Featured Image: Photo Courtesy of Christian Pondella and Red Bull Content Pool, Skier Bobby Brown
Ladies and gents hold on to your beers, men’s and women’s freeski big air finally makes its debut at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and it could not come soon enough. After the incredible success of Snowboarding’s big air debut at the PyeongChang 2018 Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) could not ignore the huge draws and instant fan connection to the events, so their freeski counterparts were invited to the biggest winter sports competition in the world.
Fenway Park in Boston, MA hosted the first big air competition in the 2015-16 season, making a dramatic entrance on to the World Cup stage and catching the attention of ski enthusiasts of all ages. The following winter, big air earned an all-out tour, with five competitions and the presentation of crystal globes for the top male and female athletes of the season. Big air is certainly one of the most intriguing FIS, especially amongst the general public unfamiliar with the great heights at which these athletes soar above hard-packed courses all winter long. Competitors execute their best tricks on a massive jump, and with contests being held in metropolitan areas more frequently–Olso, Zurich, Quebec City, Los Angeles and Boston, just to name a few–the discipline continues to be the one casual viewers are most aware of.
We’re not saying it’s about time, but it’s about damn time. Let the countdown to 2022 begin.
