Im may be one of those guys that thinks this is the worst fucking idea ever.
The direction id like to see skiing go is the direction of skateboarding, not it turning it into a jock sport.
I already dislike the word sport and athlete surrounding freeskiing. In my mind and you may disagree, part of the reasons i love park skiing particularly was because it is cool. Why do people love the old OG edits and that era? Because it was regarded as some dope shit. Id rather not sportify skiing, instead create a street resurgence, something that could bring back the "coolness" of skiing.
I can imagine that if we were to create NCAA ski teams, new comers to skiing will develop to understand tricks to be important if they are objectively difficult, if it gets you on a podium. That is not what we need. We dont need more competitiveness in skiing. There are already enough stuck up pricks who always brag about what tricks they landed to you, lets not validate them with a collegiate rewards.
I think the fact that this idea is being well received speaks to the wackness of the freeskiing community in general. Imagine collegiate skateboarding, that would be a laughing matter for any core skater. Newschoolers is supposed to be the center of freeskiing, and if this idea is the core of skiing right now, that is really sad to me. But maybe i shouldnt be comparing skating to skiing, oh well.