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Most Important Thing for our sport right now

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Mysterion
Posts: 40 - Karma: 10

I'd say that the most important thing for our sport right now is getting into the olympics.

I know some people probably don't care and that's cool. Is there anything more important in terms of getting more worldwide exposure than the olympics?

Also snowboarding still has us beat on the popularity level. I wonder if that can ever change. I know it doesn't matter to most legit kids who just do what they think is fun, but it would be cool if we overtook snowboarding in terms of popularity some day. thoughts comments?

Sep 22 2009 6:24AM
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Static
Posts: 8483 - Karma: 4,029
worldwide exposure? who the fuck doesn't know about skiing? ohh Half pipe skiing, who gives a fuck, GT killed that shit back in 2000.
Sep 22 2009 7:40AM
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Jakcy
Posts: 59 - Karma: 21
Why should skiing get bigger than snowboarding? What does it matter? Snowboarding sucks just because it's gotten so big (read: the industry has gotten big), I wouldn't want to get to the same point with skiing. But what I would want more is tv-exposure. There are three tv-shows about snowboarding and one for skiing in my country. That sucks too.
Sep 22 2009 7:44AM
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Dcult
Posts: 23 - Karma: 10
Skiing is popular! Who doesn't know Hermann Mayer or Lasse Kjus? (;
Sep 22 2009 7:50AM
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reverendwrong
Posts: 3145 - Karma: 142
what we need is not to go to the olympics but to rganize and centralize around the sport and for the sport, look at rollerblading, it got soo big so quick it never got a true identity and died
Sep 22 2009 8:17AM
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MEGAZORD
Posts: 4531 - Karma: -7
Its good that it died though.  Fruitboots.

But seriously.  SKIING IS ALREADY IN THE OLYMPICS.  Who gives a fuck about halfpipe. 
Sep 22 2009 8:35AM
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michael_bc
Posts: 1316 - Karma: 403
The last thing the olympics need is more judged sports, and the last thing newschool skiing needs is to be eaten up by FIS and the olympics.

Big air already exists in the olympics under the form of aerials, and those aerialists already throw way sicker shit than for example at an X games big air. Big air in newschool skiing is already evolving to aerials at an alarming rate: putting it in the olympics will only fast forward this evolution.
Sep 22 2009 9:09AM
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Mysterion
Posts: 40 - Karma: 10

wow..not stoked for freestyle skiing in the olympics? you must be kidding...

its not like its going to take away your individual enjoyment of the sport. do i really need to spell out why newschool freestyle skiing in the olympics would be a great thing?

Sep 22 2009 9:22AM
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Mysterion
Posts: 40 - Karma: 10

are you dense? of course i am  talking about newschool freestyle skiing..you know the specific type of skiing this site is about..Hermann Mayer, with all due respect to him, does not represent newschoolers...

as far as exposure..no shit we need more. turn on your tv and what are the odds of seeing some sort of freestyle skiing event? Well unless you have RSN or some sort of other special channel, the odds are almost zero. Yet any given night, sports channels as well as major channels are showing a myriad of sports events.. so in those terms we are very far behind..

Sep 22 2009 9:27AM
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Karma_Police
Posts: 2655 - Karma: 1,628
What our sport needs and will always need is more powder on the mountains
Sep 22 2009 9:37AM
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Mysterion
Posts: 40 - Karma: 10

wow..sorry for triple post in my own thread but this is bullshit.. newschool skiing will not be eaten up by anything.. having olympic events would make the sport more popular..yes it would bring negative things but undoubtedly also good things..

and double bullshit on your aerials analysis.. there is a big difference between aerials and and "aerial" like tricks you are referring to. how is the stuff they are throwing way sicker than x games? it might have more rotations and flips, but it is missing one very important aspect that is essential tonewschool skiing- and that is style...do aerialists grab? NO do they tweak? NO.. Do they hit jumps switch? NO

Sep 22 2009 9:46AM
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Rogge
Posts: 5772 - Karma: 3,867
The most important things for our sport right now were discussed on Sunday at an amazing Carte Blanche meeting of the minds.

Stoked to be apart of this amazing sport.
Sep 22 2009 9:55AM
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BWalmer
Posts: 9141 - Karma: 12,883
While I agree that going to the Olympics would be a big thing for our sport, it's not the most important thing. What needs to happen is Athlete exposure, look at snowboarding, skateboarding, FMX, they all have big name athletes that you see on TV and in the news all the time. If the athletes are put out there, people will watch, once they watch hopefully they get hooked and start getting involved with the sport.
Sep 22 2009 10:15AM
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Broha-X-Press
Posts: 758 - Karma: 59

This is a big topic in my ski practicum class right now.

one of the biggest things we can do for our sport is get other people into it.  95% of all newcomers to the sport are brought in by existing skiiers/riders.  It's only hte other 5% that do it for themselves.  The people in our port are no longer like the original skiiers who would hike and ski just for the thrill and the adventure side.  They didn't care about unconfortable boots, bad skis, fatigue or even the pain from the learning curve.  New skiiers today are turned away by the fact that it's cold, costs money and requires work to have fun at it.

hte best thing for our sport is to get friends to go with you who have never gone before.  Keep them having fun so they keep coming back. 

To the younger generation of skiiers/riders (14-15 yrs. old), don't think you are king shit on turd mountain.  Be respectful and know that if you make this sport your life, you will bring in your friends as you grow up and eventually your kids. 

The number of skier visits per year is dropping drastically year by year so again...the best thing for our sport right now is to get new people interested and having fun.  If they havea good time, they will only tell 4-5 people while on the other side of things, if thye have a bad experience they are more likely to tell upwads of 15 people.

Spark notes:  GET NEW PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THE SPORT

Sep 22 2009 11:29AM
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Literature
Posts: 13673 - Karma: 3,086
The most important thing for our sport right now is that winter starts up soon, because we are bickering about the stupid details when we could be out throwing fives and skinning for pow.
Sep 22 2009 11:33AM
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Blandct
Posts: 1858 - Karma: 37
I don't know if tall tees are allowed during the opening ceremonies...
Sep 22 2009 11:37AM
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CoolioDude
Posts: 907 - Karma: 57
i dont want skiing to get as popular as snowboarding. skiing is seen as "unique" in my school. i like it like that because snowboarding is a generic sport because everyone trys to be the next shaun white
Sep 22 2009 11:41AM
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TheBlurredChrons
Posts: 61 - Karma: 11
This is a good post.

Spread the love of skiing on the human level, not at the corporate FIS level.
Sep 22 2009 11:53AM
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Mr.Huck
Posts: 6096 - Karma: 14,893
I have a tough time with this.  As a former racer I know that FIS could screw up a 1 car funeral.  The early days of freestyle were a lot like freeride is today.  The guys were outlaws just looking to have a good time.   Then FIS got involved, and the whole thing changed. 

A few things to consider:

* Pipe would definitely be easier to bring to the olympics because there is already a format for snowboarding.
* All athletes have to be drug tested.  Not saying that's bad, but some guys will fail.
* International judging bias.  In any new sport there is usually a lot of judging bias until they get a system down.

I dunno.  I just have this great visual in my head right now of a Gbalkman cartoon featuring Newschoolers sitting down at a table to negotiate with the IOC.  Pretty much the definition of culture clash. 
Sep 22 2009 11:53AM
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OGSlopewatcherAssassin
Posts: 393 - Karma: 16
I love the comparison of slopestyle to aerials.

Sorry, but nS skiing is a complete joke in comparison to aerials.
Take Dumonts world record hip air.

Dudes have been throwing almost twice that high on aerial booters for DECADES.....
not to mention doing quad fulls while in the air. (that's a quadruple backflip 1440 for those that don't know)

I'm sorry, but grabs aren't tough to do.


Sep 22 2009 11:59AM
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H8CH
Posts: 2709 - Karma: 218
and wait for it..... 
Sep 22 2009 12:11PM
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casimiro
Posts: 1350 - Karma: 15
What our sport needs is people to go out and enjoy true freestyle/freeskiing for the love of it, no judging just skiing doing your own thing and enjoying it without worrying about fads etc.
Sep 22 2009 12:35PM
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Dan-Man
Posts: 7480 - Karma: 3,605

nuff said.

GT is the man

I have his autograph on my first ever broken arm cast. got it at x=games 04 i beleive.

Sep 22 2009 12:39PM
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whodunit
Posts: 40 - Karma: 27
I think that saying "the most important thing" is what is wrong with your statement.  Olympics is important but not to everyone. It brings a lot of attention but doesn't always attract sponsors to every sport.  For example, moguls and aerials worked long and hard to get into the Olympics (1992 and 94) and now don't get much respect or attention from most of the people on this site.  No one buys mogul or aerials skis unless they are competitors so ski companies have practically abandoned making them.   If you look at the history of moguls/aerials, they used to have big pro tours and the pro skiers (moguls and aerials--some did both, some specialized) had the same lifestyle/money that the pro skiers today have.  Olympics didn't kill their "coolness".  One thing that did was competing/conflicting tours and egos plus some serious dips in the economy in the 90s (any of this sound familiar?).  And the fact that young people are always looking for something different for themselves.  Fifteen years from now, the majority of people on this site now will be at least 30 and the new crop of younguns will be doing something different--maybe even something retro like moguls/aerials.  Most of todays pro skiers will be forgotten completely because there will be a new generation of stars.  There were famous guys in the 1980s and 90s whose names nobody knows anymore, even though they skied extreme, had tons of fans, did the ski stunts in james bond movies, were interviewed on mainstream talk shows, made lots of money, partied harder than anyone does today, and had girls in every ski town.  I know this because my uncle was one of them.   Too many people have been saying that halfpipe and slopestyle needs the Olympics.  While I believe they deserve to be there, maybe the big events like Dew Tour and X games are actually better for them than the Olympics?   Maybe we'll see filming/video combined with the possibilities for exposure on the internet as the most important thing to keep skiing high profile and awesome?
Sep 22 2009 3:56PM
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garrets
Posts: 1447 - Karma: 60
I just have fun with skiing, u shouldnt make such a big deal about it being more popular than snowboarding. just do it cus u love it and have fun.
Sep 22 2009 4:49PM
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Wibby
Posts: 292 - Karma: 157

"but it would be cool if we overtook snowboarding in terms of popularity some day"

Skiing is already a much larger and more popular sport than snowboarding...  maybe not with your group of friends.  Look around the ski hill, do you really see more snowboarders?

Sep 22 2009 5:16PM
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grown-ninja
Posts: 3031 - Karma: 175
sounds awesome, more television exposure....and for the sport not to get big then, wow pretty resionable
Sep 22 2009 5:24PM
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polka.yardSAIL
Posts: 459 - Karma: 8
that's the first logical reason i've heard as to why there isn't slopestyle in the olympics!
Sep 22 2009 5:46PM
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Mr.Huck
Posts: 6096 - Karma: 14,893
Dude, you either didn't take time to really think about this or you are dumb as a box of rocks.

Aerialists are basically divers with skis on their feet.  They do everything in one plane and one body position which is only slightly modified when the skier has to tuck to get it around.  There are no additional points or no reason to spin in a direction other than the skiers natural direction.  Aerialists do not takeoff or land switch. 

Off axis tricks utilize multiple planes.  The different grabs force the skier into a variety of different positions in the air.  There is so much more creativity and variation in this sport than there is in freestyle aerials. 

When an aerialist stands at the top of the hill his options are:  how many flips and how many twists.  Nothing wrong with a quad twisting quad, but when a skier stands at the top of the slope style hill, he is thinking:

https://www.newschoolers.com/web/forums/readthread/thread_id/221589/

Also thinking natural or unnatural.  

Sorry but with all due respect, you're a paste eating moron.
Sep 22 2009 7:25PM
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OGSlopewatcherAssassin
Posts: 393 - Karma: 16
BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH

You really think a switch cork 10 is harder than a quad-full? hahahahahahhahahha

When any of your so called heros like wallisch, olson or tanner can do a quad full, then you might have an argument. Until then, not so much.
Sep 22 2009 8:40PM
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MEGAZORD
Posts: 4531 - Karma: -7
We dont want it to become aerials.  At that point it isnt skiing, its gymnastics.  Its not spin to win, its about style.
Sep 22 2009 8:47PM
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GreenHorn
Posts: 4896 - Karma: 1,209
yes
Sep 22 2009 8:48PM
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andreweckels
Posts: 594 - Karma: -4
i just don't understand why people want there to be more skiers all that means is longer lines more gapers and less powder.
Sep 22 2009 9:30PM
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uosdwiSrjewoH
Posts: 4220 - Karma: 121
most important thing for the sport right now is for snow to start falling again. NOW
Sep 22 2009 9:31PM
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faux_real
Posts: 984 - Karma: 250
I think the olympics should have a rail jam with a premium placed on multiple switch-ups.
Sep 22 2009 9:44PM
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punkrock32
Posts: 1183 - Karma: 21
I'd like to see your so called heros do a switch cork 10, they'd have to land it, and make it look better than one wallisch, olsson, or hall did: I could promise it won't happen.  Nobody on this site gives a shit about whether or not a switch cork 10 is harder than a quad-full, ace.
Sep 23 2009 12:33AM
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OGSlopewatcherAssassin
Posts: 393 - Karma: 16
The whole point is that anyone who can do a quad full has the skills to learn a switch 10 faster than any newschool scrub could learn a quad full.

That's because it's harder. And I guarantee anyone who can do a quad full could do a double full with a grab after a day or two of trying on a water ramp.

There's no comparison. btw, doing them penciled out is harder than all tucked up as well.

Sep 23 2009 1:38AM
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BootySpunk.
Posts: 8148 - Karma: 84
The most important thing for our sport is that people have fun doing it and not get hated on for trying new things.
Sep 23 2009 1:51AM
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.peter
Posts: 1222 - Karma: 63
The Olympics might be nice because they'd bring much needed money to freeskiing, by making it seem more official. But we can't forget that the whole reason freeskiing started was because skiing was being too regulated by organizations like the USSA and FIS. And trust me, from my experience with them, that's not something any of us should want to get involved in. But maybe it'll do for us what it's done for snowboarding, and open up the sport to become more diverse, who knows. If it does happen independent companies better start getting teams together so that dynastar and rossi and Soloman don't get all the attention.
Sep 23 2009 2:09AM
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Malcolm
Posts: 15949 - Karma: 9,417
yessur
Sep 23 2009 2:13AM
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murs
Posts: 1684 - Karma: 109
i agree frestyling needs way more exposure to tge rest of the world kinda unfair

snowborading blew up no every newbe does that instead of skiing i get upset when this happens see it way to much at my mtn
Sep 23 2009 2:23AM
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punkrock32
Posts: 1183 - Karma: 21

You're basing everything on difficulty.  I agree, a quad full is more difficult than a switch cork 10, but could they do it with style?  My point was more along the lines of could they do it with the same style as some of the top park skiers? I doubt it.

Sep 23 2009 2:48AM
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michael_bc
Posts: 1316 - Karma: 403
thank you.
that's exactly what I'm talking about.

and to Mysterion, style is in the eye of the beholder, and aerialists and gymnasts will argue that they have much better style. This is the problem with judged sports. You can cry all you want, once it goes Olympic, it becomes a serious discipline and stops being that cool young thing. You get a different kind of people involved. Why do you even argue this (and with such arrogance), look what happened to the "freestyle skiing" discipline in the olympics.
Sep 23 2009 5:14AM
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michael_bc
Posts: 1316 - Karma: 403
Since when are the olympics a fashion contest?
Sep 23 2009 5:19AM
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Colt45er
Posts: 1650 - Karma: 336
i think its completely up to us to give skiing the exposure it deserves. we cant expect things to just happen, skiing isn't as world recognized as snowboarding but it still has a significant impact on the people within the mountains. The understanding of equality between the two. Skiing one day i picture it to be recognized by people of all groups, just like snowboarding is, but with a different appeal!

stay positive
Sep 23 2009 7:52AM
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reverendwrong
Posts: 3145 - Karma: 142
IF we go to the olympics it should be on our terms, no one know skiing more than us. why should we let FIS and IOC determine how our sport is gonna run. we should get an international body with a universal set of guidelines first, run with it a few years, then at the point that we are asked to join the olympics we have the right people running the show and judging, cause if judge controversy from X games heats up NSG for weeks imagine it if it was the olympics.
Sep 23 2009 8:20AM
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Mr.Huck
Posts: 6096 - Karma: 14,893
OK so based on this, you could take a figure skater and quickly turn them into an aggressive inline skater.

Over half of the elite aerialists can't ski, and don't have any interest in it.  They are converted gymnasts and divers.  At the Salt Lake Olympics, in order to get to the top of the aerials hill, competitors had to ski a mostly groomed intermediate run.  The organizers thought that wouldn't be a problem, but it was carnage.   I'm sure there are some aerialists who are good skiers but most of them are only concerned about going straight. 

Since the 70's when they started building designated freestyle aerials hills, the sport has attracted non-skiers.  Look up Frankie Bare.  He was a converted gymnast.  He actually taught himself how to ski, but early on he had about a 50/50 chance of getting to the jump in one piece. 

There might be a handful of guys who could cross over from aerials to park.  If you asked those guys, they would probably tell you that it would be harder than you think.  From years of training they are programed to flip and rotate on axis, and getting comfortable rotating off axis doesn't just happen.

The bottom line is that, if it was so easy to do, then Speedy Peterson or one of the other elite guys would have done it already.  There would be vid on youtube.  My advice to you is to jack up the trailer, pull the cinder blocks and move your home a little farther away from the high voltage wires. 
Sep 23 2009 11:13AM
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uosdwiSrjewoH
Posts: 4220 - Karma: 121
i think you're on the wrong site...
Sep 23 2009 11:15AM
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Trennon
Posts: 75 - Karma: 806
I won't comment on whether or not this is "the most important thing for our sport", I think that's a pretty personal thing with about a million correct answers. However, some of the comments on here seem to be a little misleading.

Bringing up "what happened with moguls and aerials" is actually quite off-topic. If you really want to compare Olympic halfpipe skiing to anything, compare it to snowboarding.

Yes, FIS runs the Olympic halfpipe snowboarding, and yes, it will someday run the Olympic halfpipe skiing. However, UNLIKE FREESTYLE AERIALS AND MOGULS halfpipe snowboarding is nowhere close to being domineered by FIS. The riders generally get to do what they want, when they want, and those that want to go to the Olympics get a chance to go. Yes, they have to jump through some hoops to qualify, but it's their choice.

it's certainly not as if someone like Danny Kass's career has been centered around or in any way controlled or hampered by FIS for the last 10 years, but during that time he did have a couple of opportunities to go win Olympic medals.

XGames, Dew Tours, WSI, etc are all events that run both ski and snowboard halfpipe. It's time the Olympics got with the times and became equal opportunity as well.

It's about additional opportunities and choices for our athletes, which equals more freedom to choose. The pro, and rider driven events will still be there (just like they are for the snowboarders), but if our top pipe athletes want a chance to compete at the Olympics (and they all do), then they should have that opportunity.

Consider this, what is more in the spirit of "keeping our sport free" - giving the athletes choices and opportunities, or denying them choices and opportunities?




Sep 23 2009 11:39AM
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OGSlopewatcherAssassin
Posts: 393 - Karma: 16
why does everyone act like sliding down the hill on skis is something that takes a long time to learn?
Half of the park kids can't ski either. It's more about air awareness and being comfortable in the air.

And here are "some of those guys"...watch the dude on the right at the end slaying it.........you're clueless.





Sep 23 2009 12:34PM
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vebjorn_1ersen
Posts: 19 - Karma: 54

how the heck do they get that much hight?! i tryied the same thing, jumping with skies on my trampline in my backyard and i got about 2 feet high.

but seriosly, that ain't what i would call slaying. give me 1 day at a water ramp, or day with powder, and i would do the same.

Sep 23 2009 1:09PM
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