Freestyle - Halfpipe
The Halfpipe competition is a judged event. Judges each give the rider’s completed run an overall impression score. The runs are evaluated using several criteria including the sequence of tricks the rider performs, the amount of risk in the run and how the rider uses the pipe. The scores are compared, with a Head Judge overseeing the process. After qualifying for the finals, the slate is wiped clean and qualified competitors take two more runs. The higher of the two final run scores are used to rank the riders and determine a winner.
The size of the Halfpipe and the expertise of the riders in it have grown proportionately. Within eight years, wall heights have practically doubled, increasing to 22 feet. The pitch (steepness) has mellowed to 16.5 degrees from 18 and the transitions between the vertical part of the walls and the flat in the middle have become smoother and bigger. The changes have provided a safer venue for the riders, while at the same time, supporting the development of the sport.
Why are their certain stipulations such as that the riders must do a straight air during their halfpipe runs?
The reason behind it is to make sure that there is something in a run that the kids can actually understand and have some chance of going out and doing. Basically this is to try and protect the sport because as the sport becomes increasingly technical and difficult some kids no longer understand what is being done and therefore have no interest in going out and riding a halfpipe. By forcing the riders to do a straight air we hope that there is still incentive for kids to ride pipe. Think of it as an entry point into the sport.
However, some riders like it or not and still - there are straight airs which can be technically difficult
Maybe a comparison with freestyle skiing also helps: this sport has reached such a crazy level that there is no point going to world cup unless you can at least do a triple sommersault with three twists. Basically the only people that now enter this sport are former Gymnasts or trampolinists who can actually understand and think they have a chance to do this. FIS believes that halfpipe might following this exact same path and the new moves that Shaun introduced last season have moved us much closer to this situation.
Freestyle - Big Air
As with Halfpipe, Big Air is a judged event. Individual riders approach a single jump (also called a ‘Kicker’), perform tricks in the air, and land on a slope of around 30 degrees.
Judges award points based on overall impression which will include style, degree of risk and of course a clean landing!
For photo opportunities and a big crowd atmosphere, the Big Air event is without peer. The ‘Wow factor’ is huge, but it is far more difficult for the spectators to be able to tell who will win than it is with the race-based disciplines.
Freestyle - Slopestyle
This newest discipline made its debut on the 2011 World Cup and was implemented for the 2014 Olympics right away. It is a snowboard discipline that has gained huge popularity in the past few years.
Riders compete individually on a course containing a variety of large jumps, terrain features and rails. They are expected to flow smoothly from start to finish without stopping and the judges look for similar criteria as they do in the halfpipe.
Snowboard Cross?
This Olympic discipline sees competitors race through a course that features banked turns, terrain changes and jumps. This discipline truly tests a rider’s all-around skills – and nerve. Each rider races the course solo at first, and the fastest times determine the start order for the knock-out rounds, where 16 (24) women and 32 (48) men battle it out for victory.
Those elimination rounds then see FOUR or SIX riders in the start gate at the same time and racing together on the same course, with the fastest two or three advancing on to each next round. A four-or six-rider final determines the medal positions.
How do the parallel events work?
Alpine - Parallel Giant Slalom
The most notable change in 2002 was that the Giant Slalom discipline contested in 1998 had been changed to a dual event - the Parallel Giant Slalom. PGS features head-to-head competition. All competitors race the clock in the qualification round and the fastest 16 racers advance to the elimination round. These 16 competitors battle it out on two, side-by-side courses. After run one, the riders switch courses and in run two, the gate of the person that won the first race opens first, equivalent to the amount of time they led by. This ensures that the second run of each round really is a ‘first past the post’ race. The winner after the second race advances to repeat the process while the other heads to the stands to watch the outcome.
Alpine - Parallel Slalom
Similar to Parallel Giant Slalom but actual speeds are slightly less. The gates are more plentiful and closer together, causing the riders to have to be quicker from edge to edge.