Don't ask Bob Costas about slopestyle skiing and snowboarding. The veteran Olympic sportscaster isn't a fan of the sport that's making its Olympic debut in Sochi.
"I think the president of the International Olympic Committee should be Johnny Knoxville. Basically, this is just Jackass stuff they invented and called Olympic sports," he joked with Matt Lauer on The Today Show (watch the clip). His recent remarks have generated buzz about a sport most of us know so little about. So educate yourself before you tune in.
What is slopestyle:
Snowboarders were the first to develop slopestyle--a discipline that grew out of freestyle, which includes halfpipe and big air. The sport is a combination of tricks in a terrain park--like rails and quarterpipes--and big jumps, explains Melissa Larsen, general editor in snowboarding at Xgames.com. Skiers soon fo llowed suit, performing similar snowboarder tricks while bombing downhill, says Mike Douglas, an ESPN ski analyst and former skier, referred to as the godfather of freeskiing.
Slopestyle became an elite-level competitive sport in 1997 when it was included in the X Games. It was never, however, meant to be about medaling: "We wanted to get away from all that," says Douglas, who has come to terms with how the sport designed to break the rules now plays by them. "The athleticism of these athletes is worthy of the Olympics," he says.
How it's played:
The 635-meter course in Sochi features two back-to-back terrain parks containing different obstacles and three jumps ranging from 80- to 120-feet wide, says Larsen. The athletes will do two runs in each round. They're judged on technical difficulty, amplitude, style, fluidity, and sticking every landing. Four athletes from each country have a chance win one of four golds.
How to watc h:
"The instant replay helps to work out the complexity of what's going on," Douglas says. His advice for new spectators: "It's not like in figure skating where you can fall and still win. The athlete needs to do everything perfectly. If a run really wows you, chances are, that's the one," he says.
Who to watch:
Canada's Mark McMorris is a favorite in snowboarding. "Nobody else can land the triple cork consistently like McMorris," Douglas says. Team USA has two other shots at gold as well: Nick Goepper and--on the ladies side--Jamie Anderson. "Goepper skis flawlessly while trying tricks like the switch double cork 900, where he basically ties himself in a knot and crosses his skis in the middle," Douglas says. As for Anderson, "she wins almost every contest she enters," Larsen says.
When to watch: Feb 6, 8, 9, 11, 13
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