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North American Open - Simon and Jon

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ColbyV
Posts: 1125 - Karma: 57

so a new open comp is being put together by Jon Olsson and Simon Dumont with Paul Mitchell - it has a new format just as innovative as JOI so will probably be sick


taking place in Breck, Big Bear, and Mount Snow


this is USSA sanctioned so will help in freeski halfpipe's chances in the Olympics


more

http://community.freeskier.com/articles/article.php?article_id=1745


official comp site

http://www.opensfreeski.com/


i hope this hasn't been posted yet

Dec 21 2007 4:26PM
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Silence
Posts: 16030 - Karma: 150
sick.
Dec 21 2007 4:28PM
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papasteeze
Posts: 12055 - Karma: 915
I am wrong, it appears you still can join the USSA - You just have to pay the late fee.

Membership information:

http://www.ussa.org/magnoliaPublic/ussa/en/formembers/membership/becomeamember.html

Frequently asked questions about the USSA membership:

http://www.ussa.org/magnoliaPublic/ussa/en/formembers/membership/faq/generalfaq.html
Dec 21 2007 5:20PM
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Ifeinforsnow
Posts: 1394 - Karma: 37
you have to show up a day early to register on site? (at least at the mount snow one) and why would they make it ussa
Dec 21 2007 5:56PM
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AKoblitz
Posts: 1201 - Karma: 113
I don't like how its ussa... but I think the only reason its like that is for the half pipe and olympics

sounds awesome though besides that
Dec 21 2007 6:02PM
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titsLOL
Posts: 7485 - Karma: 396
this is a complete guess, but I bet that way the ussa can cover the legal end of everything, making jon and simon's job of organizing a lot easier. plus $$ from sponsors since it's more "official"

cant wait to see how mount snow does hosting it, should be sweet.
Dec 21 2007 6:05PM
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jksl
Posts: 12727 - Karma: 854
are you fucking serious? USSA us the biggest pile of shit ever. why the hell should i have to pay 125 bucks to compete in competitions where i have to pay another like 100 to enter? fuck this, i wanted to do the big bear and breck stops but this completely turns me off to them, as i hope it does to many others.
Dec 21 2007 6:07PM
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papasteeze
Posts: 12055 - Karma: 915

Whats wierd is that I thought the IOC only reconizes participation in FIS events.  Slopestyle is not an FIS event - but 1/2 pipe certainly is and the previous years FIS athlete participation has been dismal.   Just because this event might get a 100 new registrations with USSA .................. why is that going to help get it into the olympics?  Just cause it is USSA affiliated?

I think the Canadians (CFSA) gave it thier best shot last year with sanctioned Skier 1/2 Pipe all to no avail and they have effectively thrown in the towel on any possibility of it being in the Olympics, or so I am told.

Dec 21 2007 6:12PM
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skiEER
Posts: 4089 - Karma: 79
im glad it will part of it will take place in the east
Dec 21 2007 10:09PM
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tride
Posts: 1038 - Karma: 26
CFSA (the canadian freestyle ski association) has not done one single thing towards trying to get pipe into the 2010 Olympics. Which is a huge shame because they are one of the groups that could have actually had some influence if they had pushed hard for it.

They didn't throw in the towel, they just never bothered to get in the ring to begin with.
Dec 21 2007 10:14PM
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dje84
Posts: 118 - Karma: 10
I'm a little confused whether Jon and Simon are hosting all 3 events or just one of them? 
Dec 21 2007 10:31PM
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papasteeze
Posts: 12055 - Karma: 915
Uh..  Weren't there a couple of FIS events last year in Canada and this year there are none?
Dec 21 2007 11:19PM
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Ahmets_Brother
Posts: 20283 - Karma: 5,931
u know, i was super pumped to compete in that and also the tour when it hits mt snow, but that USSA shit is bullshit. I dont give a fuck whether or not skiing is in the olympics for pipe. I hate that shit. Im not gonna pay 100 dollars more just so i can become a member of some gay shit that wants to standardize skiing. fuck rules, fuck FIS. Let me compete. I thought it was suppose to be an "open". If you need a membership, its not an open.
Dec 21 2007 11:47PM
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2bi40s
Posts: 275 - Karma: 15
Good way of looking at it.

Good intentions on Simon and Jon's part but this may not take off to well.
Dec 21 2007 11:59PM
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tride
Posts: 1038 - Karma: 26
There was a Nor-Am in Calgary and a "World Cup" (to use the term loosely) in Apex last year. This year there is a Nor-am at COP in Calgary (Jan 4 for pipe).

Those events were held primarily because the respective organizing committees wanted to host HP events, not because CFSA was trying to push for HP in 2010.

Canadian Freestyle's representative at the FIS meetings (Todd Allison) did NOT vote in favor of submitting HP for consideration as a 2010 Olympic event, even though the overwhelming majority of Canadian Freestyle athletes, coaches, and provincial associations are strongly in favor of it.
Dec 22 2007 12:03AM
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Literature
Posts: 13673 - Karma: 3,085
I love everything about this but the USSA part. USSA is all about standards and rules, which are fine if you are doing upright aerials or racing.

Freeskiing, however, does not fit into these molds, and the extra $125 that people will have to pay won't be any fun at all, as well as the expediting fees to get your membership to be on top of the consideration pile (yeah, they do that).

And for the people who do sign up with USSA, I can't wait to hear about it when they get their first issue of Ski Racing, the magazine that gets sent to you with your membership. Last time I picked one up, they were barely acknowledging that twins existed.

USSA is a mistake.
Dec 22 2007 12:28AM
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bpalmer
Posts: 2408 - Karma: 93
at least im not the only one confused by the idea of an open that requires ussa membership but i dont see that stopping the 3 million kids across the usa that have way too much of their parents money from taking all the spots at the breck stop.
Dec 22 2007 12:36AM
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tride
Posts: 1038 - Karma: 26
Same time as Nippon Open....
Dec 22 2007 12:48AM
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K-Thomas
Posts: 2700 - Karma: 604
fucking right on. i was gonna try and get to the mt snow one, but now you have to register for ussa on top of the comp fee. fuckin eh
Dec 22 2007 1:16AM
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landonn
Posts: 2913 - Karma: 385
my coach told me that the halppipe was definetly in the 2010 olympics.  i was kinda like, huh, i wonder why i havent heard about this. is he wrong?
Dec 22 2007 2:17AM
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Tee.Gagnon
Posts: 287 - Karma: 14

^^ he is wrong ... it is NOT in the olympics I can confirm after some VANOC "powerfull" members told me it wasnt! However it doesn't mean there's not gonna have any Pipe near the olympics at the same time as the olympics but I've said enough for now!

Dec 22 2007 2:43AM
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papasteeze
Posts: 12055 - Karma: 915
Interesting.   So why are the higer ups appearing to be totally against Skier HP in 2010? Certainly they aware of the on going efforts to get HP included, like this Tour? Certainly they are aware that Snowboarding got into the olympics 18 months before Nagano.

 This is a very recent second hand slightly edited quote.

Bruce Robinson, Chairman of FIS Freestyle. "Absolutely NO way 1/2 pipe will be in the Olympics, niether as a formal event nor a demonstration.

Evn if NBC came begging with buckets of money still won't happen.

He confirmed to me that the biggest hiderance to acceptance is particapation and a viable World Cup circuit."


So, we have CFSA FIS rep who is not in favor and subsequently the FIS chairman who says "no way" and the 2010 olympics are in Canada.  hmmmmmmm 

I guess I can understand why this event is is alligning itself with the USSA.    The Tour registration should have included the USSA membership as part of the fee. That way it would be more subtle (not as a big a deal) for the anti-USSA-establishment here.

BTW - aren't most or all the Freestyle Academy kids required to be USSA members?
Dec 22 2007 9:17AM
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C-burckley
Posts: 333 - Karma: 11

for all you dying to get spanced ar noticed do well in this event and you are probably set

Dec 22 2007 10:36AM
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tride
Posts: 1038 - Karma: 26
That's a little bit off....

Bruce Robinson is the Chief Operating Officer of the CFSA (Canadian Freestyle Association), he doesn't work for FIS directly.

His brother Chris Robinson is the Chairman of the FIS Freestyle Committee.

Regardless, the fact that both of them aren't fighting to get pipe in, is ridiculous.
Dec 22 2007 1:33PM
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espong1321
Posts: 763 - Karma: 10
ussa also probably provides like insurance and liability stuff not sayin its good but it would make sense
Dec 22 2007 1:48PM
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N.L.
Posts: 2420 - Karma: 2,746

judges for ussa have to take a CLASS to beome certified. so some mogul skier who is washed up will critique your FREESTYLE skiing abilities against the rest of the pack for a small 150 dollar fee. sounds like a really good idea.

well call it standardized freeskiing. it can be the official downfall.

Dec 22 2007 6:18PM
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Tex.
Posts: 1106 - Karma: 124
all you guys bitching about it being a USSA sanctioned thing need to sack up and stop making excuses for yourselves being vaginas, yea it sucks that its going to cost more but do any of you actually think Jon and Simon would actually let the judging be all shitty like USSA has been known to fuck up??
Dec 22 2007 6:28PM
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poniverus
Posts: 1154 - Karma: 106
^^^^HA.....thanks i needed that
Dec 22 2007 6:38PM
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papasteeze
Posts: 12055 - Karma: 915
Good point and since Breck is the first stop, the presedence will have been set.
Dec 22 2007 8:36PM
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deezy.
Posts: 2538 - Karma: 26
thanks for the info
Dec 22 2007 9:05PM
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Craigskis
Posts: 6650 - Karma: 1,645
 
Dec 22 2007 10:14PM
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Treestman
Posts: 3049 - Karma: 300

looks sick, but what about joi in nyc??

Dec 22 2007 10:35PM
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Ahmets_Brother
Posts: 20283 - Karma: 5,931
Sack up and stop bitching like little vaginas? we need to sack up because our mommy and daddy doesnt pay for us to compete and all this shit. I have to work 4 days a week while going to school so that i can afford to film with companies, ski, and compete. If you havent checked, gas is really expensive, plane tickets are really expensive, and lift tickets are really expensive. In fact, I spent 40 dollars in gas today just to get 2 urban shots.  Now my main source of income during the winter is competing.  Usually ill do something like go to mt snow, pay 50 dollars to enter and also buy a lift ticket for 70. Now i have to pay double that price! yay! and you know what? the payoff from winning that comp or placing doesnt pay much more. 

Now point number 2.  When i started newschool skiing, about 9 years ago, I did it because it was individual and unique. You could do what you want if you thought it was cool.  Competitons were super open ended, allowed you express your style.  I feel that bringing in a centralized judging system and all those regulations will take away from the beauty of our sport.  Our sport was once beautiful because it was free.  If we bring in this shit, it will be no different from figure skating in the olympics
Dec 22 2007 10:36PM
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poniverus
Posts: 1154 - Karma: 106
^^^^ COUNT IT!!!!
Dec 22 2007 10:42PM
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seemeski
Posts: 4210 - Karma: 124
Yeah, its required, or part of your tuition pays for it then you pay for all comp fees.

I'm really excited about this, I'm glad I got my USSA membership, I just want to see how I compare to other skiers. Even if it is USSA it will still be a good time.
Dec 22 2007 10:48PM
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papasteeze
Posts: 12055 - Karma: 915
I think that is wrong, it will become like snow boarding.
Dec 22 2007 10:50PM
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tride
Posts: 1038 - Karma: 26
You guys are hilarious.

What's a USSA membership? - 60 bucks, and that'll be good for a year so it will cover you for all three events. So really it's 20 bucks per event that covers the insurance. Any event will have a portion of the registration cover things like their insurance. Just because these guys happen to tell you who the insurance provider is, you all have a little fit 'cause you're all so "core" and "counterculture".

It's probably still going to end up being cheaper for each event than it is for some non-USSA events like US Open.

And judging, whatever... it doesn't matter if an event is judged by USSA or by the X-Games judges, half of this site is going to complain about it anyways.

People claiming it's not "Open" because you need a membership, get serious. Any "Open" event will have some form of registration and insurance fees, who the hell cares if it's called a "fee", "insurance" or "membership", it's all the same in the end.

Face it, if you want to go to an organized competition, then someone has to organize it, pay for insurance, etc.

Either go, don't go, or organize your own massive event series, but quit crying about it.
Dec 22 2007 11:09PM
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jksl
Posts: 12727 - Karma: 854
$125 actually.
Dec 22 2007 11:21PM
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Ahmets_Brother
Posts: 20283 - Karma: 5,931
ohhhhhh thats good to know, so basically,we're all gonna start sitting down on the side of the trail instead of skiing?
Dec 22 2007 11:25PM
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tride
Posts: 1038 - Karma: 26
Well, the website says : "registration to the North American Open will start on December 26, visit www.openfreeski.com to register. You can get a year long USSA freestyle membership for $60 and can download membership forms at the Opens Freeski website"
Dec 22 2007 11:29PM
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NickMartini
Posts: 7761 - Karma: 8,356
Wow, heated. That sucks you need to be a ussa member. W/e though sounds like it will be a cool comp non the less
Dec 23 2007 12:39AM
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papasteeze
Posts: 12055 - Karma: 915
hahahaha   cute....... No - what i mean is that if snowboarding 1/2 pipe can be in the olympics through what ever feeder organization they have to join, then why can't skiers? 

Skiers have the FIS - what organization do snowboarders have to join to be in the olympics, is there one?  I should know the answer but I don't - and too lazy to look it up now.:)
Dec 23 2007 9:33AM
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Tex.
Posts: 1106 - Karma: 124
all i'm saying is when there's a will there's a way... i get a little bit of help from my rents but have to pay for the rest of the shit myself, i know it must suck to have to pay for it all yourself but if you really want to compete in the comp at mt snow or wherever else then you need to just find a way to get more $, sometimes it seems unachievable but in the end it always works out..
Dec 23 2007 10:16AM
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papasteeze
Posts: 12055 - Karma: 915
Plus the late fee, correct? 

They really should consider including the membership with the event registration if they want a good turnout.   
Dec 23 2007 2:14PM
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grams.
Posts: 7406 - Karma: 186
freestyle sitting is where its at nowadays
Dec 23 2007 2:33PM
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wiglaf
Posts: 4877 - Karma: 141

I dont know, snowboarding has an underbelly of core people that will never let it turn into "figure skating" but i dont  think skiing has that yet or to their extent. I can see skiing turning into what mogul skiing became in the 90s=gayass figure skating. I think its super important to not let the USSA and FIS over run our sport by letting them jump into major events like this.
  Also how are they even calling this event OPEN when you have to pay a 120dollar membership? 

   

Dec 23 2007 2:44PM
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snowbladesforlife
Posts: 2033 - Karma: -3
This is just  a vehicle for Jon and Simon to get half pipe into the olymipics, so they can get get bigger paychecks and actually get their name in the paper when they set off a fire extinguisher.  Maybe they should subsidize the USSA costs since it will benefit them most, they have the means, and they both appear to be fucking philanthropists.  Isn't it also true that at FIS snowboarding pipe comps they were/are some rules about what the riders can do.  I remember they had to do at least 1 straight air in their run at the FIS comps, I don't know if that is still in place, what a joke.  Also all you kids complaining about money, it's fucking skiing, of course it's expensive.  90% of the kids are going to have their parents pay for it anyway.  Most of you are in private/out of state schools and you are complaining about 60 bucks?   You're parents should complain about the 30k when you are skiing all the time.  If it matters that much to you, take time off, live at the mountain, ski everyday and get a job.
Dec 23 2007 2:46PM
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tride
Posts: 1038 - Karma: 26
Just so you know, it's not just a straight air, it's a standard maneuver (which means a trick that rotates less than 360). It includes straight air, alley-oop, air to fakie.

And that's not just a FIS rule, that's an accepted part of snowboard judging at any event. They do the same thing at X-Games and Grand prix.

It's also what snowboarders see as a part of a complete pipe run. It emphasizes a rider to spend at least one hit that must be all about style instead of spinning like crazy every hit. Even if it wasn't a rule, all of the snowboarders would still want to do a standard maneuver in their pipe run anyways. Basically it goes back to their roots of surfing and skating, where style is more important than anything else.

I wish skiers would have a little more of that attitude. One of my favorite things that I have ever seen in the pipe was Laurent's alley-oop from X-Games 2006. The way ski pipe is going now, everyone has to spin super-tech shit every single hit to be competitive in a big comp.

Whereas boarders still get crazy tech (like 3 different 1080s in one run), but will always throw at least one hit that is just a pure style trick like a huge method or something.

It shows that as much as us skiers talk about style, we still don't walk the walk sometimes. A snowboard X-Games podium run will have a sick standard maneuver in it somewhere, and every trick will be grabbed. A skier can still hit the podium without grabbing half of their tricks as long as they spin like crazy.
Dec 23 2007 3:29PM
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tride
Posts: 1038 - Karma: 26
Duh, maybe because that membership is OPEN for anybody to buy? Therefore ANYONE can enter the event, therefore it's an Open.

How about if they had just included it into the registration and simply called it all "entry fee" instead? Every OPEN event still has an entry fee. Wake up.
Dec 23 2007 3:45PM
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snowbladesforlife
Posts: 2033 - Karma: -3
   That is the judges fault more than the skiers.  They are paying off Simon for that, which just perpetuates teh cycle.  Even in 2000 people would grab their cork 9s in the pipe.  I don't really understand why Simon doesn't, except that judges don't lower his score, so he has no incentive to.  
   I don't think you can say snowboarders are style oreinted in pipe, some are, the majority aren't.  They are some ugly, swipe grab, rollerbladeseque spins going on snowboard pipe comps.  I don't believe the straight air is a throwback to skating/surfing.  Throwing a clean stylish air isn't an integral part of of surfing.  It is more about completing the spin or grab and landing in surfing than anything else.  How many surfers can you say are actually stylish in the air and look in control?  5-10, especially in critical sections, not some 2' FL chop? 
Dec 23 2007 3:49PM
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tride
Posts: 1038 - Karma: 26
No, but style in general is an integral part of surfing.

The point is, the standard maneuver that snowboarders always do, means that at least one portion of their run will judged purely on style, without technical difficulty coming into the equation.
Dec 23 2007 3:58PM
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