Anthony Boronowski on halfpipe being in the Olympics

what as ns.com member have to gain from skiing being in the olympics? We have something that as a whole is basically unknown to the general public in freeskiing. yet we are skiing one of the most papular activities on earth. every year we see a massive amount of progression in the sport form equipment, to the riding, terrain parks, access to ski movies, webisodes, companies, etc. yet the olympics has nothing to do with that. we need to look and learn from the past and see we are getting into what are pioneers left to begin with to start are sport. in the end the it will come down to money and we will most likely see skiing in 2014. then we can be cool for two weeks every 4 years, awesome.
 
Right on. Totally agree.

Sure, FIS has lots of worts. If purists don't like FIS, then don't compete in FIS events. But don't also try and tell other athletes who train for years and have a dream of reaching the Olympics that they shouldn't be entitled to pursue that dream. I am sick and tired of other people telling me how to think or what to do. Mind your own business.

By the way, I thought the moguls finals in Vancouver was sick. Mad respect for every one of the athletes. Just my opinion.

 
I think they should do what skicross did in Canada. They didn't become part of alpin Canada ( the governing body for ski racing in Canada) and they got adopted by the snowboarding group. Maybe don't follow the exact same route but become part of another group not necessarily FIS. Not sure if this would work just a thought from my brain at 11 oclock
 
You guys realize who Anthony is talking about when he says there are people who can't speak up right? Its Mike Douglas...the Godfather...i would love to hear what he has to say but he can't because of Salomon.
I agree with anthony when he says he fears kids will come up only worrying about pipe skiing. Skiing still has so much potential, but every kid on NS is only conserved about what T Wall or Simon is wearing and what crazy tricks they are doing on a slope course or a pipe. I think alot of the stuff they are doing is super rad and fucking crazy but i want to see skiing branch out more. Its getting too monotonous.
Just coming from someone who grew up and was directly affected by the newschool movement and seeing it first hand and being part of it I'm worried that we are dooming our sport to monotony.
i hate having to compare it to snowboarding because they are different but snowboarding is so diverse and there are so many ways of looking at that sport and doing it i just fear that skiing isn't trying to be diverse. Every other kid on NS is more concerned about what the latest fashion trend is rather than going out, finding what they love about the sport and then living it. I'm worried the involvement with the olympics can stunt the growth of freesking cause we're just at the tip of the iceberg i think.
 
#fail

@MikeDski (Mike Douglas)

"For those who just read the Olympic interview & are wondering... I can & do say whatever the hell I want. Salomon does not censor."

 
Agree. MD also tweeted (happily) when it was announced pipe would be included in 2014.

I think the "minority" opposed to pipe being included is a very small minority...
 
yes but I don't think that any freeskiing athlete would risk compromising the integrity of their sport for a chance of an olympic medal. Yes money is good and can help grow the sport but you have to ask the questions Anthony was asking, how will it grow the sport, do we want it to move in that direction, potentially one that we have no say over because if you think doritos cares about their athletes the way jiberish does i think you're crazy. Doing it for the buck is not always, in fact usually is not, a good reason to do something. Like he said, freeskiing is growing at a crazy pace already, is the olympics going to help skiing and athletes, or companies that endorse them...

that's all i need is to walk into wal mart and cop a pair of Tom Wallisch Hot Doggers, that would be great for the sport.. not. bigger not always better.
 
Before I saw Trennon's post I was about to post the same idea. From an athletes point of view, competing in the competition of a life time must be the most amazing experience. For one to compete and have an ENTIRE country backing you up and cheering you on would make that event worth it. If you had the chance to get your name out into the world and have people know who you are, you'd probably take that experience. I hear people always ranting on about "that amazing frizzy orange hair kid" boarding in the halfpipe and how crazy he is, and everytime I just want them to see a skiing edit when they said that. I think this will be a great chance for skiing to be recognized as "wow no way, did you see the skiing in the olympics last night? that was the coolest thing i've seen in my life".

of course all my points are exagerated a bit but ya get the general idea.
 
this subject has valid arguements on both sides but what it really comes down to is simple: if your going to do something do it right. if you cant do it right then dont do it at all, wait untill the time is right. patience is a fucking virtue and shit...
 
I share the same views as Anthony. I've always been confused as to why in a sport that revels in underground music and styles, there is so much embracing of the epitome of regulated competition.

Had we not broken away from the FIS/ IOC in the first pace, we'd still not be allowed in the 'Snowboard Parks' I fear. If skiing doesn't have the freedom to progress, then, as history has shown, it has nothing. You only have to look at the number of threads on progression on here, to see that the value/fun/enjoyment of skiing is not in the tricks themselves, but in how those tricks change from year to year. Watch the opener to Refresh, and see how far we've come in 10 years, all thanks to not being restrained by the FIS forcing skiers to thrown X trick to win Y competition for $Z.

Also, I have a massive problem with the ability to judge. I still feel that the best judges of skiing will be those of us on NS who religiously watch edits, etc, not FIS office fodder who with marking criteria.
 
the people who make your skis, the people who make your outerwear and the people who sponsor skiers. did you read anything. they essentially own us...and our sport. they just let us think they don't. did you not read how the old guard/people who don't agree with including halfpipe in the olympics, are hamstrung and muzzled by big industry?
 
you know what grandparents ask when you tell them you are good at a sport? ''Are you going to the olympics?'' I'd be glad to answer yes, just flick that tv on, oldy. Plus, I'd be happy to know that the guy who won is now pretty rich, it's cool for em.
 
It's about time someone stepped to the plate and pointed out how full circle this has come.
People used to hate on mogul skiing because of the disciplined structure, judging, and goofy pants (which actually served a purpose) that went along with the competition side of it. "Freeskiers" are already complaining about the structure, rules (ie drug tests), and governing bodies which are required in order to give pipe Olympic credibility. It's pretty ignorant to think that pipe would be included in the Olympics without having drug testing, an established governing body, and the associated professionalism that go with all other included sports.

Wanting an Olympic presence because snowboarding got it is also a pretty weak argument.

 
the only thing about pipe skiing in the olympics that i like is the exposure of our sport. 8 out of 10 people i tell i ski that have no clue of the sport and industry think im just a wimp compared to snowboarders because of the mass media of snowboarding. youre telling me you wouldnt want to see twall or bobby brown on a wheaties box? ( i know they arent pipe skiers). although in no way of form do i want freeskiing to become standardized and painfully stale like moguls and aerials. i think the creativity and basis of freeskiing will not be changed, but maybe those twenty skiers that ride pipe in the olympics may have to adjust their runs for judges, but here is a great idea. have judges that actually know what they are talking about. end rant
 
Claiming that the Olympics will limit progression is about the stupidest argument ever, read the article, even Anthony straight up cites the Olympics as the primary cause of Snowboard halfpipe having it's most progressive year in history.
Also you seem to know nothing about what steps are being taken with regards to judging. Josh Loubek, MIke Atikinson, Steele Spence, and Chris Hawks are currently judging the Halfpipe Grand Prix in Copper (it's a "gasp" FIS event). These guys are former athletes and have also judged XGames, Dew Tours, US Opens, etc. Calling them "FIS office fodder with marking criteria" is fucking ridiculous, they have more ski halfpipe judging experience than pretty much anyone else in the world.
 
If they do put halfpipe skiing in the olympics i hope they dont have it scheduled at like a really shitty time to air to T.V. like what time they have curling on.....
 
This.
And to add another point to the topic: I am so sick and tired of meeting or talking to people who are outside the freeskiing/snowsports community and discussing park skiing for 15 minutes only to have them reply with "that's so cool. So you snowboard then?" How is it that we are so overshadowed by snowboarding that the general public equates freestyle skiing to snowboarding without hesitation? It's because we don't have the exposure that our single plank brethren do and, as a result, the negative perception of skiing that formed during the snowboard boom has lingered in the public mindset since 1998. Thus, today, people cannot grasp the idea that a 19 year-old kid who dresses and talks like I do can possibly be involved in an "old" sport like skiing. The image that we our greater sport has is lame, dry, old, traditional and that is fucking pathetic and, personally, insulting. We all know that freeskiing has been around for 10+ years, we know where it has taken the sport as a whole; how it has changed it and all the positive shifts that have taken place. But nobody else does and that's the issue. It's a matter of respect; a matter of respecting us and respecting our sport as equals to snowboarding (which is the we've looked at it for years) within the general public. And the only way to do this is through the Olympics. It is the only stage big enough to show the world what our sport is about and the shift it has experienced over the past decade. That's why skiing halfpipe needs to become an Olympic event.
 
no its definitely not douglas as he spoke his mind a few years ago in the '09 SBC Skier buyers guide. i still have the magazine in my possession so here's the direct quote from an interview with Lisa Richardson.

"So you haven't joined the 1 million strong rallying for ski superpipe in the 2010 Olympics?"

Douglas: "I'm on the fence when it comes to Olympic pipe skiing. Part of me is in favour because I think it's badass and skiers at the top end are as good as the snowboarders. It would be a great show. But when the New Canadian Air Force guys and myself started the sport it was to run away from all that. We launched the FIS Sucks campaign to keep it out of FIS, We came close to losing control of what we;d created. To me, there's nothing sadder than a sport that exists only for the chance of a medal once every four years. I pitched Whistler/Blackcomb to do a big ski-pipe event on Blackcomb during the Olympics; it would be a really good thing to guerilla it up a little. I mean, as soon as Katie Couric says the name of your sport its cool factor instantly drops."

no that was not taken out of context, it is what it is.
 
This is the exact problem. Ever wondered why you see slope guys like Bobby, Gus, and Tom take like 34th place in a pipe comp and wonder why they even competed in it? The pressures on for athletes, even though everyone believes its bullshit that they'd quit slope, I wouldn't be so suprised :(.
 
again. name one other sport thats had a mass exodus from its other divisions when one starts to make more money. tony hawk made bank, vert is still dead. matt hoffman had a videogame, not too many kids ride bmx vert either. shaun white has 2 gold medals, yet look, snowboarders are still hitting urban, slope, and the bc. the argument is quite simply idiotic.
 
Again, not the same argument. It's as Tony mentioned above- I'd rather not see the current innovators from their parts of the sport try to ski pipe and possibly not innovate or do as well as they would have had they stuck to big mountain or slope.

I realize that there will still be people hitting slope and urban, I'm saying that I'd rather not see some of the current (and future for that matter) innovators of another part of the sport fail at trying to shape themselves into pipe skiers.
 
There is no precedent for that. That would be my point. It simply doesnt happen. But please, lets continue to argue not to have literally millions of dollars pour into our sport simply on an irrational fear that riders will abandon what they like to do just to ride at the olympics.
 
I want the sport to continue to grow and grow, but where will the focus be? When athletes are given the opportunity to go to the Olympics, they are going to want to represent the company that is going to give them the most money and ultimately everyone wants make money. They want to make a living off of what they do, and I think everyone can understand that. But what will happen to the rest of the sport? What companies are going to be taking in that money? Most likely the companies that are already making most of the money because of advertising. To have our sport have that kind of exposure is going to be great, and to be at home watching skiers I have looked up to my whole life, and even friends I grew up skiing with, having the opportunity to win a medal and represent their home country is going to be amazing. For an example Skateboarding in the X-games, no skater with their head on straight is going to skate the x-games because lets admit it, it's not cool. But to show up and receive $10,000 before they even skate is pretty rad. I want to see Skiing grow but if that means taking away from our films, and smaller companies that represent you and I as a whole, then I'm not down to see the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We are all going to continue hiking for those lines, and finding that fresh. So lets keep skiing and doing what we do.
 
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Fuck yeah Symms!

On the subject though, meh. Ten years ago, everyone wanted skiing to blow up. Now we're here with the option of skiing being included in the olympics, and everyones tepid about it. Part of the deal with underground "extreme" sports, as soon as they're popular, they're kinda not cool anymore. If everyone knows it and can do it, its no longer special.

I'm kind of over it. I've found what I enjoy in skiing, and you know what? Olympics or not, its not going to change my love for whatever the heck it is I do out there on skis. Anyone who is planning to be hugely upset by whatever the verdict comes to be, may I remind you before your anger and dissatisfaction overcome you: Skiing is always going downhill.
 
"The man I worked for had one of the biggest companies in New York City. He didn't own his own company. White man owned it, so they owned him. Nobody owns me, though." -Frank Lucas, American Gangster.
im like frank lucas. Big industry don't own me.... or the white man for that matter. I'll still ski whatever I want.
 
i lollled.
pretty narcissitic dude if you ask me.
scotty lago is also a tool. "i see pipe as a snowboarder sport.." (i know im not quoting the rest but who gives a shit)
if pipe is a "snowboarder sport", I claim big mountain and backcountry as a "skiing sport".
 
totally disagree with the article and anthony. dude sees the motivation the wrong way and isn't focusing on what the olympics is really all about. some sports have athletes that train for the olympics for 4 years and then have all their tra...ining and livelihood come down to 30 seconds of climax, but skiing isn't that way. The olympics would be huge, but we're doing just fine without the olympics now so it would just be a bonus to the already crazy stuff thats going on in skiing. if you wanna spend all your time training for the olympics, cool go for it. but if you're totally against it and hate the very idea of it, just steer clear of it. big bad FIS isn't gonna come get you. freeskiing is still free and will be as long as we want it to be.

P.S. anthony says he doesn't believe in TALENT? wut?
 
this thread goes to show just how awesome our sport is. look how many passionate people really care about the future of skiing. honestly, right now i think we would need to do alot wrong to ruin freeskiing.
 
In response to that video:

"I feel like half pipe is a snowboarding sport" and "every hits going to be a double" are two statements i would have just rather not heard this morning.

Jen was the realest person there.
 
i have a counter argument for EVERY one of his points that article made me mad. and dont get me wrong im not a huge promoter of pipe in the olympics.

but fuck, hes acting like if pipe goes into the olympics, you wil be brought down by lightning if you try and ski elsewhere...
 
That was a fantastic interview. How often do skiers get interviewed and actually say something? Usually it's just cookie cutter stuff about current projects, sponsors, plans for this that or the other time of year. Whether or not you agree with Anthony's take on the landscape - and he makes a number of very good points - you have to appreciate an honest perspective and, to put it bluntly, real talk.

I hate to call out anyone, so this is not a call out but an example - take Trennon's commentary about a country following you in the start gate and thousands of people standing up to cheer. That just reeks of sappy, sentimentalist bullshit with nothing behind it, it's cheap rhetoric. Sorry, I realize that sounds like a call out after all and I know Trennon is being honest, I respect his position. I just hate seeing that kind of crap, and if the point of this is a productive discussion, well, that's not productive. I'm aware that I'm not being very productive either, but that's not my role at this point because my point of view is relatively meaningless, I'm just a lawyer from Calgary who skis. What the head of the Canadian halfpipe team has to say is decidedly NOT meaningless.

Riling emotions with buzzwords like "exposure" and talking about national pride is pointless. There is a serious discussion to be had here - not about whether skiing goes to the olympics because I think that juggernaut has too much momentum to bring down, but about how to do it and how to minimize the inevitable negatives that will come about.

This isn't a discussion for Newschoolers' membership to really drive, but it's always nice to see newschoolers echoing a meaningful debate (and going beyond the superficial) rather than posting 4chan memes.
 
ARE YOU SERIOUS???? I'm going to go out on a limb and give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you were either in Algeria or in a coma during the Vancouver Olympics. You say your from Vancouver. You say you are Canadian. How can you then say that National Pride is sappy and sentimentalist? Did you not see how our country united behind our athletes. Do i have to remind you of Alexandre Bilodeau's Gold? Were you involved in the massive celebrations?

If the draw of the Olympics is purely for the international competition then why do we want in at all??? We already have that! No, the reason the Olympics are such a hot topic in our sport is that we want recognition on the biggest world stage. And WHY is it (the Olympics) the world's biggest stage?

Because of National Pride.

When Tom Wallisch competes for himself at the Dew Tour, its not half as exciting as when Tom competes for the USA at the Olympic Level. All of a sudden his country needs him to get a medal, they know his name and they know his sport. Sure not everyone is going to remember it but for that moment in time we as a sport will be known.
 
Thats a whole lotta bullshit. I dont even know why snowboarding is in the olympics probably just to boost ratings. SKIING ISNT A TEAM SPORT. Sure you could be on a companys team and ride with those guys and have fun. I could care less what country is winning. Its individual sport.
 
I don't believe i mentioned TEAM SPORT (as you put it) anyhwere in my post. I did mention National Pride and the USA. Maybe you should read, think, rinse and repeat and THEN write. Don't use profanity to make yourself sound Intelligent. It does the exact opposite.
 
You MUST be a lawyer because you said a whole lot of nothing.

Go to the olympics, compete, then say that is sentimental tacky crap.

You don't really know what you are talking about, aside from the obvious point about this discussion not being resolved on newschoolers.
 
Food for thought: Do you think that freeskiing is strong enough to fall into the mainstream sellout sport that snowboarding has done? Did snowboarding put this much thought into their every move?
I feel like, if Skiing Pipe did go into the Olympics, there is a chance that Armada and Salomon would not lose their value as Burton so did, for we would all be prepared for this, and one could still have a nice chat with someone they spotted wearing a Jiberish shirt. In short, freeskiing would benefit financially but could still maintain its level of camaraderie and community that it has founded itself upon.
 
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