Freestyle Skiing – Freestyle Ski Tricks
The Freestyle Underground is proud to present Illustrated Instructional by Jason Bodnar, who says “For a long time it has been my wish to present the catalog of ballet skiing tricks. Until now the task seemed daunting. Was it worth the effort? How could I reach a broad audience in an effective manner? I have spent many hours writing notes on these tricks, drawing illustrations, and looking for new ways to use the poles throughout the main movements in skiing. I have found that there is a place for old school ballet tricks in the new school through careful consideration and practice.” Please feel free to check out the Freestyle Skiing Lessons page. Don’t forget to subscribe over on the right, over there. You won’t be disappointed…
The Freestyle Underground Crew hit the New York City Winter Jam at Central Park on Saturday February 6th, 2010. Jason Bodnar & Duane Langley brought back lots of great footage and photos from the event. Enjoy this video of some of the snowboarders competing on the Rail Jam.
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This is a good video from ’94. Thought you all my like it…
Professional freestyle skiing is organized into a number of different disciplines.
Aerial skiing
Somersault jump in freestyle skiing
Aerialists ski off jumps, usually built of wood, sometimes metal and then covered with snow, that propel them up to 40-50 feet in the air. Once in the air, professional aerialists perform multiple flips and twists before landing on a 34- to 39-degree inclined landing hill about 100 feet in length. The top male aerialists can currently perform triple back flips with up to four or five twists. Quadruple back flips have been performed on snow (purposely) by five men: Frank Bare, Matt Chojnaki, Elijah Cox, Eric Bergoust and Nicholas Fontaine. Currently quad flips are not legal in competition.
There are two varieties of aerial skiing competitions: upright and inverted. In upright aerials, movements in which a skier’s feet come higher than his or her head are illegal. This is the most common type of aerials competition for junior competitors. In inverted aerials, skiers execute elaborate flips and somersaults.
Mogul skiing
Ski ballet
No longer a part of competitive freestyle skiing, ski ballet (later renamed acroski) was a third freestyle discipline. Competitions were conducted from the late-1960s until the mid-1990s. Ballet involved a choreographed routine of flips, rolls, leg crossings, jumps, and spins performed on a smooth slope. After the mid-1970s the routine was performed to music for 90 seconds. A panel of judges scored the performance. It was a demonstration sport in the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympics.
