Half-Pipe Skiing
Half-pipe skiing is the snow sport in which athletes compete on performing tricks while riding on a half-pipe wearing snow skis. As of Jan, 2016, the world record holder for the highest jump on a half-pipe is 26ft 3in by French skier Joffrey Pollet-Villard.
Half-pipe is a considered to be one of the most dangerous skiing sports. The injuries from a training run accident resulted in the death of the Canadian skier Sarah Jean Burke. Athletes are required to wear safety helmets for training and competitive runs.
In competitions, athletes ride the half-pipe one at a time and perform various tricks like flips and spins. Each athlete's will be given a time not exceeding one minute to complete their routine. The runs are judged by a panel of judges who award point based on the height reached, the on-air maneuvers, style and landing.
The landing is a very important aspect in half-pipe skiing, where if riders performing more difficult moves don't land well, they will score lower points than riders performing tricks with lower difficulty and land well.
Half-pipe skiing was included as a part of the Winter X-Games in 2002. The sport was included in the Winter Olympics conducted in Sochi, Russia in 2014.
Similar Sports
- Freestyle Snowboarding — competitors ride on the snowboard and do the tricks along with descending on the snow-covered slopes to earn maximum scores.
- Slopestyle Skiing — athletes on skis perform on a course with different types of obstacles
- Skateboarding — a rider balances and performs tricks using a skateboard.
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