FWT changes judging criteria to incorporate more freestyle

[Powdurr]

http://espn.go.com/action/blog?sport...g&post=5818857

The ultimate goal, say FWT event organizers, is to evolve big-mountain skiing to incorporate more freestyle elements. Ultimately, they'd like to encourage more slopestyle competitors to enter big-mountain contests. "This is a fundamental change in strategy," says Adam Comey, president of Mountain Sports International, the organization that puts on the FWT. "We're taking a quantum leap to try to bring together big mountain athletes and park-and-pipe athletes."

I think this could end up being pretty cool. However, I know quite a few people who got into these comps after getting out of other freestyle events because they felt that the Freeskiing events were just that - a competition of who was really the best skier, not a contest for who had the best air skills. I guess we will see where this goes...

[Goatski]

Sure are a lot of hardpack days on the Freeskiing World Tour.

I don't think I ever heard a park skier complain that they couldn't keep up on the FWT, and they wouldn't want to enter because their airs would go un-judged. Rather, my park buddies entered to give a try at steep, gnarly skiing, and to be judged on that. The tricks they did throw in the mix had to have been considered in their score.

In the past, athletes competing in the tour's big-mountain competitions have been judged on line choice, fluidity, control, technique and aggression. Starting this year, the aggression criteria will be eliminated and replaced with style and creativity. This is the first time the Freeskiing World Tour has formally altered its judging criteria since the tour started in 1997.

To me line choice says a lot about creativity & technique embodies style, no? Too bad about aggression getting the boot but I bet Barlow would say "That's what the Sickbird's for, bro!"

I bet we'll see more crashes, but their video department will no doubt end up with more ADD-friendly clips for their edits.

I'm with Powdurr in the end, we'll just have to wait & see. The FWT will still be fun as hell no matter.

[mcwatt]

This is absolutely horrible. Without aggression and with only those remaining categories, how will somebody score higher for taking an air twice as big as somebody else? or for skiing in 3 turns what somebody else skied in 8. This is not what big mountain skiing is about. While we are at it why don't we try and incorporate big mountain skiing into the park? Or why don't we try and incorporate freestyle skiing into racing?

What is wrong with keeping different disciplines of skiing separate? I think I already know the answer to that question, I just hate to admit it, and that answer is: MORE MONEY.

[Lachnload]

I definitely think this is a positive thing for the sport. It can get a little old watching people straight air the same cliffs over again. Don't get me wrong though, when you get a skier like Ian McIntosh that skis full throttle straight airing every big cliff he can find it is pretty cool to watch. I do however like to see a skier like Candide Thovex who might not charge as hard as McIntosh, but will jib off every cliff he can find and still ski aggresively. Pushing everyone to be a little more creative I think will only progress the sport more.

As far as elimintating the aggression criteria that is pretty much covered by line choice and fluidity already. Dropping airs twice as big should be covered under line choice and only making 3 turns down the venue should be part of fluidity and line choice. Anything goes in freeskiing and in case you haven't watched a ski movie recently the trend is incorporating more freestyle into the big mountain scene. These comps are an avenue for people to make it into the ski movies and become professional skiers. I guess we will wait and see how the judge interpret these new rules.

[powdork]

i think it's cool, but i'd hate to see it get to the point where the takeoffs are all manicured the the tricks take the emphasis. it should still be man vs mountain rather than how many rotations one can do.

[grskier]

As long as things like Arne's run at Reve still rule...

[mc_roon]

In some ways, the aggression criteria will be folded into line choice and the new creativity/style criteria. And as Bryan Barlow, the event director for the Freeskiing World Tour, says, "Progressive skiing is aggressive skiing."

wtf?

so weak. progressive skiing is NOT aggressive skiing.

agree that we'll have to see how it turns out this season, but its not a good precedent.

[Goatski]

As long as things like Arne's run at Reve still rule...

^^^This!

[Powdurr]

As long as things like Arne's run at Reve still rule...

Maybe for another year or two:

"I don't think it's required that someone goes out there and throws a rodeo and Lincoln loop just to win these events. But in a few years, we might expect to see that."

[sliced]

I doubt many of the kids in the Junior events will be whining. They're already doing tricks, going big, and skiing fast. There's a lot of Dane Tudor wanna-bes out there on the Junior Tour and they are really fun to watch. They are going to do great in the FWT in a couple years.

[pattyowe]

Not a fan of this change. I know aggressive skiing is more important than a lincoln loop. MSI lost my entries this year

[MTT]

i think it's cool, but i'd hate to see it get to the point where the takeoffs are all manicured the the tricks take the emphasis. it should still be man vs mountain rather than how many rotations one can do.

That’s the first picture that came into my mind. Ramps and Kickers strategically placed around the venue.

I don't like it but to the untrained eye not much wow factor in the big mountain comps. (Until someone implodes and is maimed or dies)

[monkeywrenchMoose]

What this means: FWT = Gnarshmallow + Red Bull Rampage

[LIP]

Judged events in any sport suck ass. Too fucking subjective.

[gwat]

booooooo msi

[Shepherd Wong]

Interested to see how it turns out in the long run, I think it's a change for the better. Are scores still based off of line score? I think this is a mistake, leads to competitors picking similar lines and getting stuck in huck-straight line-skid-traverse...huck-straight line-skid-traverse routines that lack fluidity and style. Not my cup of tea(not that everyone does this, but say places 15-50 seem to have a lot of it).

[Johnny Drama]

I think it's a great idea to try and encourage more freestyle and creativity into the runs, but this is not the way to do it. At the end of the day the person with the best run, or runs needs to be the winner. That run may have had a bunch of tricks or it could have been a balls to the wall high speed run with only straight airs.

Changing the category from aggressiveness to overall impression would have allowed some room for the judges to reward freestyle and creativity, while not pigeon holing them when there is a great run where the competitor doesn't do any tricks.

It seems that in the past, some of the best, highest scoring runs did incorporate freestyle when the conditions permitted. I think this judging system may promote a style which actually lowers the overall quality of skiing we see in these events. Let's hope not.

[sidewall]

Not a fan of this. It's a shame because the FWT is a departure from the X-Games type of super freestyle-focused comps. For guys to be doing serious lines and having to think about what trick they're gonna pull next is