Last May, the International Ski Federation (FIS), skiing’s governing body, recognized halfpipe skiing as a sport. Next season, it will be a event on the World Cup circuit. Last month, the X Games held their first-ever superpipe ski competition. The Olympics is the next-logical progression. “It will catch up way faster than snowboarding because skiing is the roots of what the FIS was all about in the beginning, and the roots of the Olympics,” says freeskiing commentator Chris Ernst, who is more commonly known in skiing as Uncle E.
The fan base is predominantly teenage males, a demographic advertisers and the Olympics adore. “For the Olympics to be relevant to the youth, they must represent what the youth are doing,” says Joe Fitzgerald, the FIS freestyle coordinator. Or, at least what they are watching.
The International Olympic Committee appears to understand the fascination with alternative sports, and they have reacted. Over the last 10 years, the IOC has added a number of extreme events. Freestyle moguls were added in 1992; freestyle aerials in 1994; snowboarding in 1998. The skeleton–the face-first luge–will be reinstated this year after a 54-year hiatus.
Riding skis in a halfpipe is still a relatively new idea. It’s part of a movement called freeskiing. Halfpipe, skicross and slopestyle–riding over jumps, rails, and picnic tables–are injecting life back into the moribund sport. “Skiing is cool again,” says Ernst.
Ever since snow parks began carving halfpipes into their mountains to attract snowboarders, curious skiers have wanted to take part in the action. “Naturally, we started looking at the pipe, and said, ‘Boy that looks pretty fun, snowboarders are at it, we should be too,’” says American Greg Tuffelmire, who won the X Games superpipe qualifier in Breckenridge, Colo. But gaining access to the halfpipes wasn’t easy. Much like snowboarders had to fight skiers for acceptance on the mountain, skiers had to dodge insults and snowballs from snowboarders protecting their own domain.
Skiers eventually gained the snowboarders respect, and the sport is now a huge hit. New skis created especially for jumping and twisting have helped fuel the excitement. “The twin tips ski was one of the hottest presents for Christmas,” says park manager Peter Young of the Nintendo Gamecube Terrain Park in Whistler, B.C.
Tuffelmire, Olsson, and Andrew Woods, the top American superpipe finalist at the X Games, all say they would like to compete in the Olympics but are hesitant, fearing regulation would tarnish their sport. “A lot of skiers, they just don’t want it this early to get conformed and too filled with rules,” says Woods. “Right now everything is really vague. It’s really about just skiing and doing your own thing.”
As of now, the best competitors are awarded for their creativity and ingenuity. But FIS’s involvement will entail a more structured program. Competitions will be judged similar to snowboarding, with points based on performance in four main categories: amplitude, number of tricks, height and difficulty. Skiers feel this will diminish individuality. “I don’t want every kid who does a 360 tail grab to look the same,” says Tuffelmire.
It’s criticism heard in both the skiing and snowboarding circles. Many athletes feel that the FIS’s rules and regulations have sapped their sports’ life and creativity and made them regimented. Four years ago, Norwegian Terje Haakonsen, arguably the world’s best halfpipe boarder, boycotted the 1998 Olympics, likening its officials to Nazis. He will also boycott the Salt Lake Games.
But to become an Olympic sport, rules might be a necessary evil. Stricter rules and guidelines become more necessary to ensure fairness and accuracy as sports expand internationally. “It’s really a double-edged sword,” says Ernst. “All these guys are anti-FIS, but at the same time they want to win a gold medal for their country. Its a dream of everybody, in my opinion, to stand on a podium and wear an Olympic gold medal.”
