The History of Freestyle Skiing
Freestyle skiing has been a fad and wonderful choice of sports for years now, and it's even incorporated into the Winter Olympics! Today, freestyle skiing consists of aerials, moguls, ski cross, ski half-pipe, and slopestyle as part of the Olympics, but back when freestyle skiing began in the 1930s, it only consisted of three types: aerials, moguls, and ski ballet. It first began to be competed seriously in the 1960s and 70s, when it went by the nickname of "hot-dogging".
The International Ski Federation (FIS) first made freestyle skiing a sport in 1979, and brought new regulations in regarding certification of the athletes and jump techniques to try and smooth out the dangerous edge of the sport; some people thought that this type of skiing was too dangerous and didn't want it to be an Olympic Sport, since it was free-form with not many rules. Freestyle skiers often had knee injuries, either fatal or not. The first World Cup Series was staged in 1980 and the first World Championships was in 1986 in Tignes, France; freestyle skiing was also a demonstration event at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.
There are now two types of freestyle skiing: the original kind, like aerial, and then there's a kind called "New School". New School skiing shares techniques with street skateboarding, BMX, and inline skating, and these type of skiers often do more dangerous tricks or "stunts" than their original freestyle skiing counterparts, which concludes for more injuries and fatalities within the sport. New School is also more appealing to younger generations because it's much for freelance than aerials or moguls. In 2012, Sarah Burke, a Canadian freestyle skier, died of a fatality from the sport.
The International Ski Federation (FIS) first made freestyle skiing a sport in 1979, and brought new regulations in regarding certification of the athletes and jump techniques to try and smooth out the dangerous edge of the sport; some people thought that this type of skiing was too dangerous and didn't want it to be an Olympic Sport, since it was free-form with not many rules. Freestyle skiers often had knee injuries, either fatal or not. The first World Cup Series was staged in 1980 and the first World Championships was in 1986 in Tignes, France; freestyle skiing was also a demonstration event at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.
There are now two types of freestyle skiing: the original kind, like aerial, and then there's a kind called "New School". New School skiing shares techniques with street skateboarding, BMX, and inline skating, and these type of skiers often do more dangerous tricks or "stunts" than their original freestyle skiing counterparts, which concludes for more injuries and fatalities within the sport. New School is also more appealing to younger generations because it's much for freelance than aerials or moguls. In 2012, Sarah Burke, a Canadian freestyle skier, died of a fatality from the sport.