Freestyle: The Most Versatile of Skiing Sports

Are you the thrill-seeking type? Are you easily bored with sports that are repetitive? Then freestyle skiing just might be for you.

Freestyle skiing is one of the more exciting sports that is fast gaining in popularity worldwide.

Early development of freestyle skiing

Majority of sports history sources put the beginning of freestyle skiing in the 1930s. This is after Norwegian skiers started to perform acrobatics during a cross-country training. Much later, skiing exhibitions around the United States that featured much of this acrobat-type of skiing helped it to become one the most popular kinds of sports.

In the 1960s and 1970s, freestyle skiing became so popular that even some film celebrities engaged in it. Owing to its “free style” monicker, this particular type of skiing is not known to have many rules, which makes it relatively dangerous. In fact, some of its more current forms or versions are considered to be very extreme sports.

In 1979, the International Ski Federation included freestyle skiing in its officially sanctioned sports. This helped in tempering the potentially dangerous sport into a more regulated physical activity. The first World Championship, after several world cup invitations, took place in 1986, at Tignes, France.

After the said world championship in France, the freestyle skiing styles became unstoppable among sports buffs and fanatics, reaching even the ranks of ordinary people. Thus, the three forms of freestyle skiing competitions — aerials, ballet, and moguls — were showcased as demonstration events at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.

Mogul skiing, another branch of free skiing, officially entered into the Albertville Games in 1992. Aerials skiing on the other hand would be included in the Lillehammer Games in 1994.

At present, there are two main branches of freestyle skiing. First is the branch that includes the traditional events of moguls and aerials. The second is the relatively newer branch commonly known as the new school, which comprises big air, halfpipe, slopestyle, and skier-cross methods.

As a guide, below are the events which comprise the broad scope of skiing:

Acro

This game is a choreographed routine and is performed while skiing down a slope. It is chiefly consists of turns or spins and acrobatics.

Aerials

Aerial consists of two jumps. The skiers are judged according to their skilled execution with scores computed against the degree of difficulty.

Big Air Upright

These maneuvers are performed off jumps. The skiers execute drills consisting mainly of twists, spins and particularly tricky positions.

Dual Moguls

This is a branch of freestyle skiing that includes two competitors struggling head to head on a parallel mogul course.

Moguls are played generally via a series of bumps and valleys with two air bumps for take-off from aerial movements, which the skiers execute as quickly as they can. The scores in moguls are derived by combining the points for speed, execution, including the two compulsory upright jumps.

The further development of freestyle skiing is happening and expanding into the backcountry. In these places, many skiers can enjoy chucking off big cliffs, then making their own brand of jumps. They can experiment, too, which is the one element that is important in any sport to evolve.

Even the equipment of skiers are being pushed into further development by these country experiments. Back country skiers will naturally need a thicker and sturdier ski that is capable of absorbing shocks from heavy landings.