Now the Olympics has finished and spring is on its way, it’s a good time to reflect how the new inclusion of freestyle snowboarding (slopestyle debut in Sochi 2014 and Big Air debut in Pyeongchang 2018) has affected the sport itself.
There are so many opinions about this topic, and I’m almost scared to talk about it as it’s so controversial. But through writing this, I have actually realised that I am on the fence with this one, honestly.
I don’t know enough about the politics and the nitty gritty stuff surrounding this discussion, but here are some PROS and CONS that I’ve come up with…
PROS
More Mainstream
For years my friends knew I snowboarded, but I think most of them actually had no idea what I really did (pretty sure some of them thought it was the same as skiing!). So when my discipline, slopestyle, first got included in the Olympics in 2014, I was inundated with messages basically saying “ahhhhh, so THIS is what you do?!”. It was lovely for me to know that people could now visualise the sport I had spent the last few years of my life doing. No I wasn’t just bumming around, getting a tan and playing in the snow (well, sometimes). It was a REAL thing, and a difficult thing at that. I’m sure a lot of people that had never heard of “freestyle snowboarding” or “slopestyle” were then enlightened.
Accessibility
With freestyle snowboarding becoming more mainstream, this means the subculture becomes more accessible to everyone. Olympic freestyle snowboarding got lots of media coverage, featured on TV, magazines/ newspapers/ online/ social media platforms, thus spreading the snowboarding vibe to everyone far and wide. This could then snowball, inspiring more people to take up the sport.
Good For The Industry
More people wanting to snowboard means more money for the snowboard industry. The UK snow-domes/ dry slopes are busier with new comers to the sport. Retail sales are increased with the public wanting to buy equipment. Tour operators are flourishing with people booking snow holidays, therefore more money is being bought into ski resorts, bars, restaurants, hotels etc. More money for the industry can only be a good thing to push the sport even more. Better facilities, better equipment, more funding for athletes, more “freestyle” events. Freestyle snowboarding is now thriving.
A Diversity Of People
Snowboarders have always been seen as “bad” and the “black sheeps” of the snow world. However, the Olympics have always been quite prim and proper. So by having “reckless” freestyle snowboarders at the Olympics, it’s really opening up the spectrum of diversity at the games. People may perceive the Olympics as “anyone’s game”. It makes winter sports more obtainable. We are also getting to know different sports and sportspeople through watching the games. Unlike a lot of summer Olympic sports, the atmosphere around the freestyle ski and snowboard events is so collaborative and supportive! Many of the athletes train altogether from different countries, as they collectively chase winter around the globe, and I think this is so refreshing to see them support each other! It keeps the Olympics fresh and dynamic, developing with the modern times.
Young People
The Olympics have always been the pinnacle of any sport. With freestyle snowboarding there are so many other contests that are the same skill level, if not higher than the Olympics. However, if you say to your average Jo-Blogs on the street ” I won the X-Games”, he may look at you with a confused stare. But if you say “I won the Olympics”, then Jo-Blogs totally knows what your talking about. The Olympics is just so well known. So now, with freestyle snowboarding being an Olympic sport, it’s a more obvious contest for the youngsters to aim for.
CONS
Subculture
Freestyle snowboarding was a subculture, and its members were passionate about it being that way. Now it’s become mainstream, it is in danger of loosing its subcultural values. The Olympics has taken away what snowboarding was originally about: rebelling against the mainstream, not sticking to the rules, being creative! Now it has been put into the “Olympic box”, somewhat stifled by its regulations, it may become a straight laced-sport.
The Only Way
With freestyle snowboarding in the Olympics, some may perceive it now as you have only “made it” if you reach the Games. Although there are so many other great achievements within the sport, which is part of the beauty of it in the first place. Just hitting that massive powder jump, heli-boarding in Alaska, getting the cover of a snowboard magazine, front board a triple kink rail in the street, there is so much to aim for! The Olympics doesn’t have to be the be-all-and-end-all. There is now concern that sponsors will only want to support the athletes that are aiming for the Olympics. The fun-factor could be lost for the athletes themselves if they feel they are being forced down a route they don’t enjoy just to “keep the sponsors happy”.
Creativity
So I’ve mentioned before that freestyle snowboarding is about being creative. With style, tricks, features you hit, where you ride, you need to think outside the box. The Olympics has constricted this. You aren’t likely to score a perfect 10 by thinking abstractly and finding a different line to hit over a rail and doing just any old trick you want to in the Olympics. There were concerns that they would score more points for big flat spins rather than corked spins with fruity grabs. However, both the 2014 and 2018 Olympics restored faith that the judges HAVE got an eye for creativity (Sage Kotsenburg’s cab double cork 1260 Holy Grail/ 1620 Japan in 2014s Slopestyle, and then this year’s Big Air Kyle Mack’s Bloody Dracula!). But now the latest worry is that its becoming more like snow gymnastics rather than actual SNOWBOARDING.
Safety
Freestyle snowboarding is particularly dangerous with death defying stunts being performed on huge jumps/ rails at a very fast speed. One wrong move and the consequences are HUGE. The pressure of the Olympics is undoubtedly pushing the standard even more. But how far will it go? Is there a limit?
Also, due to it being a new Olympic sport, a lot of rookie mistakes are being made. Maybe this is due to the officials that are running the contest not knowing enough about the discipline? A prime example of this was the women’s slopestyle in the 2018 Olympics (a MASSIVE point of debate). The girls were forced to compete in horrific windy conditions that most of them wouldn’t even normally ride it. But the decision was taken out of their hands and their lives were put in danger.
@aimee_fuller
FIS
This brings me onto the next point, and another very topical subject. The Olympics is run by FIS: International Ski Federation. The snowboarders, instead of qualifying through TTR World Tour (A specific snowboard competition circuit), now have to qualify through a ski qualification process and follow FIS rules. These do not to take into account the interests of athletes and the sport of snowboarding. The snowboarders have lost their voice and the essence of snowboarding is not portrayed as it should be. Again, I will refer back to the women’s slopestyle (sorry, just a good example). Due to the conditions, it was just about putting a run down and staying on their feet, rather than showcasing their best tricks. The girls just wanted to survive! Unfortunately this did not represent the high standard of girls riding these days. Luckily, the Big Air was a lot better weather and the girls really put on the BEST show. I know there is a lot more to it and so many politics involved, but I think snowboarding should be run by snowboarders!
So this is just my opinion but I am happy to open up the debate to anyone else. What did you think about the Winter Olympics? It it good for the future of freestyle snowboarding or are we going to see more athletes pushed to the max, and potentially more injuries?