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Research Paper: Why freestyle skiing is becoming more popular

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STEEZUS_CHRI5T
Posts: 2751 - Karma: 20,876
Is skiing becoming more and more popular? Proof, facts examples?

I'm writing a research paper in a composition class and would like some different thoughts ideas, and opinions.

What I am going to discuss is how freestyle skiing is now in the Olympics, more media/internet exposure, more and more young athletes like Kelly Sildaru, we see Jossi Wells in Nike 6.0 commercials and Tom Wallisch in GoPro, and generally there are more park skiers on the hills these day then there were 5 years ago.

Let me know if there is any other evidence, otherwise feel free to hate up like many do.
Jan 30 2012 11:23AM
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Puzzled
Posts: 4267 - Karma: 4,448
The fashion aspect of skiing has brought so many new young kids in the sport, its not even funny.
Jan 30 2012 11:24AM
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hollygrove
Posts: 7845 - Karma: 93
don't write about "freestyle" skiing - your teacher doesnt care at all.
Jan 30 2012 11:25AM
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troben
Posts: 183 - Karma: 34
sad but true
Jan 30 2012 11:25AM
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STEEZUS_CHRI5T
Posts: 2751 - Karma: 20,876
We can write about "anything" and my teacher thought it would be a great idea when I met with him. I'm writing about something that interests me therefore I'll write a solid paper on it.
Jan 30 2012 11:27AM
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.R-Lohin
Posts: 1686 - Karma: 117
Tom Wallisch, Henrik Haurlaut, Phil Casabon, and TC. /thread
Jan 30 2012 12:15PM
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scientist
Posts: 6920 - Karma: 347
also the increasing media coverage combined with that fact that skiers generally go bigger at these covered events... plus we go straight up backwards, which looks fully crazy to someone who has never really seen it before. Snowboarding had a boom when it was still fresh and rebellious, but skiing is reaching the point where its arguably more spectacular and "fresh" to watch
Jan 30 2012 3:40PM
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baaangthat
Posts: 2245 - Karma: 2,587
this is going to be a very difficult topic to write a good research paper about because there is no true data supporting or factual evidence out there that proves freestyle skiing is in fact becoming more popular. also, you must create a definition of "more popular." do you mean more people are participating in it? do you mean more people know of its existence? do you mean there are more downhill skiers per acre (one of few pieces of numerical data ski areas and designers actually recognize and use) on freestyle terrain? just some food for thought...try narrowing your topic to a more defined and factual statement.

or just do a real research paper and dont write about what kids say on ns so you get better than a C because teachers and professors hate seeing this shit
Jan 30 2012 3:49PM
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Flying~Squirrel
Posts: 6494 - Karma: 192
thats the thing about research papers is you have to do research... and there isnt very much to search through when it comes to info about skiing.
Jan 30 2012 3:56PM
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SShield
Posts: 252 - Karma: 65
write about skiing as a whole. Use freestyle sking as one of the supporting points.
Jan 30 2012 3:58PM
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TRSkier415
Posts: 137 - Karma: 71
I think you should write about how the adverse affect on gender roles and the subjugation of the freeskiing social constructs into mainstream culture has affected the overall market demand for economic growth during the current recessionary quantitative-easying period instituted by the Fed and other U.S. government financial institutions from 2008 onwards, using principles put forth by Adam Smith, Milton Freedman, and John Hobson to support your analysis.
Jan 30 2012 4:03PM
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eheath
Posts: 61102 - Karma: 118,261
Choose an easier topic.
Jan 30 2012 4:04PM
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Elmo.
Posts: 4317 - Karma: 663
if its an opinion based paper. write it
if its a fact based paper... good luck. there are no facts other than contest results. unless im missing something
Jan 30 2012 4:14PM
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Bill.Nye
Posts: 4060 - Karma: 2,109
Sales numbers of twin tip skis, popularity of freeskiing movies, though IDK how you'd get that data
Jan 30 2012 4:19PM
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baaangthat
Posts: 2245 - Karma: 2,587
1. sales of twin tip skis does not imply a rise in popularity of freestyle skiing, as: a- not all buyers use twin tips for freestyle skiing b- most backcountry skis are now twin tipped c- many beginner skis are now twin tipped as the turned up tail makes it easier to initiate turns from edge to edge

2. once again...define popularity...do you mean there are more movies out there? do you mean there are more movies being purchases? do you mean the mere existence of movies is known by a larger audience?

3. exactly...most of this data is a- not scholastically credible or citable b- opinion based or biased c- common knowledge of "freeskiers" taken as fact
Jan 30 2012 4:44PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9210 - Karma: 5,357
truth. they don't care, it's easier to write a more supportive argument for other topics. it's just a paper for high school (i think) so who cares what it's about, as long as you get the A. either way you'e going to demonstrate writing skills.
Jan 30 2012 4:51PM
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Bill.Nye
Posts: 4060 - Karma: 2,109
1) Most people who buy twin tips do it because they either are doing freeskiing or they like to think they are, both of which indicate a rise in popularity. And when I say twin tipped I mean skis with a real tip on the tail, not skis that come up a tiny bit at the back so you don't immediately catch your edge if you go backwards. Most BC skis I've seen are fat but not twins (Like K2's adventure line).

2) By popularity I mean how many movies are being sold and downloaded. That indicates greater popularity.

3) I'm sure this data could be compiled, companies keep track of how many skis and movies they sell, I just don't know how much luck you'd have getting the data, which is exactly what I already said.
Jan 30 2012 4:57PM
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250r
Posts: 2274 - Karma: 1,020
you could try to find how much newscoolers has been growing over the years
Jan 30 2012 5:05PM
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baaangthat
Posts: 2245 - Karma: 2,587
this is like saying the increase in sales of basketball sneakers show an increase in the popularity of basketball. some people just like basketball sneakers.

there is an uncertain percentage of purchased twin tip skis that are never used for freestyle purposes, much in the way that an uncertain percentage of jordans never touch a basketball court. also, think about how many pairs of k2 PEs or extremes you have seen with rear-mounted rental bindings or how many mogul skiers use the old trouble makers. these percentages being uncertain is enough to taint any data sample.
Jan 30 2012 5:06PM
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lepowski
Posts: 137 - Karma: 96
10th anniversary freeskier. published document. proof.

http://freeskier.com/stories/10th-anniversary-decade-freeskiing
Jan 30 2012 5:06PM
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baaangthat
Posts: 2245 - Karma: 2,587
dblpst sosorry

im not saying skiing isnt rising in popularity or that there arent more and more freestyle skiers, im saying all "data" that exists isnt substantial or credible enough to use in a scholastic research paper at any level. an increase in sales of ski movies says nothing about the growth of popularity of the sport, i merely shows a growth in the quantity of ski movies sold.
Jan 30 2012 5:09PM
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thisisastickup
Posts: 597 - Karma: -24
more young kids are attracted to skiing because of the internet. it's basically a good place for a bunch of weird little kids with deep-pocketed parents to fit in because of how fucking cool they look.
Jan 30 2012 5:10PM
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Bill.Nye
Posts: 4060 - Karma: 2,109
People who buy jordans but don't play basketball want people to think they play basketball, which again, indicates a rise in popularity of basketball. Same for twin tips. People buy them because they want people to think they are freeskiers. I live and work at a huge mtn resort and I see hundreds of skiers everyday. The people who are groomer shredders have carve skis, the people who freeski have twins, and the posers have twin tips too. Marketing knows it too. We dump money into the park and pipe even though for the number of people who actually use them it's a huge loss. The reason they do it is to bring in the posers.
Jan 30 2012 5:11PM
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STAUSS
Posts: 8232 - Karma: 3,311
gotta stack that paper.
Jan 30 2012 5:12PM
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Bill.Nye
Posts: 4060 - Karma: 2,109
That's just absurd. You can infer that people who buy/download ski movies are doing it because they're interested in skiing. Based on this you can use that data to learn something about the popularity of freeskiing. It's not exact, but "popularity" is a qualitative concept, so it's pretty a pretty good indicator all things considered.
Jan 30 2012 5:15PM
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baaangthat
Posts: 2245 - Karma: 2,587
scholastically cite your source

when writing a research paper, you must tell yourself to do that after every statement you make. if you cannot scholastically cite a source for a statement you are making, that statement is not credible and should not be included.

it is ok to draw that conclusion from data you have researched, but you must work toward that conclusion based on cited facts. to disprove your jordan theory i could make the argument that some people merely enjoy the aesthetics of jordans and that is their main motivation for buying and wearing them. your statement was presented as fact with no source and no option for deviation. by presenting a deviation i disproved your statement.
Jan 30 2012 5:20PM
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Bill.Nye
Posts: 4060 - Karma: 2,109
Except you need to ask yourself, and explain in your paper why your assumption makes sense. Why would people be buying gear that is heavily marketed towards freeskiers if they weren't interested in freeskiing? If they "just like the aesthetic," why has THAT aesthetic become more and more popular in the past X years? Is it just random or can we see a pattern in our data? What reason would someone have for buying/downloading a freesking movie if they were not interested in freeskiing? All data can only be interpreted through assumptions, you just need to make safe assumptions and explain them in your paper. If you explain how this data is relevant in your paper, you'll be fine (in fact, that's kind of the point. What does the data mean?)
Jan 30 2012 5:28PM
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baaangthat
Posts: 2245 - Karma: 2,587
i agree completely, but im just warning that its very easy to present non-data information as fact when it comes to a subject you already know about. that is why teachers want you to do a research paper on a subject you arent familiar with...so you actually have to research and learn about the topic.
Jan 30 2012 5:36PM
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Bill.Nye
Posts: 4060 - Karma: 2,109
I could see the OP slipping into the trap of making assumptions about a sport he already knows without explaining himself because he will take things for granted that someone who is not familiar with skiing wouldn't. For this reason it might be wise to do the paper on an unfamiliar topic, but I was simply stating that data like twin tip sales or movie sales/downloads could legitimately be used as indicators to show an increase in popularity of the sport. The important thing is not to argue something along the lines of since YOU are more interested in the sport or how it has progressed, that the general population is becoming more interested. That would be fallacious.
Jan 30 2012 5:41PM
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SpaghettiWizard
Posts: 2825 - Karma: 166
It's composition class so you'll be able to write a better paper about this at a different time, write about something you can research
Jan 30 2012 5:42PM
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Download-My-Apps
Posts: 5069 - Karma: 1,017
because its the reverse of snowboarding, that is no longer badass when parents do it.
Jan 30 2012 7:18PM
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.squirrely.
Posts: 7563 - Karma: 7,540
well i have no clue why but last season when i did competitions there were maybe 5 skiers and 30+ snowboarders. all 5 of the comps ive done this year have at least twice as many skiers as boarders.
Click for larger image

so id say freeskiing is getting more popular
Jan 30 2012 9:11PM
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Funnel
Posts: 7808 - Karma: 1,414
his month marks NS's most-visited month EVER. That seems like pretty good evidence of its growing popularity to me.
Jan 30 2012 9:16PM
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maxwell666
Posts: 554 - Karma: 20
almost guaranteed you will write a better research paper about something you currently are not passionate about.
Jan 30 2012 9:46PM
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stickerz
Posts: 241 - Karma: 51
Try to find statistics of the member counts from like a couple years ago to now. That would be a solid piece of evidence. Also, try to find out the difference in sponsorships money wise from before to now.
Jan 30 2012 9:51PM
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STEEZUS_CHRI5T
Posts: 2751 - Karma: 20,876
its already done, ill let ya know how I do since I choose this "terrible topic", shame on me.
Jan 31 2012 10:56AM
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baaangthat
Posts: 2245 - Karma: 2,587
what were your sources?

Jan 31 2012 11:00AM
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KarmaInitiative
Posts: 2028 - Karma: 174
talk about the olympics
Jan 31 2012 11:26AM
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STEEZUS_CHRI5T
Posts: 2751 - Karma: 20,876
Oh i did
Jan 31 2012 12:11PM
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956997959431
Posts: 0 - Karma: 10
What is this a middle school essay? Good luck finding any factual evidence to support your argument. Why not choose a topic that actually matters in the world?
Jan 31 2012 12:24PM
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R.Fahey
Posts: 8602 - Karma: 539
Write a research paper about the correlation between knee injuries and park skiing/aerials. Anytime you talk about things in the medical field you can find facts.

USSA and FIS have a ton of data about injuries. I did an article about it and it was easy and interesting.
Jan 31 2012 12:30PM
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STEEZUS_CHRI5T
Posts: 2751 - Karma: 20,876
I go to Michigan Technological University. Its not exactly a writing school, besides I like a challenge.
Jan 31 2012 12:51PM
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old-dirty11
Posts: 339 - Karma: 233
Why is everyone hating about his topic? It is kinda smart to right about something that you enjoy and know alot about, it makes it easy!
Jan 31 2012 2:04PM
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jibmeisterflex
Posts: 719 - Karma: 63
I know what made me become a park skier was that I live in ct therefore my mountain blows so it is boring to just ski on groomers, also you can relate it to a sport like soccer that was nothing 40 years ago in America but now almost every little kid plays it. Good luck bro hope this helped.
Jan 31 2012 3:55PM
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STEEZUS_CHRI5T
Posts: 2751 - Karma: 20,876
received 39/40 thanks for the input everyone!
Feb 14 2012 11:05AM
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HeyImPeter
Posts: 190 - Karma: 12
Michigan?! Where do you ski??
Feb 14 2012 1:56PM
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skier_boy26
Posts: 11295 - Karma: 502
Research papers and skiing don't really go together. You are going to have to pull shit out of your ass. Better to choose a different topic. If this was a persuasive piece, different story.
Feb 14 2012 2:43PM
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STEEZUS_CHRI5T
Posts: 2751 - Karma: 20,876
paper is done already read a few above..
Feb 14 2012 8:44PM
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STEEZUS_CHRI5T
Posts: 2751 - Karma: 20,876
Mont Ripley, its in the UP
Feb 14 2012 8:44PM
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Cahal
Posts: 945 - Karma: 594
haha i told my teacher im gonna be a ski bum and she made me sit in the hall. i dont get it because its not really a bad thing
Feb 14 2012 8:46PM
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Bill.Nye
Posts: 4060 - Karma: 2,109
Haha that's hillarious
Feb 14 2012 10:50PM
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