North American Open - Simon and Jon

A skier saying that snowboarders look like rollerbladers. Irony to the max....

I'm not going to touch that one, but just for pure entertainment sake, you should post that in a snowboard forum somewhere, I'd love to see the shit-storm that would stir up.
 
It was meant to be ironic, since rollerblade half pipe is the nexus of anti-style.  People say snowboarding is style oriented and you are saying one component of their run is just for style.  Then why are they ruining that straight hucks for the rest of their run?  Many of the snowboarders spinning their 10s remind me of those Japanese rollerblade brothers, with arms above the head and hullahoop wiggling.  A lot of skiers are completely equivalent in the rollerblade spinning techniqure too though.  
 
^^ Hey, It's cool man, of course many snowboarders are huckers, so are many skiers. Both sides have their style guys and their huck guys.

I was simply trying to shed some light on the standard maneuver thing in snowboarding, as it gets a little misunderstood.

You seemed to think that it was only applied in FIS events, and also that it had to be a straight air. Not the case.

And you're totally correct that it is more about the judging than the skiers, that's what I thought we were talking about the whole time, because I was addressing your original comment about the snowboard judging.

All the rest was purely opinion, I would still like to see things like Laurent's alley-oop go down in big pipe comps, but with our judging going the way it is, non-tech tricks like that are just starting to be seen as a weakness, and a reason to give a lower score.
 
I don't remember the divsions in USSA Freestyle, I know the racers have J1-5

I guess it is safe to assume that this event will have the various age divsions that the USSA has or will it all be one class?
 
So true. Companys don't really care if you're a sick skier when all you do is tear up your home mountain and post videos on NS. That's not gonna do them a whole lot of good. What they want is kids who go to legit competitions and don't look like idiots while they're there
 
This is more then just simply buying a membership. If you want to look at it that simply then that’s your opinion but I think differently.

In my eyes it is not truly an open. It is only open to USSA members. It is the fact that you have to buy a membership and BELONG to an organization. Its more then a simple registration fee that you compared it to. If I understand it correctly I can be subjected to possible drug testing if I become a member? Not to mention wack judging criteria and whatever else I don’t know about.

I do not view this as open and in the spirit of our sport. As a freeskier I do not feel like I should have to join or belong to an organized to participate in an OPEN event in which I will be subjected to regulations and formats.

Keep freeskiing free
 
No, just buying a ussa membership does not mean you can be subjected to testing. It also doesn't even mean that ussa judging formats will be used. It's just one method for an organizing body to secure insurance.

Events do this type of thing all the time. The WSI used to get sanctioned by the CFSA (Canadian Freestyle Association), it was a way for them to get insurance, and a portion of the registration went towards CFSA membership to cover that insurance. They still operated as they chose to, hired Turpin and the boys to judge the event, etc. You probably didn't care back then because they didn't tell you that it was sanctioned, they just did it internally. You still paid the membership but they just included it within your entry fee.

Last year the Honda Ski Tour had FIS sanctioning, so that the skiercross guys could use those results as World Champs Qualifiers. It doesn't mean that FIS came in and ran the show. Kipp and the MSI crew still handled the event.

And if you don't want to be subjected to "regulations and formats" well,,,, then don't compete. Because any competition involves some type of regulations and event formats, whether it's the X-Games, Olympics, US Open, your local rail jam, whatever.

People are getting bent out of shape for no reason. It's pretty simple, you pay some money to enter an event. Buying a membership is simply a part of the entry fee, and any event has an entry fee.

 
its not like it was the only open to have entry fees, you have to pay for any other comp. the us open is also an open but you have to win your spot at the lottery AND pay 300$.
 
To go to the US Open you have to pay right? Well then you BELONG to an organization. The - "I just paid to enter the Open and filled out all the forms." organization, consider yourself a MEMBER of that group.

This event IS open period. Anyone can enter it, that is what Open means.

You try to claim it's not an open because it's ONLY open to people who buy a membership. That's as ridiculous as saying - any event with an entry fee is not really an open because it's ONLY open to people who pay the entry fee.
 
"I understand that by virtue of my membership in USSA I must comply with USSA’s Code of Conduct. I also understand that I may be required to participate in competition drug testing. By executing this form I agree to abide by and/or participate in such programs. I understand that failure to participate in competition drug testing will result in a sanction."

- USSA freestyle membership form.

You make it seem like the ussa membership is nothing but an entry fee. The whole event is based on the USSA in hopes of gaining membership and to get a point system going. The fact that they are highly active in a huge freeski tour is kinda scary.

Also you are right, It is an open event, after you join the USSA..

 
Okay, so now that that has been said. I still think it is uhhhhhh - I mean come on! they specify music be played loud enough to hear it! They aren' t all that bad. It looks to me like.............
 
I suppose the confusion is excusable, I guess it's easy to take something like that the wrong way. But you are reading too much into it.

By "may be required to participate in competition drug testing", they are talking about what "may" happen if you use that membership to enter an event that does support testing, such as a FIS World Cup, or perhaps the USSA National Championships (don't know if they test or not).

You need to understand the difference between an event that is actually run by the USSA or FIS, and one that is simply sanctioned under their insurance umbrella, but operated by someone else.

For example a FIS world cup that is operated by FIS will have certain protocols. (The kind that you're not so stoked about, like testing, their judging etc.) However a FIS "sanctioned" event such as last year's Honda Ski Tour will not be required to operate the same as a World Cup, and it is completely up to them whether or not they do things like drug test the athletes (they didn't, obviously), and what type of formats, judging etc. they decide to use.

WSI in whistler has never tested athletes, or used CFSA judges, even though it has sometimes been CFSA sanctioned and required a CFSA membership.

Just becoming a member does not oblige you to do anything, it is what events you choose to compete in that will determine that. So give Jon and Simon a chance to run their event, and see how it actually is handled before you automatically assume the worst. Just because they are getting insured through USSA does NOT have to mean it will be anything like an event that is actually operated by the USSA.

 
a lot of snowboard comps these days go by olympic judging rules which include a mandatory straight air. also straight airs can be judged for technical issues as well, ie height, frontside or backside, difficulty of grab, etc.
 
i hate the ussa and the usasa so much, i really dont like that simon and jon involved them. i like what they were trying to do with this comp but it sucks unless you get sponsor money or have parents to pay. ussa makes shit so expensive. i wouldnt mind paying that much if it was all going toward the event to make it sick, but instead a lot of it will go to a mogul skiing organization.
 
ive never really seen a pwning with no real victim, and a completely educational aim, but you just did that shit. congratulations.
 
EXACTOMUNDOOO, "free" skiing, not "pay a million dollars to be part of a club where you aint shit if you dont have a coach" skiing
 
Fuck the FIS and the USSA itsa kool idea but wTF is jon and Dumont running this shit?? they should have a massive big air to QP comp in down town new york that would be way better for skiing.
 
your a preety sick skier.. why dont you have a travel budget that pays for all your ski comps and travel? is this casue you ride for line? jsut curious mad props you and your bro kill it.. and i totally agree with you I have 2 jobs atm and i dont get to ski till the 20th of jan soo i can save enough to do 3 out of 5 world tour big mountain events ive been working for like 5 months nons stop iwill spend over 15 thousand $of my own money on travel this year to film and compete , skiing is way too fukin expensive.. but such is life this comp is a really kool idea but why the fuck did they involve the ussa?

and why the fuck are ski companys soo stingy??
 
Good thing I already got a free USSA membership through work. Sucks for everyone else though, and I hope the contest isn't lame as far as organization and judging. I imagine it'll be organized well as USSA has been doing shit forever, and fucked up enough times to get it right, but whatever. I'm sure judging can't be worse than last years Aspen open....it was bad.
 
Doubt it, it will probably be one big category, just like US Open, Aspen Open, etc.

But hey, who needs age categories anyways? I think Derek Spong was only around 14 when he hit the podium at US Open. Makes for a much more legit result for a young'un when they are in the mix with everybody.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top