Snowboard and freestyle skiing words · Intermediate

The words that make the commentary make sense. They build on the beginner words.

I · Intermediate · 41 words · Step 2 of 2

Park and pipe courses

Competition levels

Level A is the Olympic Winter Games, World Championships, World Cup and similar; Level B the Continental Cup; Level C national and FIS races. Course specifications, such as pipe height and minimum jumps, depend on the level.

Halfpipe specifications

Size 22 ft (6.7 m), 18 ft (5.5 m) or 15 ft (4.5 m) for Levels A, B and C, with minimum lengths of 160, 120 and 100 m, widths of 19, 17 and 15 m, and gradients of 17, 16 and 14 degrees. The walls are near vertical (82 to 83 degrees) at the top. Two training days are scheduled before the competition.

Slopestyle specifications

Vertical drop of at least 150, 80 and 50 m for Levels A, B and C, an average gradient of 10 degrees or steeper, 30 m width and at least two feature types. Minimum jumps are 3, 2 and 1 and minimum judged hits 6, 4 and 3.

Big air specifications

A drop-in ramp at least 30 m long and at least 20 degrees, a kicker at least 2.0 m high with a take-off angle of at least 25 degrees and 5 m wide, a take-off to landing distance of at least 10 m (15 m at Levels A and B) and a landing at least 28 degrees, 20 m wide and 20 m long.

Street style

A course of street features such as boxes, wallrides and jibs with two or more lines to choose from, with a minimum number of judged hits by level.

Judging

Section by section

A slopestyle format with seven to nine scoring judges (nine at World Cups, World Championships and the Olympic Winter Games), divided into trick judges (recommended 60 per cent of the score) and composition judges (40 per cent). Trick judges score each section and composition judges the whole run.

Also called: SBS
See also: Judges, Slopestyle, Feature

Anchor scores

The first five to ten scores a judge gives in a competition, which set the range from which later runs are ranked above or below. Judges establish the range by watching practice.

Head Judge

Approves and submits the scores, sees the rankings after each run and handles inquiries. Judges work independently and do not discuss scores unless the Head Judge calls a meeting.

Fall deductions

Snowboard judges deduct from the score for mistakes on snow: in halfpipe 1 to 25 points, in big air 1 to 30, in slopestyle 1 to 20 and in section by section 1 to 80, in bands from small to major mistakes on landings.

Instabilities

Backseat (landing sitting over the tails), hand down, speed check, butt check, back slap, washout, revert, early off a rail, flat landing, wedging (freeski), catching an edge, flailing, poling or skating (freeski) and full crash (full body contact, loss of ski or a full stop).

Crash range

In freeski overall impression, a fall or full crash scores 1 to 30: 1 to 10 for a crash at the start, 10 to 20 in the first half of the course and 20 to 30 at the end of an otherwise good run. Average runs score 45 to 65 and excellent runs 85 to 100.

Video review

At upper-level FIS events video is used for judging halfpipe, slopestyle and big air. A coach or competitor who thinks a trick was misidentified by rotations can request a review before the next phase, or before results are published in a final.

See also: Halfpipe, Slopestyle, Big air, Feature

Variety in big air

In the best 2 of 3 format the two counting tricks must be different types. If the same type is performed twice or more in a phase, only the best scoring one counts. Types are clockwise, counterclockwise, flips and straight airs, or in the 2 of 4 directions format frontside, backside and their switch versions.

Trick terms

Method grab

A style of grab with the knees bent and back arched. The rules do not define grab names.

Switch riding

Riding, taking off or landing with the opposite foot forward. The judging rules treat switch and forward takeoffs and landings as different and reward a mix of both.

Corked rotation

An off-axis spin. The rules list off axis, rodeo, misty, double cork and triple cork among the axes judges consider for variety.

Double cork

A trick with two off-axis flips. The rules list doublecork and triplecork among the multiple axes judges look for in freeski.

Butter

A trick pressing the nose or tail into the snow. The rules mention a butter take-off only as an example of an intentional unusual take-off.

Course and format terms

Pipe wall

The transition of the halfpipe, which riders use to launch and land. Takeoffs and landings should be near or at the lip of the pipe, and landing high on the wall shows good transition riding.

Feature

Any obstacle on a slopestyle course: jumps, rails, boxes, quarter pipes, ridges and others. Courses need at least two different feature types and a minimum number of judged hits by level.

Also called: slopestyle
See also: Slopestyle, Rail

Run selection

How many runs count. A phase needs at least two completed runs; formats are best of 2, best of x (three or more runs, best score counts), 2 or more best of x, and true overall ranking.

Qualifying heat

Park and pipe events are run in heats for the phases qualification, semifinal and final. A semifinal is recommended with more than 24 to 30 competitors. Ties for the last qualification place send all tied competitors on.

Moguls and aerials specific terms

Turn score

The turns part of the moguls score, 60 per cent, from technical turning: carving (50 per cent), absorption and extension (25) and upper body (25), judged from start line to finish line. Deductions for fall-line deviations are taken from it.

Air score

The air part of the moguls score, 20 per cent, with up to 10 points per jump over two jumps, judged by two air judges. Two different jumps are needed to maximise points; one jump can earn at most half.

See also: Judges, Moguls, Different jumps

Twisting double

A double somersault with twists. The Jury may limit an aerials competition to double flips with multiple twists or triple flips with a single twist.

Also called: triple
See also: Aerials

Aerials and moguls

Form

The position of body, skis, arms and poles in the air, judged on precision, balance, stability and timing from the ski tips leaving the jump until touching the snow. Form breaks are deducted, and a wrong number of planned manoeuvres is a DNF.

Different jumps

A competitor may not repeat the same aerials manoeuvre in a phase. Jumps differ by the number or kind of upright manoeuvres, by front or back, by somersaults and twists. In moguls two jumps must differ by category or by 360 degrees.

Moguls speed score

48 minus 32 times the ratio of the competitor's time to the pace time, with a maximum of 20.0. The pace time is course length divided by a pace speed of 10.30 m/s for men and 9.00 m/s for women.

The ruleHow is moguls skiing scored?

Moguls turns judging

Judges score turns from the start line to the finish line, with full control regained after each jump. Carving (50 per cent), absorption and extension (25) and upper body (25) form the base, and skiing the fall line is expected. Deviations are deducted.

Air bumps

The two jumps on a moguls course, one at the top and one at the bottom, 50 to 70 cm high with a take-off angle of 26 to 35 degrees and a landing gradient above 26 degrees. Up to two shapers per jump prepare them.

Control gates

Nine pairs of flags on a moguls course, equally spaced, with 8 to 12 m between them. Skiing out of the course boundary or not crossing a gate line is a DNF, as is losing a ski or stopping for 10 seconds.

Official training (freestyle)

The aerials course must be ready 24 hours before the competition with at least two hours of training on the day. Moguls training is part of the competition and spans at least two days, with at least 30 minutes on the day.

Cross events

Interference

Contact is common in snowboard cross, and the jury decides if it is intentional, involuntary or accidental, based on action by hand or arm, contact from the side or behind, or line deviation. Interference decisions cannot be protested and a re-run is never granted for interference alone.

Cross sanctions

An official warning, a RAL (ranked as last, for severe accidental interference), a yellow card (also RAL, kept all season) and a red card (disqualification, plus suspension from the next competition), depending on whether the action was intentional and how severe the consequences were.

RAL, DNF and DNS

Ranked as last: the competitor is last in the heat and the round and does not advance. Did not finish: ranked by the gates completed. Did not start: not ranked in the heat and does not advance.

Cross qualification

A qualification phase then a knock-out final. Qualification can be timed (one or two runs, with an optional cut-down), a jam session of unlimited runs in a fixed time, a seeding run, a heat round or round robin. A holistic KO format is only knock-out heats.

The ruleHow does snowboard cross work?

Parallel events

Single format (snowboard)

A single-format event without parallel riding is decided by two runs on two courses, the second may use the same slope with the gates reset. The top 15 women and 25 men from run one go to run two, the top 15 starting in reverse order.

Parallel qualification

A qualification run on a red or blue course, with the top 16 on each course advancing to an elimination run on the other course. The total time of the two runs decides who reaches the finals.

The ruleHow does parallel giant slalom qualifying work?

Parallel knock-out finals

1/8-finals, 1/4-finals, 1/2-finals and small and big finals. Each pair makes two runs, switching courses, and the competitor with the lower combined time difference, capped by the penalty time, advances.

Penalty time (parallel)

In the second run of a pair the loser of the first run starts with a handicap equal to the time difference, never more than the penalty time: 4 to 6 per cent of the average of the best pre-heat times, with a maximum of 2.5 seconds in the team format and 1.5 seconds in the knock-out finals.

Dual format

Each competitor has one timed run, odd numbers on the red course and even on blue, then changes courses for the second run. The final result is the sum of the two times.

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