The “Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics”, which opened on February 4, 2022, has been hotly contested every day. Ski cross is attracting attention for the dynamism of Japanese athletes. Ski cross is also known as a "martial art on snow", and there are many spectator fans for the excitement of the athletes competing for the fastest speed and the fun of the tactics in the game. Here, I will tell you the main points of the famous event of the Winter Olympics, ski cross. This will increase your interest in watching TV and Internet games. By all means, let's acquire the basic knowledge and enjoy the battle for the world's strongest champion.
Ski Cross ｜Ski Cross
Happenings that buzz on the net every time!
Who is the world's strongest king who wins the fighting spirit bare snow battle?
■ Ski Cross Competition Schedule for the Beijing Olympics
Ski cross, which competes for speed, progresses at a good tempo, so the qualifying and the final will be held on the same day. Since it is held during the daytime, if the weather is clear, you can enjoy watching the battle under the blue sky. I would like to keep an eye out for the live terrestrial broadcasting (NHK) while expecting the Japanese athletes to perform well.
| Date and time | venue | Broadcast schedule | |
| February 17 (Thursday) 11:30-12:15 (Japan time 12:30-13:15) | Women's Ski Cross Seeding Match | Uncho Snow Park | February 17 (Thursday) 12:20- (NHK General) gorin.jp is here |
| February 17 (Thursday) 14:00-15:10 (Japan time 15:00-16:10 ) | Women's Ski Cross First Round, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Ranking Match Women's Ski Cross Final | Uncho Snow Park | February 17 (Thursday) 15:15-live broadcast (NHK General) gorin.jp is here |
| February 18 (Fri) 11:45-12:30 (Japan time 12:45-13:30) 13:45-15:55 (Japan time 14:45-16:55 ) | Men's Ski Cross Seeding Match Men's Ski Cross First Round, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Ranking Match | Uncho Snow Park | February 18 (Friday) 12:20-live broadcast (cross-seed deciding match) 14:50-live broadcast Final (NHK General) & Internet live distribution (NHK) gorin.jp is here |
■ Highlights of the Beijing Olympics Ski Cross
Ski crossing is something that people usually don't have the chance to watch on TV or on the internet, but every time the Olympics are held, they get rave reviews from people saying, "It's fun!" It has been an Olympic event since the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The final round is an easy-to-understand tournament format in which 4 skaters skate at the same time and the top 2 win. It's attractive that you can enjoy it as entertainment even if you don't know the players. There are also accidents such as falls on the way, and the last-minute comeback is also a point that cannot be overlooked.
Unlike alpine races, ski cross does not simply require the ability to slide the board quickly on the snow surface. The course has many curves and large undulations. How to take corners when multiple people are skating at the same time, how to accelerate while absorbing bumps and bumps, how to land without losing balance and reduce speed loss when you are inevitably thrown into the air. A high slope response capability is required.
And above all, it is the bargaining that separates victory and defeat.
While always conscious of the front, back, left and right, how to take the line, where and when to pass the skater in front, everything depends on your strategy. If the skater in front of you were to fall, you would end up getting caught up in it and crashing yourself. Even if you are skating as you wish, you never know when the enemy will attack you. It may be interesting to check the differences in the characteristics of skis and snowboards by comparing them with snowboard cross, which is the same event. Although it is a freestyle skiing event, it also has elements similar to alpine skiing, so in general, there is a large number of Alpine skiers from Europe, such as France, Switzerland, Austria, and Northern Europe, who are strong in alpine skiing. On the other hand, America, which is strong in almost every event, is toned down only in ski cross for some reason.
In the men's FIS World Cup this season, 7 champions were born in 8 races. Japan's ace Ryu Sugai has finally made it to the podium and is making great strides forward. In other words, it seems that it is impossible to predict the gold medal of the Olympics. On the women's side, Sandra Neslund (Sweden) is on a winning streak and is undoubtedly the strongest contender for the gold medal.
▼2018 Pyeongchang Olympics ski cross video
■ Beijing Olympic ski cross match format
In the "individual", the flow is like this from the preliminary round to the final round.
- 〈Qualifying Seeding Run〉Everyone skated one by one and measured the time. Seeds will be determined in order of time, and will be used as the criteria for pairing in the final round.
- <Final round> Four people each start at the same time, and the top two people who arrive first advance to the next round. 1/8 (eight) final → 1/4 (quarter) final → semi-final.
- <Small Final> 5th to 8th place decider. The 4 losers in the semi-finals skate
- 〈Big Final〉The 4 finalists skate to determine the medalists
The tournament format for ski cross starts from the final round, and in the preliminary rounds, the ranking is determined by skiing time one by one. This is a necessary process to determine the tournament frame. The normal World Cup qualifiers determine the 32 finalists in order of time. However, since the number of base entries for the Olympics is 32, there are basically no athletes who fail the qualifying (with exceptions), and the meaning is different from qualifying for other events. In the final round, the tournament progresses in the slots allocated in the order of qualifying times.
*The match format and ranking format may change depending on the weather on the day.
■Beijing Olympic ski cross venue
Uncho Snow Park
This is the state of the course that was released for the test competition in November 2021.
■ Ski cross athletes from Japan at the Beijing Olympics 
[Men]
| name | Date of birth | where one is from | Affiliation | Number of Olympic appearances | |
| Ryo Sugai | @ryorioss | December 11, 1991 | Tainai City, Niigata Prefecture | team klev | first appearance |
| Satoshi Furuno | @satoshi_furuno | June 11, 1999 | Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture | USEN-NEXT GROUP SC | first appearance |
Ace Ryu Sugai is a player who converted from high-speed Alpine. Last season, his third season in the World Cup, he grabbed his first podium (2nd place) in the competition in Russia. He finished 7th in the season opener. Since ski cross is an event where you never know what will happen, there is a good chance that Sugai will make a surprise in Beijing. Furuno, who is also participating for the first time, is an unknown number, but he is a growing stock who grabbed a chance to participate in the Olympics at the last minute. The battle to see what kind of performances both of them will show at festivals around the world is a must-see.
Text/Daisuke Mizorogi
Edit/STEEP
