Literature
Active member
Reading the article about Bode Miller in Newsweek has made me think a lot about where skiing is and where it is going. I suggest you read the article or his autobiography to get a better idea of where I am coming from.
A huge issue in skiing right now is whether or not skiing halfpipe should be added to the Olympics. I think this represents a general movement by the governing bodies that regulate what is allowed in the Olympics towards moving into the realm of extreme sports in order to keep their audience ratings high.
The body that regulates Olympic and FIS skiing in the US is the USSA (Unites States Ski and Snowboard Association). I am a member of this organization, and am starting to get pissed off about the way things are beginning to go in the world of Olympic and FIS ski competition. I will look at the way USSA acts on the level of junior competition, as that is the only part of it I have competed in.
USSA still places events such as Dual moguls, Moguls, and Aerials on the same level as Big Air. Personally, I feel that big air is a much better format for progression of the individual athlete and the sport in general. The athlete is not required to call the trick, as in Aerials. The Open is not judged this way. Judging by the amount of ridiculous stuff that went down at the Open and has been happening at the Open and other comps in the past few years, you would think USSA would take a hint. The best athletes are not in FIS. They aren't in the Olympics. Still, Big Air is not included in Nationals or Junior Worlds.
The one area that USSA has addressed is halfpipe. The first Halfpipe worlds were held in Finland last year. You had to be living under a rock to not hear about them because of the amount of ski mag coverage that appeared as a result (Powder, Freeskiier, SBC.....). Equally as loud was the complaining coming out of people like Corey Vanular and Simon Dumont, arguably some of the best pipe skiiers on planet earth. Despite putting on the event, USSA and its related organizations are still managing to screw up.
These organized bodies are missing the point. Chances are you ski for fun, and that love of skiing is what has brought you on this site. These organizations have lost site of that in the quest for "Olympic Gold" and nationalism. The Olympic Oath itself states that "the important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win bu to take part". In our quest to make sure we win the most medals of whatever color, we have lost the ability to step back and see why the Olympics existed in the first place.
This is summed up in the fact that freestyle skiing should not be in the olympics. We participate in a way of life, not a sport. Skiing should not be bottled and sold to the masses as a way to make progamming for commercials. Skiing does not belong in matching uniforms and strict rule books. Nike has no place on a skiiers outerwear. I don't want to see freeskiing destroyed by the same forces that pulverized mogul skiing. I don't ever want to see freestyle skiiers in the Olympics. And that is the way I see it.
A huge issue in skiing right now is whether or not skiing halfpipe should be added to the Olympics. I think this represents a general movement by the governing bodies that regulate what is allowed in the Olympics towards moving into the realm of extreme sports in order to keep their audience ratings high.
The body that regulates Olympic and FIS skiing in the US is the USSA (Unites States Ski and Snowboard Association). I am a member of this organization, and am starting to get pissed off about the way things are beginning to go in the world of Olympic and FIS ski competition. I will look at the way USSA acts on the level of junior competition, as that is the only part of it I have competed in.
USSA still places events such as Dual moguls, Moguls, and Aerials on the same level as Big Air. Personally, I feel that big air is a much better format for progression of the individual athlete and the sport in general. The athlete is not required to call the trick, as in Aerials. The Open is not judged this way. Judging by the amount of ridiculous stuff that went down at the Open and has been happening at the Open and other comps in the past few years, you would think USSA would take a hint. The best athletes are not in FIS. They aren't in the Olympics. Still, Big Air is not included in Nationals or Junior Worlds.
The one area that USSA has addressed is halfpipe. The first Halfpipe worlds were held in Finland last year. You had to be living under a rock to not hear about them because of the amount of ski mag coverage that appeared as a result (Powder, Freeskiier, SBC.....). Equally as loud was the complaining coming out of people like Corey Vanular and Simon Dumont, arguably some of the best pipe skiiers on planet earth. Despite putting on the event, USSA and its related organizations are still managing to screw up.
These organized bodies are missing the point. Chances are you ski for fun, and that love of skiing is what has brought you on this site. These organizations have lost site of that in the quest for "Olympic Gold" and nationalism. The Olympic Oath itself states that "the important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win bu to take part". In our quest to make sure we win the most medals of whatever color, we have lost the ability to step back and see why the Olympics existed in the first place.
This is summed up in the fact that freestyle skiing should not be in the olympics. We participate in a way of life, not a sport. Skiing should not be bottled and sold to the masses as a way to make progamming for commercials. Skiing does not belong in matching uniforms and strict rule books. Nike has no place on a skiiers outerwear. I don't want to see freeskiing destroyed by the same forces that pulverized mogul skiing. I don't ever want to see freestyle skiiers in the Olympics. And that is the way I see it.
