Let the 2014 Qualifiers BEGIN.....

We’ve barely caught our breath from London 2012, and the Paralympic torch has just been lit, but 11 hours ahead of us here in the UK the first qualifiers for the Winter Olympics in 2014 have begun.

As every skier and snowboarder worth their salt headed to the Southern Hemisphere, this time there was an added sense of purpose, the prospect of starting campaigns to represent their home nations in Sochi.

For the first time, and as a requirement from the IOC, the freestyle world has an official ‘World Cup’ structure, which allows athletes to build up points to qualify for the games under the A standard. The field at the games will be small (a field of 40 in the Men’s Snowboarding Halfpipe is the largest) so competition is tough, especially in countries like France and the USA where they are restricted to four athletes for both slopestyle and half pipe.

Out in Cardrona, the first blood was taken by skiers Torin Yater-Wallace from the USA, with the two French men Thomas Krief and Benoit Valentin in 2^nd and 3^rd. In the Women’s event the USA took the top spot with Devin Logan and once again it was one country taking the other two spots on the podium as Manami Mitsuboshi and Ayana Onozuka.

The British were represented by a small group of skiers, although we are perhaps better known for our slopestyle athletes, a credible 18^th place for Rowan Cheshire gets her season off to a good start and James Machon took 20^th place amongst a strong men’s field followed by Murray Buchan in 23^rd and Robert Taylor in 26^th.

We’re yet to see the truly massive names of Freestyle make an appearance, Shaun White will be expecting a chance to defend his gold medal in the pipe, particularly after a perfect score at the X Games in 2012. Torah Bright will also be hoping she will start as one of the favourites despite the appearance of a number of new faces like Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark as the women’s field continues to increase both in size and depth. The boarders will be closing out the NZ Winter Games in the pipe on the 25th and 26th of August as the skiers head down to Argentina for 'The End Of The World Challenge' an AFP event that also serves as an Olympic Qualifier for the new Slopestyle event.

2014 will be the first time that slopestyle appears at the Olympics and with the skiers getting to compete in the half pipe there are 6 more medals to contend for in Olympic freestyle. You can be sure that the Scandinavians and the French will be looking to end the period of US dominance in freestyle with their own crop of young talented athletes.

Having just signed off on an immensely successful summer games, that we’re already thinking about winter sports in general seems crazy, let alone the 22^nd Winter Olympic Games but for the freestyle community this marks the point that it all becomes a more serious prospect. After FIS scrapped plans to used ‘crossover’ judges on the skiing and snowboarding events, the community as a whole is back on board with the prospect of a freestyle competition that satisfies both the athletes and the organisers in what is sure to be a spectacular event to watch.

In snow sports, 18 months might as well be 18 years, injuries will no doubt change plans and rankings, but you can already feel the excitement among the freestyle community as the build-up begins in earnest to be at the top of the start ramp on the 8^th of February 2014.

To end this post, something a bit different, a nice little edit from UK Rider Sean Tumelty who's currently recovering from a duff shoulder. Winter's only round the corner, isn't that a nice thought?

Mellow Snow from Sean Tumelty on Vimeo.

Radio Silence

So it's been a while since I posted anything, the piece below is 6 months old, and I've been very lax on getting anything decent up here. Of course I have an excuse, in November I moved from Sky over to the BBC and more recently moved my life across the country from London to Manchester.

A welcome return to the north, I've now got all my ski and board stuff up in Manchester and Chill Factore on my doorstep as well as Snozone in Leeds where I've got some friends who ride every week. I've been repping for Off The Piste and was lucky enough to start landing 360s off red kickers in Les Arcs in January (slicing my little finger in the process).

So it's been a lot of change, I have to say I love my job, and I'm getting used to Manchester. I don't know this area at all, and after 4 weeks completely taking advantage of a friend, i'm in my new place and have proceeded to fill it with my roadbike and all manner of extreme sports equipment (climbing harness anyone) my poor housemate doesn't know what to think.

So i've seen a bit of the Burton European Open and next up is the X Games in Tignes, as well as all the photos from ISPO with next season's gear (need to win the lottery!) so expect a little more from me from now on.

Cheers!

Shaped Skis DSQ by FIS

This has been chilling on my hard drive for some time, it's a bit out of date, but might as well get it up:

The 11-12 season will be marked by many racers in the top two tiers of racing as a watershed moment for the technical giant slalom specialist, upcoming equipment rulings from the governing body FIS are looming on the horizon which many feel are a forced step back from the development of the shaped ski and technique that places emphasis on carved turns.

The governing body has changed legal length and radius of the GS Ski, increasing for men from 185cm to 195cm and for the women there is an increase of 8cm taking them to a minimum length of 188cm. If the length was the only issue there would be little complaint, but combine this with a change in turn radius (how big the arc of the turn is) and this will signal a serious change in skiing technique.

The changes have been brought in to improve safety and reduce injury on the hill after a series of crashes and serious injuries; however they have been met with serious opposition from not only athletes, but entire coaching teams and suppliers. Head who sponsor most of the American ski team have already made their feelings clear by announcing they will not be producing race skis with the new dimensions which will have a knock on effect through their elite athletes who must now seek a new sponsor.

The money required to develop the new skis and new boots which will complement them will total millions of euros, not to mention that when this is enforced at junior level, will require a completely new set up for many young racers who are more often than not, self-funded, thus making it difficult for the current crop of juniors in development squads to make the big step up to Europa and World cup level.

The people who will be most affected by this change won’t be the world cup racers, they have sponsors, technical coaching staff and time on the hill and for some they will have memories of racing on this kind of ski in their days as a junior. The real victims of this change are current young junior skiers and those on the race circuit who will make the step up to Europa and World Cup in the 13/14 season and so will be racing on the new skis for the first time as they are not legal for FIS races below Europa Cup until 13/14 and by that point the two elite competitions will have had a season racing on them.

Look even further below people who are challenging for the top level of the sport and juniors who have always relied on a shaped ski with side cut to help carve turns will have to learn how to turn a straighter, longer ski. This is fantastic news if you are a bigger built racer but for smaller racers it will essentially render them uncompetitive, particularly in the girl’s competition.

Female racers like Lindsey Vonn who races on the longest men’s ski possible and Anja Paerson who was known for her explosive power are the kind of women who will be able to adapt to the new changes and turning style but the shorter, more agile racers may struggle to drive power through the turn and carry speed, particularly through a tight GS course.

Any racer who has stood at the top of La Face in Val d’Isere or has watched the event will know that athletes are constantly pushing themselves to the edge, and there is a serious worry that this combined with a less forgiving ski will in fact have the opposite effect to the one intended by FIS; injury prevention.

Financially it is move that will close the sport off even further to potential athletes who rely on donations and frequently parental support to get them new equipment each season. The step up from Child to Junior regulations means for most racers at least 5 new pairs of factory race skis, add into this mix a large body of junior racers who will now have to reinvest in another new set, and there is a pretty hefty bill to be settled at the end of it.

There is also a concern that these changes and the hindrance in the development arm will push many prospective young athletes into the less regulated world of freestyle and free skiing where there is little to legislate what equipment can and can’t be used and there is much higher financial reward in the top tier of the sport.

There have been serious objections raised by Ted Ligety who has been increasingly vocal through his blog (http://www.tedligety.com/) talking about the ‘Tyranny of FIS’ and how many racers feel their hands are tied by the new rules. He alludes that the research was not thorough enough, an opinion echoed by his team mate Julia Mancuso who says that the research for Women was non-existent, and that the new safer skis will in fact cause more injury as the force required to turn the skis in a tight GS course can result in a very jerky style with serious pressure on the knees and lower leg region.

Another American, Warner Nickerson put a video online of a run with the new skis (http://warnernickerson.com/2011/08/28/40-meter-gs-video/ ) and was far from complimentary, claiming it was the ‘most painful run he had ever done’ and agreeing with statements from other racers that this was setting back skiing technology. Jon Olsson was also vocal on the subject when he said that athletes will be skiing on equipment that is less advanced compared to equipment available to the public in shops. If FIS want safety, they should look to make the rules more flexible so racers can tailor their set up to their style and size making them more manageable and give them the ability to work with manufacturers in developing a fast but safe set of equipment.

Olsson who is known more for his freestyle and free skiing also posted on his blog about how if the concern is safety, there are a number of better ways to achieve this goal by making better rulings on weather and snow conditions as well as course setting and lengths. Most injuries are not directly related to equipment, but rather a combination of taking risks in dangerous conditions on world cup slopes which have been poorly maintained.
Of course every decision has its supporters and Benjamin Raich and Hannes Reichelt have both stated that they are behind FIS on this decision, although cynically they would both benefit from the changes as heavier more powerful racers who have previous experience with a longer, straighter ski.

If there is to be any movement on this decision the community needs to work as a whole, and there have been rumours of a large number athletes next season skiing on illegal equipment to force FIS to disqualify the main body of the competitive field, however with new sanctions being taken against outspoken athletes (Jon Olsson is subject to review for his blog post and helmet sticker stating that ‘FIS Sucks’) it will probably come to nothing. In a sport that rarely bands together, many of the teams have been united by the proposed changes and a petition and consultation session in Soelden last month saw the Austrian and US Ski Teams reject the changes and get the reduction from 40m to a 35m radius, but this still is not considered to be enough.

Ted Ligety did a trial run with some prototypes from Head and came out with faster results, although he said that skiing on them was not a pleasant experience, and that surely if they make him faster, combined with the change in technique, they will end up more dangerous.

It looks unlikely that FIS will rescind the decision following the reduction, and so this will mark the end of the intense carved turns seen on the world cup circuit, for turn which can look skidded and clunky in the changeover. For some of the older athletes this could mark the end of the career as the benefits of working to adapt technique for the new equipment are not enough to pursue the rigorous training required. Sochi 2014 is not close enough to act as an incentive, and so there could be a number of new faces on the block come 2012 and this season will be one that everyone looks to stake their claim on before it’s all change.

No British X-posure for X Games

Image Courtesy of BBC

I confess to your all, something very strange happens to me twice a year. I become gripped by the urge to throw all my eggs in one basket, go to a ski resort and try and improve my skills in the park. No coincidence that these urges collide with the X Games, first in Aspen, USA and then followed in March by its European counterpart in Tignes.

The bright lights, the baggy clothing, the incredibly level of skill, it’s all just so appealing to me. Dream Job? Probably doing the X Games broadcasts, which are done with ESPN and Canal +, who are both doing a fine job of showing off this extreme sports event to the max, what a shame then, that no many people in the UK really have any idea that it’s on.

I know, I’m talking about a niche sport here, I know not everyone is fascinated by just how many spins are possible when flying through the air, but you have to admit that freestyle skiing is pretty impressive to watch. So impressive that every time I excitedly show my mother the latest competition on TV she looks at me in fear and begs me never to try doing it myself (too late, but that’s for another day).



Ed Leigh and Graham Bell - Courtesy of BBC



Here in the UK our snow sports programming is limited essentially to Ski Sunday, who have also brought in token snowboarder Ed Leigh. They’re doing a pretty good job, trying to bring snow to the masses in the UK, but let’s not forget where ski Sunday started, with ski racing, and it now seems to be more of a ‘One Show on Snow’ although it’s distinctly improved from a few years ago, the showing of competitions seems far less at the forefront of the producers minds than displaying Graham Bell in some far flung European Resort doing things that his audience won’t ever get a chance to do in a million years.

The X Games are shown on the formidable Extreme Sports Channel, who are very good at giving a platform to all the obscure things my friends and I seem interested in. In the winter, it’s dominated by snow sports and urban ride events and in the summer it switches to motocross, surfing and skating. All of this is highly watchable for an extreme sports fan, but for access to Joe Public, not so great.

I’ve been lucky enough to see the first run of ESPN covering the Aspen X Games in 3D, and it was impressive. It needs work, but it’s the first time it’s been done in that format, and there are a lot of 3D firsts still to come. I personally think a lot of snows ports lend themselves to 3D, but certainly for freestyle, the execs in the big offices need to remember that the bit in the air is the part you want to see and the part that looks the best. For all intents and purposes the landing isn’t so crucial, this seems to have been a prevailing factor certainly for the big air competitions, in that we’re losing all the impressive qualities of 3D because we aren’t getting close enough to the air time and then suddenly the rider has landed and you’ve lost the feeling of 3D perspective.

In order to get these events right, the broadcasters need to start working with the athletes. Consulting them on footage and working with them to decide where the best shots will be. These riders have for the most part been in tons of movies with very experienced snow sports directors, they will have picked up something, believe me. They want to look good to the audience too, so why can’t sports broadcasters accept they don’t know everything sometimes and get some fresh eyes on board. These competitions are different to football, golf etc so you need to look at it as something entirely new.



Katie Summerhayes @ MK Snowdome
Courtesy of SCUK



But back to the original point, despite all this impressive technology, these riders and these competitions just aren’t getting the exposure. In the UK we have some promising talent competing around the globe and we will have 3 competitors in the X Games Europe, which you’re even less likely to see here in the UK than you would its big American brother, simply because its a much smaller operation (although a great atmosphere, I attended last year and very much enjoyed it!).

At the end of the day, the sad fact is that British sports broadcasters are increasingly sticking to the big guns. Football, Rugby, Golf, Tennis and Boxing, and everyone else is suffering. Minority sports can’t expect to get funding and exposure if they aren’t given a chance to sell their wares on the big stage. Snow sports are selling a product, but it’s two very specific ones; to the rich people on chalet holidays or the kids who are stomping tricks at snowdomes every week and their parents, and which of these groups will be driving forward funding and exposure for our young athletes, well I’ll leave you to decide that one for yourself.

London 2012 – Are We at Risk of Repeating Montreal in 1976?



As a very keen supporter of the Olympic movement, nothing made me more proud that the moment that we successfully won the bid on the 6th of July 2005. Seeing the Parisians look mournfully at their champagne as it all went off in Trafalgar square was in a horrible way, fantastic. We had beaten the French who were so sure that they had it in the bag, and London was full of enthusiasm to bring sport’s greatest event to the London stage.



Fast forward 6 years with overspend increasing every day, a stadium that is the subject of a bitter battle between two London premier league teams, an aquatic centre that can’t be a leisure centre post-games because the roof is too low and a general discontent from many in East London regarding the handling of events and facilities. London appears to have lost its enthusiasm for 2012, which is such a shame considering how much we wanted it. At the moment it feels like the only sliver of redemption for the Olympic committee is the Velodrome, which has received widespread praise from the cycling community as it nears its completion date. It’s hard to believe that the venue that looks like a giant pringle crisp is the one holding up our hopes at the moment.



The London 2012 Velodrome

As we wait today for the OPLC decision on whether it will be West Ham or Tottenham Hotspur who will be the preferred bidder for ownership of the stadium once the games have ended, you have to ask as to whether all the public sniping has only further worsened the prospects of the games in the eyes of many Londoners.



The 'Big Owe'

In 1976 the Montreal Olympics changed the face of Olympic organisation and funding. Due to construction and venues being unfinished only a year before the games the final push to get things ready the debt when everything was over totalled around $1 billion, and the city was still paying off that debt 30 years later. The stadium which generated most of the cost was known as the ‘Big O’ due to its shape, but thanks to it being mostly unused since the games and its massive debts, residents of the city have renamed it the ‘Big Owe’.

Of course the stadium is over budget, you would be naive to think that any Olympic Stadium wouldn't be. Granted we are not in the position of the organisers in Delhi for the commonwealth games who were struggling to finish the running track as the athletes arrived in their accomodation, but we need to address issues like the funding for the 'wrap' around the stadium which was scrapped from the public funding in order to save money.

Montreal has suffered from its Olympic legacy, which is something we don’t want to happen here in London. The 1984 games in Los Angeles changed the face of Olympic funding as it looked to corporate support and sponsorship to put on one of the most ostentatious events in Olympic history, but a city needs both corporate and grassroots backing to make sure the legacy is in tact many years after the gold medallists have left.
 

West Ham's Impression for the Olympic Stadium





The Olympic organisers are already alienating the local public, by deciding not to run the marathon through east London and through London’s more significant sights gives a clear signal that East London is only really important because it had the space to accommodate the Olympic park and its various other needs, not because it’s an area that is worthy to see the world’s best battle it out on the roads around the park. Indeed, if the bid for the stadium goes to Tottenham Hotspur then it will be a second snub to East London, due to the West Ham bid being planned in conjunction with and financed by Newham council, who are looking to retain a legacy for their borough.

I personally believe that the bid should go West Ham’s way. As a West Ham supporter (ok, QPR are first in my affections, but the Hammers are a close second) it does worry me that we don’t really have the financial capacity to support the bid, and we are battling anyway to stay in the premier league, but the fact is that knocking down the Olympic stadium would be a travesty. Montreal’s stadium may have been an absolute disaster, but the demolition crew didn’t move in despite its troubles.

Although Spurs do propose to retain the legacy for athletics elsewhere in London rejuvenating Crystal Palace’s neglected athletics arena, the honest truth is that the Crystal Palace complex needs an entire makeover. What used to be at the forefront of sports development here in London is now a rather sad looking complex that would need a complete overhaul to compete with the facilities that are available elsewhere around the world.

We cannot expect greatness from our athletes if we are not prepared to provide for them at grassroots and give them access and support to facilities and staff. We now have excellent results in cycling, rowing and swimming with the gymnasts also pushing for glory once 2012 comes around, but can we really expect young athletes to keep going in distinctly average facilities once the lure of a home crowd has gone? Manchester Velodrome is looking a bit worse for wear and all credit to our swimmers who have fewer 50m swimming pools in the entire country than the city of Melbourne is Australia.

It would be a shame to see a world class athletics facility be ripped out all in the name of good seats to a football game. It can be viable to host athletics and football in the same place and it seems like Spurs, although producing an excellent bid, have forgotten the point of the Olympics. It’s about opening sport up to all and the excellence of the amateur. What better way to exclude the amateur athlete by ignoring its original purpose and making it a premier league football club.