Freestyle skiing set to take off

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 548, 9 August 1994, Page 5 (Supplement)

Freestyle skiing set to take off

New Zealand' s ski industry is experiencing a boom in the 90' s with much new investment in lifts and snow making, and one of the most exciting new forms of the sport is freestyle skiing. Freestyle skiing was voted one of the best shows of the 1994 Winter Olympics and it is easy to see why. Freestyle has. what it takes to win in the 90' s - plenty of colour, passion, crashes and above all spectacular action. Freestyle has been growing rapidly in the South Island since 1990 and it is now taking shape in the North Island for the first time this year. The Whakapapa Freestyle Ski Team has been formed and a couple of retired freestyle competitors, Steffan Mills from Palmerston North, and Paul Webster (ex Freestyle Team) from Auckland, will be running coaching programmes at weekends in August and September at Whakapapa. Freestyle skiing has three

disciplines: Moguls, Aerials and Ballet. Moguls is the discipline that is most popular both worldwide and in New Zealand. Moguls are bumps in the snow formed by skiers turning, and a mogul competition sees the competitors skiing down a steep mogulled course as fast as possible whilst still remaining in control. Each competitor performs two jumps duringthe run with the top competitors getting 15-20 feet in the air while performing manoeuvres such as helicopters, daffys, etc. The judges then score the competitors, with 25% of the mark for the jumps, 25% for speed and 50% for turns. The key is to ski to the limit but not over it as loss control loses marks. Freestyle skiing is now a technical sport and according to Kirk Leslie, the New Zealand Freestyle Ski Team Coach: "high quality coaching is a must if New Zealand skiers are to become

respected competitors on the international freestyle scene". The highlight of the

Team's NZ winter is the NZ Mogul Tourwhich finishes at Whakapapa on 8 October.