Saloman is a far larger corporate titan than Burton is, Salomon makes EVERYTHING, almost all outdoor sports. Armada however is core, but I don't think they are in danger if becoming "Burton" like.
 
I completely agree ..... I still have FIS SUCKS stickers from FREEZE magazine !!!!!! We don't need that shit other than for money but money is not worth ruining our sport!
 
I'm interested to see where the general population of NS stands on this issue...
Take your time to express your opinion - I'll be picking one post and hook them up with a free subscription to SBC Skier.

 
Truly, I like that freeskiing is small, I like that for the most part I can talk to someone with twins on the chairlift and we will be incredibly similar. I like that if ever i see someone with an Armada, Saga, Salomon, Jiberish sweatshirt or tshirt on, I can go up to them and instantly begin a conversation. because that is a similarity we have, that not many people have. think about how many people you see in a day with snowboard shirts, or burton stickers on their car. those people don't necessarily have that same bond that two freeskiers have, because everyone snowboards, snowboarding is what's 'in.' like its been said before, i dont want skiing companies to become like burton.
 
He has some good points, BUT, he should try to sound a little more professional and not so pissed off during his next interview...
 
Completely agree with anthony. I also think that if skiing were to be put into the olympics, we would see more large corporations like target or totinos (who sponsors danny davis) trying to make an extra buck off of skiing. Do you ever see those larg corporations that sponsor some of this biggest names in snowboarding giving back to the sport? Do you see name-brand terrain parks instead of private park shoot jumps? Do you see learn to ride clinics instead of invite only competitions? No. You don't really. I just think the same thing will happen if skiing gets included into the olympics.
 
I totally understand where he's coming from, and he makes a lot of good points in that interview. However, if I was a halfpipe athlete I would love nothing more than to compete in the olympics because it is an opportunity to represent your country on a global stage and it is an event that is completely unparalleled to any other type of sporting event on the planet. The olypmics transcend the world of sports and I know the term "olympic dream" is a cliche, but there is something to be said for freeskiing athletes having the chance to pursue that goal in the same way that snowboarders have already had for ten years.
 
Progression into the Olympics will allow a handful of companies to monopolize and blast viewers with marketing. Just look at contest skating over the past 3 year. Although many passive viewers may enjoy this, it will definitely decrease the amount of diversity and overall progression we have experienced over the past few years. Small companies should be terrified.

Why restrict funding and place limits on freesking? Support independence and progression instead...
 
Real talk time...

I support Olympic Pipe Skiing.

Why? Because the sport deserves to be in the olympics just as much as any other aspect of skiing and snowboarding. The best competitors in that aspect of the sport, deserve the opportunity to show the world what they do.

Yes, FIS was viewed as evil and anti-progression before. Times have changed though. They are handling snowboarding just fine, and they would be fine with skiing pipe as well.

As for the "freeskiing" aspect, the second you submit to a judged competition, no matter WHO the rulemakers are, you are no longer freeskiing. Freeskiing is alive and well in every terrain park, in every backyard, and everywhere someone is strapping skis on without a judge giving their approval and ranking.

I guess I just don't see how an Olympic Pipe competition would be any different than an X-Games or other pipe competition.
 
Before reading this article, I truly believed that the inclusion of halfpipe skiing in the olympics was going to be a monumental benefit for our sport, no matter how it went down.

This article really struck a chord with me. I'm not going to lie and say that I knew about all of that FIS bullshit, I was still snowboarding when all of that was happening. And I agree, the rules that they created for moguls really stifled freedom and expression, which is what our sport is built upon.

The article talks about how kids will be training to please the judging system and not to do what they want to do. But to play the devil's advocate, look at halfpipe skiing already. A majority of the field is already training to please the judges, not themselves. The downfall with halfpipe skiing happened the first time that someone said they were going to "train". Rolland's three dubs was absolutely insane, but let's face it, that dude is a robot. He "train"'s non-stop. 3 dubs aside, you know what i think was the sickest thing this year? Duncan's zero spin, he didn't get scored jack shit for that, and that was one of the most progressive maneuvers in the entire competition, thrown into hands down the most stylish run in the competition. So the current scoring system is already geared for robotic left-side-right-side-switch-and-touch-your-boot-no-matter-what mindset.

So I say, let pipe skiing in. Get our current judges involved in the creation of the FIS halfpipe judging criteria, and put it in the Olympics. Give kids the opportunity to know that they can be in the olympics and represent for their country while on twin-tips. But keep slopestyle and big mountain far, far away from the FIS, the variation of features and style could never fit into their algorithmic judging approach.

p.s. this is in no way whatsoever meant to disrespect ANY skier who loves to ride halfpipe. it scares the shit out of me, and i could NEVER do what you guys do. i'm talking about the judging system.
 
i completely disagree with this. it's always refreshing to hear somebody talk from the heart. anthony is as real as it gets, he's not going to clean it up just to sound "professional". he has always had my respect, and does even more so with this interview.
 
Excellent article, I completely agree and have felt the same way about the olympics for years. The unfortunate reality, like logan mentioned right above me, is that halfpipe skiing is basically already at the point of doing whatever it takes to satisfy judges and creativity is stifled. Ultimately what it is going to come down to is a segmentation of the skiing population, those that are doing what it takes to win the big comps and those that are really doing what they want. The distinction between the comp skier and the film skier is getting more and more defined every year and the olympics will make that division even larger.

True, it will bring more money into the sport, but why do you really want that? Hardly anyone who skis makes a living doing it and those guys aren't going to lose what they have. From my perspective, someone who doesn't make money skiing and skis solely because it is what I love to do, I don't want skiing overran by people who are into now because they saw how cool it was in the olympics. Keep skiing core. Find out about it yourself.

FIS does suck. The rules and regulations are what started freeskiing in the first place and now we are so close to being right back to what we were trying to get away from. Do it for the love of the sport, not the money.
 
i agree! skiing definitely deserves to be in the Olympics and that any sort of judging places limits and standards. I just foresee that putting such a young sport on the the main stage with millions of dollars for support will simply reinforce all of the downfalls that many competitions have today, like monotony. if this is paired with a FIS committee unwilling to completely change how skiing is looked at, then it could very well send the future of the sport down an undesired path.
 
I like how not everyone participates our sport. It give me a sense of ownership and pride that I've dedicated my life to this sport. I want it to progress and get unreal. I want to see kids doing crazy shit and cheer them on. I understand where Tony is coming from, I do, but I have to support half pipe skiing for 2014. Its a natural progression and if not 2014 then it will be 2018.
 
The reality is, there is no right answer. In the end, it comes down to opinion, and there's no way to judge that. A guy like Anthony is going to vote against the Olympics, while a person like Kevin Rolland is going to vote for the Olympics. While there may be two differing sectors (and of course varied), I think that most people can make the assumption that pipe skiers will want to compete for their country in the biggest sporting event ever, while other skiers don't want skiing to step onto this stage.

I don't really think exposure is what anybody is worried about. If anything, people want exposure to their sport, talent, and passion. But instead, aforementioned in Anthony's interview, many skiers don't want to be controlled by corporate monsters. This will only happen if the skiers make it happen, though. The FIS is probably kicking themself for governing skiing in such a manner, now realizing how popular the new school "freeskiing" is. As Anthony said, freesking is all about freedom (obviously) and our sport can't stray away from that. But, if we were to associate ourselves with the FIS, or a similar governing body, the Olympics are a reality.

What about the AFP? The Association of Freeskiing Professionals? That's a governing body set up by some of the best freeskiers in the world. Nobody has ever argued against, bickered about, or disapproved of the AFP. You know why? Because they don't run our sport. Although it is different from the FIS, the AFP is just a ranking system for skiers in halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air events. What I'm trying to say with the whole AFP thing is, why not try to set up a governing body before the Olympics, made up of ourselves? That way we can back out if and when we want, help work with corporate "monsters" and pave our way for the future.

Personally, I would like to see halfpipe skiing in the Olympics. There are so many people who have no idea that skiers even take part in such events, and I'm sure that it COULD be positive for skiing, as long as we do it correctly. The X Games is a massive media outlet for our sport (and others), granted not comparable to the Olympics, but it could be thought of as a mini-Olympics for extreme sports. We have gone through a decade of events such as the X Games with no major disputes, and I feel that the Olympics are just the next step up.

That was a great interview of Anthony. Being one of the skiers I've watched since I was a little kid, I really look up to him. Although our opinions may not be the same, I feel like I can certainly understand the perspective that he's coming from, and I hope he can understand my points too.

Nice read,

Peter
 
Yeah zero spins in pipe should count a lot more. I could not imagine launching 20 feet out and coming back down without slamming on the deck. Actualy I'd probably hit both my tails on the deck, dub eject then slam into the wall of the pipe cause of the sudden change of direction.

Good read though, definitely made me think about what's good and isn't good for skiing. Giving however many athlete a bunch of money isn't gonna progress skiing as a whole. If it sparked interest among others to start skiing, that would be a good thing. Progress is such a broad word though. As applied to tricks it's going off right now like Boronowski said. Interest in the sport by regular people who want to start skiing? I really have no clue where that's at. I'd say since everybody says how young everybody is on here the younger kids are liking it to some extent.

I think we need a proper write up on what exactly progression is. Some view it as directly related to exposure to the masses, some with respect to tricks etc. Powder? SBC Skier?
 
That sounded a lot like a bitter guy who doesn't have a chance to go to the olympics reaching to find a problem with them.
He starts out saying that he is worried that freeskiing is going to become like moguls, but ends saying he believes the FIS realizes they fucked up and mentions that snowboarding had one of their best years of progression. Contradictory rambling much?
He also mentions that his main worry is that their is going to be too strong a focus on halfpipe and halfpipe only. That hardly happened in snowboarding and don't forget that both ski pipe and slope are being considered for the next olympics. Go ahead and say it Anthony, you are worried that skiers who have limited exposure in webisodes aren't going to make much money. Maybe you need to find a new way to market yourself. Don't just blindly fight change because you are afraid of it.
He uses a silent majority argument, who are you, Richard Nixon? Most people are for the olympics because it is the purest form of competition on the world's biggest stage. Sure there are a lot of big companies that make a lot of money off of it, but the sponsorships aren't as gratuitous and ridiculous as they already are in freesking and it is more about representing your country than any brand.
Burton likely sells more snowboards, but are there more total snowboards sold by all the brands, including Burton? I don't think so. I think Burton just takes a bigger piece of the pie, because I haven't seen any indication of that pie growing in skiing or snowboarding.
Gasp! Capitalism. First of all, yes, I'm sure there were more snowboards sold total because of the olympics. Second, you are mad because some companies benefitted from sponsorships? Sponsorships are how you make your living you hypocritical ass. Once again this just comes off as bitterness from a guy who isn't benefitting.
Finally, you acknowledge that all the park and pipe guys already get far more mainstream media coverage than big mountain skiers. So how is the olympics going to change anything when it is already that way? Backcountry is and will always be less profitable because it is inaccessible to the public. People, including pro skiers, choose to ski in the backcountry because they love it, not because of a financial incentive. So don't be surprised when you don't make as much money. Continue to do what you do because you love and don't be envious of other's success.
One more thing unrelated to Anthony Boronowski. Was this published in the magazine? Because this is not a serious interview. It is two people who obviously agree completely patting each other on the back.

"Because undeniably Sean has a God-given talent, although I don't really believe in talent,"Because undeniably pipe skiers will make more money, if there were money in the future, and not just hugs.
 
Whether skiing halfpipe works out initially from a judging standpoint or not, we are skiers, no, we are humans... we will figure out a way to keep the sport ours (so to speak). That goes for both FIS and the reallocation of money within the sport. As far as the money goes - I really don't think we need to worry, like, at all. Look at what the sport of snowboarding has done since halfpipe became an Olympic sport. From where I stand, I only see positive growth within the sport, and nothing of what Tony mentioned as far as companies and individuals only concentrating on halfpipe. Every year there are more and more video's being pumped out with all forms of snowboarding going on. jibbing, big mountain, bc booters, and everything in between is progressing like crazy, new snowboard companies are popping up with amazing snowboard designs that are for a wide spectrum of snowboarding styles. I just don't see the problem you say will happen to skiing in snowboarding right now... and I have full faith that it will not happen in skiing. Halfpipe skiing entering the Olympics will not turn Traveling Circus into pipe jocks, nor will it turn Moment into a pipe jock sponsoring company that only cares about gold medals. It just won't.
 
To everyone who wasn't involved in the sport a decade+ ago, just know that this sport was founded by dudes wearing "FIS Sucks" shirts and that the "FIS Sucks" slogan was not only prominent but well understood during our early years.

Anthony hits it on the head here, we should be skeptical and there should be more dialog amongst those leading the sport to make sure this is done the right way.

It WILL drive the focus to solely halfpipe for those who want to be rich and famous, but for the rest of us who got into this sport because we love it for what it is, I don't think much will change except now all you 15 year olds will get your dicks hard over aerials in the pipe instead of dancing on rails.

 
i think one of the best things about this article is that it shows you guys to look more deeply at things than just the strong one-sided opinion that you hear first. if you really feel strongly about a topic you should know facts and opinions for and against it. knowledge is power.
 
What bothers me the most about his stance,

"They think there's a reason we broke away from FIS. There's a reason freeskiing started and that's because FIS sucks. There's a reason you had the brightest stars of freestyle skiing quit and start their own thing without [FIS] rules. But moguls was in such a sad state of affairs, and it was miserable because of FIS. You couldn't even do a Backflip, because you weren't allowed. Because it sucked. Do you think they wanted to quit? Do you think they wanted to not go to the Olympics? Not get funding from a government? Not have all these great opportunities?"

Why he is against Olympic halfpipe and not against bad rules? Why would you deny others the opportunity? At least mogul skiers had the personal choice to not go to or work towards the olympics.

 
I've never really associated competition skiing with freeskiing. And I don't think we can limit this discussion to halfpipe because it sounds like they are considering slopestyle as well. Like Logan mentioned, once judges are involved the freedom is lost. As it is we have the guys who focus on competitions, train all summer, lift weights, spend hours tramping and hitting water jumps. These guys have coaches. You will lose a slopestyle competition if you don't use poles, even though there is no practical reason to carry them. How is that different from doing a backflip in moguls? This is not freedom.
Some skiers are drawn to this. Some people thrive under it. I also feel like it is these people who are drawn to the competition are the ones drawn to the Olympics. I can't say for sure, but I get the sense that most of the halfpipe skiers are excited about it getting in the Olympics. Skiers like Anthony aren't drawn to competition. Skiers like Will Wesson aren't drawn to competition. I don't think the money that will come with the Olympics would be enough to change this. Maybe in a few cases, like with Sean Pettit, would we lose a talented skier to half pipe, but the vast majority of the time it wouldn't matter. Competition at a high-level takes a certain kind of person and most people aren't suited to it. So I don't think we would be sacrificing our jibbing and urban and big mountain skiing for halfpipe. And let's be honest - most of these guys aren't getting the big piece of the cake as it is. The vast majority of the kids getting big sponsors are competition skiers already- Bobby, Wallisch, Harlaut, Martini and almost all of the other guys who have gotten energy drink sponsors recently have lots of competition results. Yes, Henrik is amazingly smooth and the B&E show is awesome, and I loved Wallisch's segment in Refresh but we pretty much guarantee if they weren't in XGames and Dew Tour they wouldn't have been signed to Monster. On the other hand we have Andy and Will - amazing skiers, doing things no one else can. They've got Orage now which is great but where Bobby is getting flown around the world they get a van.
Having half pipe in the Olympics will open it to wider audience, there is no denying that. People like my mom and my grandparents would never watch the X-Games or the Dew Tour but they watch the Olympics religiously. If a Canadian wins halfpipe they'll probably see his or her run recapped a dozen times over the next couple of days. However as much of a fan of the team as they were during the Olympics the sport would then be forgotten for the next four years. My grandfather isn't going to put any money into the ski industry. But non-ski corporations would be drawn to this increased viewership. They don't care that my grandma cheering for Dorey doesn't translate into her buying a pair of skis. It still gives them the chance to get their brandname into her home for two weeks. Yes this sponsor's money would be going into the pocket of a very select group of skiers, but this is new money in the industry. And maybe most of us will never see this money, but those who do receive it will make good use of it.
In conclusion, I honestly don't care if pipe is the olympics or not. If treated right, as snowboarding was (and there is no reason to expect differently) I see no (further) damage being done to pipe skiing. And it would be kind of cool for my Grandparents to know the names of some of the skiers I look up to. At the same time I think the people who truly care about freeskiing will still be there. The passion for the sport has always been far greater than the money involved in it and the Olympics won't change that. There will still be guys living out of a closet, surviving off of ramen and killing it. As it is the am film companies are pushing it more than the big names in terms of creativity, proving that money doesn't automatically mean better, more watchable skiing.
 
I don't think Anthony's logic is right. Companies will certainly pay more money to sponser an athlete in the Olympics. But the only reason that a company will do that is in order to get more money in return. This is going to cause that company to be more profitable, which will lead to more money to sponser other athletes (ie traveling circus skiers).

Think of it like this, the Olympics will undoubtedly bring more money into the sport. This will lead to more better terrain parks, more skiers getting sponsered, better ski movies, better ski gear, etc.

Also, its so ridiculously selfish that people say they don't want more kids to get into the sport. Like I can't even understand that. Skiing has been such a great aspect of my life, I would want as many people as possible to experience something that has made me such a happier and better person. I love helping out young kids who are new to park and I'm glad to see that theres a younger generation of park skiers at my mountain who are holding it down.
 
Thanks Anthony, that seriously drew my attention to things that hadn't even crossed my mind, regarding the Olympics, and freeskiing becoming a part of that scene. Net result; I hope comps like X-Games and Dew Tour become far bigger than they are today, rather than join the Olympics. X-Games is like the modern Olympics. Who wants to watch nordic skiing honestly? They gona make trail running an Olympic sport too? (at the summer Olympics) Same thing pretty much. The Olympics are out dated in some ways.
 
i love his skiing, and have never met the guy, but he reminds me of the type that would say something along the lines of:

Rando: Hey Tony

AB; Hi

R: Whats up?

AB; Nothin, just listening to music.

R: Oh really, what are you listening to?

AB: Trust me, youve never heard of them....
 
also, sorry for the dub post, but snowboarding seems to be doing ok. sure they have mainstream shit going on, so do we, they still have every aspect of board culture. after skiing makes the olympics, you may have to dig a little deeper to find your niche, but itll still be there.
 
when you step back and look at if skiing should be included in the olympics i think the answer is a definite yes. skiers are some of the most amazing athletes in the world, and no question deserve a chance to compete in the olympic games. when i watched like a lion it really showed why these skiers tossed aside olympic dreams to devote themselves to this completely new sport. which brings me to think that even though freeskiing definitely deserves an olympic spot, the two are opposite in mind. people freeski for a reason and i think the last thing we need is FIS regulation in our sport. its already happening with drug testing in halpipe competition, if our sport is brought into the olympics i think it means more compromises and changes with the things that make our sport so great.
 
i think if freeskiing is in the olympics and there are FIS rules that restrict the skiers from wearing stickers or dumb stuff like that it will take the free out of freeskiing. that is what seperated us from racing is that we have basically no rules and we can do whatever we want. that is what makes it fun, because not everyone does the same stuff. there are people who ski big mountain, park, pipe, backcountry and urban. in racing or olympic skiing there is one way to ski and everyone looks and skis the same. i just think if we are in a contest like the olympics with lots of rules it will just be the opposite of what freeskiing is based on. also im fine with having few freeskiers on the mountains and i wouldnt want huge amounts of skiers at the hill like there are snowboarders.

just my $0.02
 
I haven't read the whole article, so maybe I should just wait to comment until I have. But I won't. I agree with where Anthony is coming from and I agree the FIS has always sucked. But from an athlete perspective, I can't agree that it's all about money.
If I were a competitive pipe skier, what could be bigger than skiing in front of the world in the Olympics? It's the freaking Olympics. How many people get to compete in the Olympics? If I had the ability to be at that level, I can't imagine how sick it would be to compete on that stage. When I'm 70, I'd be pretty damn proud to be able to tell my grandkids I was an Olympian, and what sport would be sicker than halfpipe (except for maybe slopestyle)?
So, yeah, there's reason to be wary about the whole money thing, but I don't think you can dismiss the honor of being considered an Olympic athlete. That's a pretty big deal, and I can't imagine too many guys passing on the opportunity because they think FIS sucks. We all know that it's a short window as far as getting to the top of halfpipe and staying there, and it would be really easy to regret let moment slip when in just a few years down the road you're no longer relevant...
 
i gotta admit, when i read that anthony boronowski was opposed to olympic pipe, i was subconsciously more inclined to support it being in the olympics. i think it's hard for me to take his op eds seriously after a few of them, most notably his claim that rails were just a phase (after coming up as a big rail skier)

 
This.
For somebody who has been a pro skier for a long time, Anthony's scope is still painfully narrow. It isn't just the FIS that hurt mogul skiing, it was the limiting mindset it reinforced that mogul skiing was to be done one way and only one way. When Anthony tries to confine freeskiing to his own vision, he is inadvertently doing the same thing.

 
FIS sucks so much and I hope we never have them involved in our sport!

As for the money side of things for half pipe in the olympics. Yea it could mean more money for the sport, in my opinion it would not just be fund relocation like Tony said. The olympics has become almost like nascar in the sense it's more of an advertisment event then a sporting event (though there is no doubt most of the athletes take the sport part deadly serious). With that being said it would open up skiers to coperate funding and endorsment deals freeskiing has yet to see (aka mcdonalds or coca cola deals) as well as government funding freeskiers can't yet get. So the money side as a whole could be alot better for skiers, even if it doens't mean more sales of skis and ski related products. I can't completely disagree though, as obviously more money would get funnelled into the pipe side of things, and you better believe companies will want to get their riders on that world stage.

Will olymipic half pipe skiing make our sport grow across the board though? That I'm not sure off, you never know what will spark a wave of growth in something, but considering trying to explain free skiing to your average joe is a nightmare (after 10 minutes you can usually get them thinking either aerials or moguls) it probably would help atleast a bit. I mean how is someone that doesn't know anything about freeskiing going to try it, like it, then grow the industry by buying gear year after year? Most people I know know of skiing, most of those people don't even know what a twin tip is. I do think we will suceed in stealing back some of our lost commrads, the ones we lost to the snowboard hype of the 90's and early 00's.

All in all I don't care if it gets in or not, it's more then likely not going to change the way I ski. I'm still going to ski even if for some reason it becomes the next razor scooter in the publics opinion, just because I love skiing. On the plus side alot of us could probably talk local businesses in to low level sponsor ships for a couple grand each if pipe got into the olympics and actually support ourselves in the winter through skiing.
 
Anthony is a good friend, but when he says - "I feel like the people who are motivated to get [halfpipe] skiing into the Olympics have ulterior motives. I feel like those motives generally boil down to money", my blood pretty much boils with rage.
I went to the Olympics in 2002, and even though I messed up my run and finished poorly, it was still hands down the most memorable, emotional, and incredible experience that I ever had as an athlete (and I competed in a lot of different types of skiing over the years). The reason that the Olympics was so incredible for me had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with money. It was the experience, which was un-describeable and unforgettable.
It's a desire for that experience that motivates the halfpipe skiers of today to want to go to the Olympics, not money. Granted, there may be a very small percentage of current halfpipe competitors who only see dollar signs, but I GUARANTEE you that the majority of pipe skiers are not thinking about money when they support the push for the Olympics.
They are thinking about how it must feel to walk into the stadium for opening ceremonies, and what it must look like from the start gate right before they drop in for their pipe run in front of an Olympic sized crowd, and the noise that crowd might make when they see a once in a lifetime performance, and how it would feel to do something that could make thousands and thousands of people jump to their feet and cheer.
That is why I support pipe skiing getting into the Olympics, and Anthony should be smart enough to know that most of the halfpipe skiers have similar motivation.
 
For God's sake when did skiing become so serious? And trying to argue against the opportunity for people to walk into the Olympic stadiums waving their nation's flag? That's the chance of a lifetime, who cares what sport it's in. It's not going to change a fucking thing, everyone is still going to ski for fun. All these paid professionals like to make it way more serious than it really is sometimes.
 
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