What is Freestyle Skiing?
Freestyle skiing combines technical skiing skills with acrobatic tricks. Athletes perform jumps, flips, and spins on various terrain features. The sport rewards creativity, athleticism, and precision.
Moguls
Moguls is the original freestyle discipline. Athletes ski down a steep slope covered in bumps. They must absorb the bumps with their legs while maintaining speed. Two jumps are included in each run for aerial tricks.
Moguls Scoring
Judges score three elements: turns (60%), air (20%), and speed (20%). Perfect technique means knees absorbing bumps while the upper body stays quiet. The best athletes make it look effortless.
Aerials
Aerials is pure acrobatics on skis. Athletes ski down an inrun and launch off a jump. They perform flips and twists in the air before landing. Some athletes do triple flips with multiple twists.
Aerials Scoring
Judges score air (20%), form (50%), and landing (30%). The degree of difficulty multiplies the score. Higher difficulty means higher potential scores but also more risk.
Halfpipe
Athletes ski back and forth in a U-shaped channel. They launch into the air at each wall to perform tricks. A run includes multiple hits on each side. Height, variety, and execution all count.
Halfpipe Scoring
Judges look at amplitude (height above the lip), difficulty of tricks, variety, and quality of execution. A clean run with diverse tricks scores higher than a sloppy run with harder tricks.
Slopestyle
Slopestyle courses feature rails, jumps, and other obstacles. Athletes choose their own line down the course. They must link tricks together smoothly while showing creativity.
Slopestyle Scoring
Judges evaluate difficulty, variety, execution, amplitude, and progression. Athletes get multiple runs and their best score counts. This encourages risk-taking.
Ski Cross
Ski cross is head-to-head racing through a course with jumps, bumps, and turns. Four to six athletes race simultaneously. First to cross the finish line advances. Contact is allowed but not encouraged.
Ski Cross Format
Athletes qualify with timed runs. Then knockout rounds begin. The format creates exciting, unpredictable racing. Crashes happen frequently.
Big Air
Big air is the newest freestyle event. Athletes launch off a massive jump and perform one trick. They get multiple attempts. Only the best trick counts. Simple format, maximum spectacle.
Big Air Scoring
Judges score difficulty, execution, amplitude, and landing. Athletes push the limits of what is possible. New tricks debut at big air competitions regularly.
Where Freestyle Skiing Happens
World Cup events visit resorts around the world. Deer Valley in the USA hosts moguls events. Canada, Japan, and Europe all have major competitions. X Games showcases the most progressive athletes.
Equipment
Freestyle skis are typically twin-tip, meaning both ends curve upward. This allows skiing and landing backwards. Skis are shorter and more flexible than alpine racing skis. Helmets are mandatory.