Well, not exactly a prophet, but Tanner Hall always seems to have a few words about the sport, and I finally gave him a listen. The guy makes a good point. Free skiing HAS changed, a lot, and maybe even in a negative way. All of the fun has taken out of competing and has been replaced with wanting to be better than everyone else. The seriousness of the sport has changed. As Tanner recalls "Laughing and cracking jokes atop the course while smoking a J" is now coaches, cameras, and ambassadors. Also I noticed an extreme decline in "style" with the professionals who compete. Now what is considered "stylish" is "flawlessness". There is no more afterbang or even single flips. We've been pushing the limits of skiing way too far. After seeing the Olympic course jumps I don't even want to see my self or younger brother (Who is a snowboarding prodigy) to ever reach that level. If you make a mistake at 45 feet in the air going about 40 mph, its just too big a risk. People focus far to much on rotation, revolution and basic grabs. When was the last time you saw a Cuban or Liu Kang in a competition? And what is with all of the coaching and training? Skiing is about doing what you love, and having a good laugh, and throwing some crazy shit with your friends. look, I'm not saying the change is all bad, its perfectly fine if you like the whole red bull "Bigger better faster" but there has came a point where the fun has been taken out of the sport, and we are willingly accepting this. Pretty soon the sport is going to be reaching for quads, and even maybe 5x flips, but there will come a point where "Skiing will not progress anymore, and we will be forced to move backward".
yes he sometimes should think twice before talking, and yes he might just be a 30 year old skibum who made alot of money, but Tanner has been there for a great big part of this rollercoaster ride called freeskiing and whether people like it or not, he has some very legit points and remarks. the dude can go on and on about the ski industry and whatever for 24 hours straight. dunno what im saying. ahhhh. bleurghhhh
Vincent.CrudoWell, not exactly a prophet, but Tanner Hall always seems to have a few words about the sport, and I finally gave him a listen. The guy makes a good point. Free skiing HAS changed, a lot, and maybe even in a negative way. All of the fun has taken out of competing and has been replaced with wanting to be better than everyone else. The seriousness of the sport has changed. As Tanner recalls "Laughing and cracking jokes atop the course while smoking a J" is now coaches, cameras, and ambassadors. Also I noticed an extreme decline in "style" with the professionals who compete. Now what is considered "stylish" is "flawlessness". There is no more afterbang or even single flips. We've been pushing the limits of skiing way too far. After seeing the Olympic course jumps I don't even want to see my self or younger brother (Who is a snowboarding prodigy) to ever reach that level. If you make a mistake at 45 feet in the air going about 40 mph, its just too big a risk. People focus far to much on rotation, revolution and basic grabs. When was the last time you saw a Cuban or Liu Kang in a competition? And what is with all of the coaching and training? Skiing is about doing what you love, and having a good laugh, and throwing some crazy shit with your friends. look, I'm not saying the change is all bad, its perfectly fine if you like the whole red bull "Bigger better faster" but there has came a point where the fun has been taken out of the sport, and we are willingly accepting this. Pretty soon the sport is going to be reaching for quads, and even maybe 5x flips, but there will come a point where "Skiing will not progress anymore, and we will be forced to move backward".
Yeah right! He really has the point. Skiing went to a big evolution. And I don't think if it helps or not, only the original skiers can only tell.
I do ski for fun but ever so agree with OP. The physical limits of skiing are real and nearer than ever. We collectively will never be able to max out the style. There will always be a new skier with a new style never seen before, but sooner than we all know there will never again be a skier throwing new tricks. I really do think we will devolve. We need more freeSTYLE to stop our sport from becoming like technical gay Olympic events.
The sport has grown, but mostly just for the high end comp jock once a year on ESPN scene. There is still very little money in filming and that SUCKS. People are putting out banger content, yes, but a lot of those people are either strugglin hard, or ballin on mommy and daddy's dollar.
The sport has grown at an incredible rate, but sadly its not across the board, just in the sector most of us dont give a shit about.