Freeskiing Big Air has finally been adopted as an official event at this year's Olympics. The competition revolves around how to perform advanced techniques and style in a parabolic arc from a huge kicker. The Beijing Olympics will be held at a gorgeous special venue in downtown Beijing. Here, we will introduce the key points of Freeskiing Big Air, which is said to be the star event
Free Ski Big Air ｜Free Ski Big Air
The new stage is set in the streets of Beijing, creating
an amazing aerial show that seems beyond human ability.
■ Beijing Olympics Free Ski Big Air Competition Schedule
The new event, Freeski Big Air, is scheduled early in the competition. It will be held on a weekday, during the day. The qualifying rounds for both men and women are held on the same day, but the finals, in which each skis three times, are separate events. The event tends to be affected by the wind, and depending on the weather on the day, it may be suspended or rescheduled. (The schedule is subject to change due to weather and other factors.)
| Date and time | venue | Broadcast schedule | |
| February 7th (Mon) 9:30-11:44 (10:30-12:44 Japan time) | Women's Freestyle Big Air Qualifiers 1-3 | Big Air Neck Steel | Monday, February 7th, 13:30~ Live internet broadcast (NHK) gorin.jp is here |
| Monday, February 7th, 13:30-15:44 (14:30-16:44 Japan time) | Men's Freestyle Big Air Qualifiers 1-3 | Big Air Neck Steel | Monday, February 7th, 14:20~ Live internet broadcast (NHK) gorin.jp is here |
| February 8th (Tuesday) 10:00-11:05 (11:00-12:05 Japan time) | Women's Freestyle Big Air Finals 1-3 | Big Air Neck Steel | on Tuesday, February 8th from 13:50 (NHK General TV) gorin.jp is here |
| February 9th (Sat) 11:00-12:05 (12:00-13:05 Japan time) | Men's Freestyle Big Air Finals 1-3 | Big Air Neck Steel | Live broadcast on NHK BS1 from 11:50 on Saturday, February 9th. Click here for gorin.jp |
■ Highlights of the Beijing Olympics Free Ski Big Air
Freeski Big Air is a new event that was introduced at this year's Olympics, along with the Aerials Mixed Team and Snowboard Cross Mixed Team events. Currently, there are no Big Air specialists in the Olympic phase, and only freeski slopestyle athletes are eligible to compete. This is similar to the relationship between snowboard slopestyle and snowboard Big Air
After a long approach, the skater launches a giant kicker forward and performs the trick in the air, and the judges score the difficulty and style of the trick. There are many points that the judges look at, such as the approach into the kicker (forward or backward), the direction and axis of the spin, the number of rotations, the grab and style in the air, the size of the air itself, the landing, the newness of the trick, and the originality
One of the highlights of this year's tournament is the special venue that was set up in the city. The venue is a newly built special venue called "Big Air Shougang" in Beijing. As you can see, it is luxurious and impressive
A winner will also receive the special title of "first medalist," so the athletes are highly motivated. However, while Big Air takes place after Slopestyle in snowboarding, the opposite is true for skiing, which could have some impact on the medal race. In other words, if an athlete thinks "Slopestyle is the favorite," only that athlete himself knows how he will view Big Air
With only two World Cup events held this season, the results are difficult to use as a basis for judgment, but in the men's competition, 17-year-old Matti Svenser (Austria) is a man to watch, having won both of his events. Other competitors expected to be in the medal race include Alex Hall (USA), who won the Big Air event at the Winter X-Games, considered a warm-up event for the Olympics, Mac Forehand, who came in second, Burke Rood (Norway), 2021 World Championship winner Oliver Magnusson (Sweden), and Andri Ragetli (Switzerland), who is returning from injury
Nowadays, it is common to be able to do double and triple corks, which were considered the most difficult until recently, and the overall level is rising rapidly. As this happens, judges will likely look at not only the number of rotations, but also the axis of rotation, grabs, and style, as important aspects
In the women's event, Eileen Gu (China) is the favorite, aiming to win the triple crown in freeski halfpipe and freeski slopestyle. Although she grew up in the United States, she will be competing in her mother's home country of China and boasts exceptional physical abilities. She is the first woman to master the double cork 1440, and if she can land it perfectly on the big stage, she is considered almost certain to win the gold medal. A victory in the host country is sure to create a national frenzy
▼Freeski Big Air footage from the 2022 WinterX Games
Freeski Big Air is a new event introduced in Beijing this year, so there's no footage from the PyeongChang Olympics. While the competition venue is different, here's the latest footage of Big Air from Winter X Games, known as the warm-up event for the Beijing Olympics. Many X Games athletes, primarily from North America, have been selected for the Olympic team. Be sure to check it out to see what the Beijing Olympics will bring!
■ Beijing Olympics Freeski Big Air Competition Format
The competition will proceed in this order from the preliminaries to the finals
<Qualifying> All skaters will skate three times, and the highest score of each skater will be used to determine the ranking, with the top eight skaters advancing to the finals
.
<Finals> All skaters who passed the qualifying round will skate three times, and the highest score of each skater will be used to determine the final ranking.
Freeski Big Air has a simple system. Competitors have three chances to jump in both the qualifying round and the final round, and the highest score of the three decides their ranking. In other words, even if they fail the other two runs, they only need to get a high score in one run. Qualifying scores do not affect the final score. The order of runs in the qualifying round is decided by lottery, and in the final round, competitors ski in order from lowest to highest in the qualifying round
*The match format and ranking format may change depending on the weather on the day
■The venue for the Beijing Olympics Free Ski Big Air
Big Air Neck Steel
■Japanese representatives for the Beijing Olympics freeskiing big air competition 
[Women]
| name | date of birth | Birthplace | Affiliation | Number of Olympic appearances | |
| Kondo Kokone | @cocone_kondo | February 19, 2003 | Kitaazumi District, Nagano Prefecture | Oriental Bio | First appearance |
Freeski Big Air is open to freeski slopestyle athletes, and 18-year-old Kondo Konne, the only Japanese representative in this event, is scheduled to compete. Kondo has won big air competitions in Japan, but has yet to achieve any notable results in international competitions. However, she is currently in the process of rapid growth, and if she approaches the sport with a challenging spirit, she may be able to see the light at the light of day
Text/Daisuke Mizorogi
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