I agree with lots you said, and I appreciated the article, solid read. A couple of items id like to add perspective to. Chloe's injury and the qualifying being so close to the games? That's not FIS, that's USSS with their criteria. Bunched up right before the dance by design. The facts are the US has won more Olympic snowboard medals than any other country. 22% One could say this pressure cooker of a criteria has something to do with it and the fact we dominated halfpipe for the first three games. 43% of the medals.
The technology exists. Use it. They absolutely do, slow mo, replay all that jazz is in use.
Eliminate time pressure to score quickly for television broadcasts. Accuracy matters more than speed. Excuses, There is time, plenty of it to score. The "Score" is the rank so it's not like there is math to do. Judges dont add up tricks, they rank the riders against each other and apply a score to represent the rank.
Compensate judges professionally and provide ongoing training and accountability. Fair point on the compensation, it's a joke..The training and accountability is very well done and are top notch.
Include rider representatives in decisions about contest format, judging criteria, and rule changes. There is and they do, the CLAG and all the nations who sit on these committees shred...lots. Tour director, builders, judges, all the best at their craft.
Design qualification systems that don’t force elite athletes to risk injury in meaningless tune-up events. Again as per above that isn't FIS, the US chooses their system in order to gain an advantage by choosing the best riders closest to the games. It's hard, but it has proven successful. In other countries kids have notched their OLY spots a year ago.
Prioritize rider safety and fair competition over television schedules and traditional Olympic protocols. Valid on some levels, though as per above these formats and structure are rider approved. What traditional protocols do you mean?
These changes would dramatically improve Olympic snowboarding.They would reduce controversies, increase fairness, and create contests that better represent what we’re about. None of them are technically difficult. They require FIS to prioritize snowboarding over their other interests. I don't disagree that the management of snowboarding at FIS has been less than perfect, at least it is consistent. And yes in sports mistakes get made calls get missed, nothing is perfect.
My opinion may not be popular to the core, but I'm not sure snowboarding knew what to do with themselves after Nagano. The FIS created a lot of opportunities for a lot of riders to improve their audience and although I don't believe the riders got their fair share, many benefitted. If there was a better system of management for the sport, maybe in the last 35 years one would have shown up? Tours have come and gone, nations and FIS are still there consistently, if even mediocre at times. It's consistent.
And that’s precisely why they won’t happen. Time will tell! Great article and hope my feedback adds some clarity to the subject and I appreciate you sharing your opinions.
I agree with a lot of this, but I don’t really see how Chloe Kim’s injury is on FIS. Getting hurt in a training run is an inherent risk of snowboarding, no matter who’s running the calendar.
The bigger issue is hard to solve - a lot of riders aren’t even of legal age, and for the rest, careers are short and boycotting the Olympics is a massive personal risk with very little upside.
IMO the real lever for change isn’t fighting International Ski Federation from the inside, but building strong alternatives outside of it. That means non-FIS events that are open, well-paid, and accessible. Right now, things like X Games or Snow League are too selective to actually shift the balance.
As long as the Olympics are the only reliable career path, most riders will keep playing along. The “FIS is bad” narrative has been around forever (longer than some of the competing athletes have been alive) someone needs to show the riders a real alternative first.
I agree with lots you said, and I appreciated the article, solid read. A couple of items id like to add perspective to. Chloe's injury and the qualifying being so close to the games? That's not FIS, that's USSS with their criteria. Bunched up right before the dance by design. The facts are the US has won more Olympic snowboard medals than any other country. 22% One could say this pressure cooker of a criteria has something to do with it and the fact we dominated halfpipe for the first three games. 43% of the medals.
The technology exists. Use it. They absolutely do, slow mo, replay all that jazz is in use.
Eliminate time pressure to score quickly for television broadcasts. Accuracy matters more than speed. Excuses, There is time, plenty of it to score. The "Score" is the rank so it's not like there is math to do. Judges dont add up tricks, they rank the riders against each other and apply a score to represent the rank.
Compensate judges professionally and provide ongoing training and accountability. Fair point on the compensation, it's a joke..The training and accountability is very well done and are top notch.
Include rider representatives in decisions about contest format, judging criteria, and rule changes. There is and they do, the CLAG and all the nations who sit on these committees shred...lots. Tour director, builders, judges, all the best at their craft.
Design qualification systems that don’t force elite athletes to risk injury in meaningless tune-up events. Again as per above that isn't FIS, the US chooses their system in order to gain an advantage by choosing the best riders closest to the games. It's hard, but it has proven successful. In other countries kids have notched their OLY spots a year ago.
Prioritize rider safety and fair competition over television schedules and traditional Olympic protocols. Valid on some levels, though as per above these formats and structure are rider approved. What traditional protocols do you mean?
These changes would dramatically improve Olympic snowboarding.They would reduce controversies, increase fairness, and create contests that better represent what we’re about. None of them are technically difficult. They require FIS to prioritize snowboarding over their other interests. I don't disagree that the management of snowboarding at FIS has been less than perfect, at least it is consistent. And yes in sports mistakes get made calls get missed, nothing is perfect.
My opinion may not be popular to the core, but I'm not sure snowboarding knew what to do with themselves after Nagano. The FIS created a lot of opportunities for a lot of riders to improve their audience and although I don't believe the riders got their fair share, many benefitted. If there was a better system of management for the sport, maybe in the last 35 years one would have shown up? Tours have come and gone, nations and FIS are still there consistently, if even mediocre at times. It's consistent.
And that’s precisely why they won’t happen. Time will tell! Great article and hope my feedback adds some clarity to the subject and I appreciate you sharing your opinions.
Thank You for sharing.
I agree with a lot of this, but I don’t really see how Chloe Kim’s injury is on FIS. Getting hurt in a training run is an inherent risk of snowboarding, no matter who’s running the calendar.
The bigger issue is hard to solve - a lot of riders aren’t even of legal age, and for the rest, careers are short and boycotting the Olympics is a massive personal risk with very little upside.
IMO the real lever for change isn’t fighting International Ski Federation from the inside, but building strong alternatives outside of it. That means non-FIS events that are open, well-paid, and accessible. Right now, things like X Games or Snow League are too selective to actually shift the balance.
As long as the Olympics are the only reliable career path, most riders will keep playing along. The “FIS is bad” narrative has been around forever (longer than some of the competing athletes have been alive) someone needs to show the riders a real alternative first.
Thanks for sharing.