I've been reading some of the threads regarding the Olympics and FIS, and thought that maybe people would be interested to know how the recent FIS World Cup Halfpipe event in Les Contamines, France was run. I am not trying to promote or discourage anything here, but as I took a team to the event (AB HP team), I can at least give some facts about it. I think that there are some assumptions being made about the FIS events that are not necessarily correct.
Please realize that I am not blindly promoting FIS events here, in fact after going to a failed attempt at a World Cup in Saas Fee last year, I was disgusted and spent weeks writing letters to FIS and our national association letting them know what a disgrace it was to the sport. But this year, in this case, it was done right, and it definitely brightened my team's perspective on World Cup halfpipe events. The organizers killed it and deserve props, read on for details;
- First, the pipe was awesome, easily one of the best we have seen all season, about 10 times better than the one they just used for the US Open. It was also built right down in the village, so for the final, which was held at night, there was a crowd of literally thousands. They also had athlete tents, stages with live bands, etc.
- Nobody was wearing team suits or matching uniforms, everyone wore what they wanted. Also I did not see even one skier with McDonalds, Visa, or Target billboards on their helmets or clothing.
- They provided us with "FIS rate" accomodation for the entire stay (A FIS rule states that for World Cups, athletes and coaches are to be given room AND meals for a rate of $30 per day.)
- There is no entry fee for World Cups
- The prize money was great and was paid out to the top 8 men and top 6 women, I think the 3rd place woman was paid more than what they paid for 1st place woman at the US Open.
- We arrived a week before the event and were given free lift tickets for the entire time.
- Every night there was a meeting for the coaches and riders, and the pipe builders were at every meeting asking for feedback on the pipe, which was cut every night for training and the comp. The judges were also at the meetings going over how the event would be judged. They were very receptive to input from the riders and coaches.
- The pipe was closed to the public, and only open for the competitors for two days of training prior to the event.
- The judging was fine, of course there was the odd questionable call, as there always will be no matter the event, but overall, my athletes and I agreed that the results were correct. (Maybe I'm just saying that because my athlete, MIke Riddle, was second, but I'll post the video of his run so you can judge for yourself. :)
- The event was originally scheduled the same weekend as the US Open, and when the organizers were contacted about this in the fall, they moved it a week so that skiers would be able to do both events.
- I certainly don't think that doing this event was bad for my athletes in any way. When we followed it up at the US Open, Mike Riddle got the highest score of the entire pipe event in one of the earlier heats, and Matt Hayward was second in the semi-finals. I attribute a lot of that to the training and competition experience that they were able to get at the World Cup.
As far as I am concerned, it was a great event, regardless of who put it on. In fact I can not think of a single thing that they could have done better as far as running a halfpipe contest goes. I know that the skiers I took over for the event were stoked on it.
My view on FIS comps - IF the athletes are treated well, given a good pipe, decent judging, and good prize money, then as far as I'm concerned it could be run by the World Tiddlywinks Federation and still be a good thing. Ski Halfpipe will continue to be alive and well on it's own, there is no way that FIS can "take over" the sport. What they can do is provide more opportunities for skiers to compete, travel, and make money. And what FIS can also do is get ski halfpipe in the Olympics, nobody else has that power.
Check the videos section in "Half/Quarterpipes" for the one titled "MikeRiddleWorldCup" to see footage of the event.
Peace
