The #SOTY13 floodgates have been open for nearly a week, and in that time thousands of skiers have cast their votes. Today, based on those votes, we cut 16 men to eight, and we also introduce our eight female nominees. Vote now in the round of eight.
About the SOTY contest:
The 2013 Skier of the Year is chosen by you, the FREESKIER faithful. Rather than allow the public to nominate skiers, however, we select the nominees, based on who we feel had the biggest impact on the sport in a given year. The selection process is never easy. Does one individual’s outstanding competition performance outweigh that other guy’s banger film segment? It’s a fiery debate, as staffers don’t always see eye to eye. Throughout the discussion, we contemplate all we have seen over the past 12 months; we reflect on film after film, edit after edit, contest results, magazine exposure, the proverbial extracurricular activities and more.
By the time we’re done, we’re confident our selections are fair and well-rounded—an accurate representation of the sport’s many facets. Having selected our 16 male and 8 female skiers, the next step is to create the brackets. To do this, we put all of the names in a box, shake well, and draw them out one by one. While this results in some ultra tough matchups—e.g. Sammy vs. Henrik in round 1 this year—the fact remains: each voter should theoretically know who they feel is the deserving winner from the get-go. Might as well get the hard part over with right off the bat, yes? To those who partake in the voting, we extend thanks. For those who have questions about the nominations and/or the voting process, we welcome your feedback in the comments section below.
#SOTY13 round 1 voting breakdown:
Matchup 1:
Sammy Carlson (32%) defeated by Henrik Harlaut (68%)
Matchup 2:
Candide Thovex (62%) defeats Mike Hornbeck (38%)
Matchup 3:
Sage Cattabriga-Alosa (29%) defeated by Tom Wallisch (71%)
Matchup 4:
Karl Fostvedt (29%) defeated by Parker White (71%)
Matchup 5:
Pep Fujas (47%) defeated by Gus Kenworthy (53%)
Matchup 6:
Clayton Vila (64%) defeats Dale Talkington (36%)
Matchup 7:
Sean Pettit (42%) defeated by Torin Yater-Wallace (58%)
Matchup 8:
Ahmet Dadali (57%) defeats Tim Durtschi (43%)
The round of 8 will be open through November 4. Cast your votes now.
