Need help understanding USSA, FIS and AFP

threads for investigation

no one cares andy parry, no one cares

not completely sure but i think FIS are events you have to be qualified for and have a different ranting system than USSA which anyone can do, and AFP brings those to together along with the major independent comps like x games and dew tour to create a real overall ranking system, which might be how you qualify for the olympics, maybe

Watch out world, Andy's going to the Olympics!

My take on it is Ussa is the governing body for the USA. The Ussa events tend be under the level of fis events at least in racing.

inb4 Andy wins gold with a Hippy Killer.

I'm pretty sure the AFP control the judging system. I remember seeing information for judging clinics given by the AFP.

That traing montage from TC 5.1 was pretty inspiring. TC eurasia trip 2014?

so.many.orange names

ermahgerd

The FIS in an international association which regroups all the national ski associations.
It organizes the major Alpine Skiing events such as the World Cup and World Championships and now the World Ski Champs and the World Cup in Freesking (slope and pipe). Last week US Grand Prix in Copper was part of the FIS World Cup, and another Grand Prix will take place in Park City in early February.
These Grand Prix allows skiers to score points for the national selection. I'm 99% sure that the World Championship that holds in March will also give points for the FIS Ranking.

The FIS events (WC and WChamp) existed for couple years now but I think they've been taken seriously since the addition of freesking in the Olympics, since these events determine who will be in the national teams.

There is an FIS ranking also, exactly like in Alpine Skiing.

There is also the AFP (Association of Freeskiing Professionals), which has been pushing freesking and helped its development over the past few years, notably creating events and a its well-known ranking system.
Many events, including XGames, Dew Tour, FIS events, JOI, Dumont Cup and minor events, are certified by the AFP. This certification means the course, judging criterias etc are acknowledged by the AFP. Differents levels of importance exists, from Bronze (local Open comps) to Platinium (XGames, Grand Prix and the AFP Championships in Whistler at the end of each season), giving points to athletes for the AFP World Ranking.
From what I've understood, the AFP points do not count for national selection for the Olympics.

FIS events are certified by the AFP.

Then, the Olympics. So the Olympic Games are organized by the IOC (International Olympic Committee), which regroups differents associations, including the FIS. So the FIS is the association helping the IOC regarding everything involved into the Olympics. And I assume (and hope) the FIS is working alongside AFP on what to say, tell and do with the IOC so the free ski comp during the Olympics are great.

Then, you have national association, such as the USSA (US Skiing Association).
Each country have its own national association, which create programs, events (including international ones), comps, training camps and so on.
Inside the USSA, you have the US Freeskiing, which is specifically dedicated to freeskiing.

So you have IOC -> FIS -> national association (like USSA), and also AFP, which is an independent association.

Hope this helped a little, I'm not 100% sure of everything and guessing some stuff but the overall hopefully is right !

And so the US Grand Prix (in Copper and Park City), is organized by the USSA, but are FIS events, certified by the AFP (Platinium) and gives points to FIS Ranking and national team selection for the Olympics.

so they're all a bunch of groups that claim which competitions are worth more G.N.A.R. points so someone can go to the oliympics?

Wow. Seems like a lot of bullshit and not enough skiing.

Can anyone enter all of these? Or do you have to qualify?

takin a seat on the first page hur.

I wanted to give you karma for that comment but I already had you at 10/10. Well done. Again apparently

boom.

I'm not trying to troll just want to know whats going on.

its honestly retarded.

FIS is the big governing body, they run aaaallll the skiing stuff, from aerials to racing to moguls to skiercross to halfpipe and slopestyle (at least, the sanctioned events - if you want to earn points toward a world cup standing or get on an olympic team, you NEED to do FIS sanctioned comps).

http://ussa.org/about
"The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) is the national governing body of Olympic skiing and snowboarding. It is the parent organization of the U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing. Developed to facilitate participation in national and international competition, the Olympic sports organization provides structure for competitive skiing and snowboarding. From grassroots programs to governance of sport, management of rules, competitions and athletic rankings, the USSA oversees athletic pipelines for development in the sports. With a vision to make the USA the best in the world in Olympic skiing and snowboarding, the USSA provides leadership and direction for tens of thousands of young skiers and snowboarders who share an Olympic dream while maintaining a strong adherence to core values. The USSA, established in 1905, operates out of the national training and education facility, the Center of Excellence, in Park City, UT."

Every country has the equivlent of USSA, in Australia it is Ski and Snowboard Australia (SSA) they handle pretty much everything to do with snowsports in your country. From picking national teams, to entering people into international competitions and deciding which US location can hold which event. They also organise insurance for races and racers.

Check out the website it should explain it all to you.