The Big Problem w/ Big Air Contests
The Angry Interns over at TWSnow have been keeping snowboarding in check since the early 90’s if we’re not mistaken. They are back again to talk about the problems with todays big air circuit. Held mostly in sketchy arenas and outdoor festivals they aren’t the one-time spectacle they were when it was just the one Air + Style. Riders are getting hurt and spending too much time going contest to contest instead of pushing themselves riding real jumps. It’s hurting the sport and the riders. Contests should look more like the jumps below on actual mountains.
Here’s a sample…
There are too damn many of these city scaffolding big air contests, and nobody seems to care. As an intern at a snowboard magazine, you end up covering a lot of events, and the scene we’re seeing is a sketchy one for the riders. These manmade jumps in the city have become the new normal, and competitors end up riding fake snow-covered setups, with narrow, bumpy run-ins, and jumps that are often too small for many of the tricks being done. These landings quickly deteriorate, so practice is often limited. The result: questionable conditions, jumps that can’t be changed, and riding which in turn becomes repetitively boring to watch—a la aerial skiing. No offense to the riders. We wouldn’t want to try new tricks on these jumps either.
The root of the problem is simple: scaffolding big air contests draw big crowds, big crowds draw sponsor money, and money makes the world go round. Trust us, we know… we don’t have any. Event organizers, and in turn the riders, are all making compromises that are sending big air contests down a self-destructive path.
The justification we hear for all these scaffolding contests is that it’s easier to bring snowboarding to the crowds, than crowds to the mountains. But shouldn’t that be the goal? To get people into the mountains, where they can actually try snowboarding?
Let’s fix this before it’s too late. Start pushing the freeride format on an actual tour is a nice suggestion.
Click over to TWSNOW for the feature Big Air, Big Problems
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