The Beijing Olympics, which opened on February 4th, has been hotly contested day after day. One of the ski events in which Japanese athletes are expected to play an active role is free ski slopestyle. Slope style is a battle between craftsmen who can't win unless they have not only jumping on a long slope but also jib technology and can express "style". Here are the essentials of the Freeski Slopestyle, a contest of creative tricks. By all means, let's acquire basic knowledge and enjoy the competition of techniques and styles!
Free Ski Slope Style | Free Ski Slope Style
winner is the one who can combine technique and style in a continuous creative performance that flows
■Beijing Olympics Free Skiing Slopestyle Competition Schedule
The Free Ski Slopestyle will be held on the middle three days of the competition.
It's a pity that the schedule is generally difficult to see, as it starts in the morning and all races are on weekdays except for the women's qualifying. (Schedule may change due to weather conditions, etc.)
| Date and time | venue | Broadcast schedule | |
| February 13 (Sun) 10:00-12:00 (Japan time 11:00-13:00) | Women's Freestyle/Slopestyle Preliminaries 1-2 | Uncho Snow Park | February 13 (Sun) 10:55~ Live Broadcast (NHK General / BS4K) gorin.jp is here |
| February 14 (Mon) 9:30-10:49 (Japan time 10:30-11:49) | Women's Freestyle/Slopestyle Finals 1-3 | Uncho Snow Park | February 14th (Monday) 10:25- Live streaming on gorin.jp Click here |
| February 14 (Mon) 12:30-14:32 (Japan time 13:30-15:32) | Men's Freestyle/Slopestyle Qualifying Rounds 1-2 | Uncho Snow Park | February 14th (Monday) 13:30- Live streaming on gorin.jp Click here |
| February 15 (Tue) 9:30-10:50 (Japan time 10:30-11:50) | Men's Freestyle/Slopestyle Finals 1-3 | Uncho Snow Park | February 15th (Tuesday) 10:30- Live streaming on gorin.jp Click here |
Highlights of the Beijing Olympics free ski slopestyle
Free ski slopestyle has been an Olympic event since the Sochi Olympics. The course is roughly divided into two parts: a jib item and a jump section with jumping hills. The course varies from tournament to tournament, and it is customary for the Olympic slopestyle to install items associated with the host country. Therefore, it is a system in which the judges score the performances that each player freely shows.
Judges will be looking at trick difficulty, perfection, style, and the smoothness and cleanliness of the flow throughout the slopestyle course. To that end, each landing (landing) is also a point. Of course, falling down will result in a deduction of points, and the size of the trick will change depending on how smoothly you land and how you can connect to the next item while maintaining your speed. If you jump, the longer you fly, the longer you stay in the air, making it easier to show your style in the air. By the way, the time to ski the course is not subject to evaluation.
In addition, it may be affected by the weather on the day, such as not being able to jump big when the wind is strong. For this reason, the slopestyle course in Beijing this time is a special course with a secret plan, but even so, it can be said that there is a high possibility of surprises that can happen.
The competition for medals in the men's freeski slopestyle is in an unpredictable situation. From Fabian Bobsch (Switzerland), who was top of the World Cup overall rankings, to Andri Raghetli (Switzerland), who was originally the top contender for the gold medal but was delayed due to injury and was ranked 5th. Player) points are almost horizontal. In other words, there is no overwhelming presence. 1st place Bobsch did not win even once in the 3 races, and it was because he was consistently in the top ranks. In order to grab the gold medal at the Olympics, how well you attack may be the deciding factor. Rather than stability, it depends on whether you can succeed in challenging tricks with high difficulty and whether you can appeal your style to the maximum.
As far as the results of the 2021-22 World Cup are concerned, the women's team is likely to face off against Kerry Sildal (Estonia) and Irene Gu (China). At the age of 15, Sildar was considered a gold medal contender at the Pyeongchang Olympics, but he missed out due to injury. Gu was raised in the United States and is half Chinese, and this time she will be competing from China, her mother's home country. She made her shocking world debut by winning three medals in her first appearance at the 2021 Winter X Games, making her one of the most watched female athletes in the world right now. She entered the prestigious Stanford University by skipping a grade and is also active as a top model.
What they have in common is that they can do halfpipe, slopestyle and big air. At the World Cup this season, Goo is strong in halfpipe, but Sildar is winning in slopestyle. The battle between the two in all three rounds is a must-see.
Kokone Kondo, the only Japanese high school student from Hakuba who has qualified for the tournament, will challenge the world. She has her own unique style, though technically different from Sildar and Gu. In the final round of the World Cup, she won the 5th place with confidence, showing off her ability and growing rapidly. If she can show her best skating, it will be possible enough to win a top prize.
▼ 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics free ski slopestyle video
■Beijing Olympics free ski slopestyle match format
In the "individual", the flow is like this from the preliminary round to the final round.
- 〈Preliminary round〉Every player skates twice, and the highest score of each skater is adopted to determine the ranking, and the top 12 advance to the final.
- 〈Finals〉Every player who passed the preliminary rounds skates three times, and the highest score of each skater is adopted to determine the final ranking.
Similar to the freeski halfpipe, the qualifying round has two chances and the higher score is used. The running order is determined by lottery. However, the player who scored the highest score in the first round has a mental advantage. There are two finals in the World Cup, but three in the Olympics, so it is necessary to maintain a different sense of tension than usual. In addition, the running order of the final will be from the bottom of the qualifying ranking. The top-ranked players in the preliminaries can play games depending on the flow of the final, so they have an advantage in that respect.
*The match format and ranking format may change depending on the weather on the day.
■Beijing Olympic Free Ski Slopestyle Venue
Uncho Snow Park
The slopestyle course is amazing!
Here is the slopestyle course that was finally released the other day. The outstanding design is full of Chinese culture colors. The snow wall, which is reminiscent of the Great Wall of China, is laid out like a staircase and functions as a windbreak for the athletes who are skating. Divided into 6 sections, the variety, size, and perfection of the items, above all else, is highly acclaimed as a “next level” artistic course.
See more about Slopestyle Course
■ Beijing Olympic free ski slopestyle athletes representing Japan 
[Women]
| name | Date of birth | where one is from | Affiliation | Number of Olympic appearances | |
| Kokone Kondo | @cocone_kondo | February 19, 2003 | Kitaazumi-gun, Nagano Prefecture | oriental bio | first appearance |
Men's Yasunari Yamamoto participated in the Pyeongchang Olympics, but this time men's athletes did not qualify. Meanwhile, the women's Kokone Kondo is riding the wave to her first Olympic stage after finishing seventh at the World Cup last season and finishing fifth on the podium this season.
Text/Daisuke Mizorogi
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