To pole or not to pole. That is the question?

Hey guys and gals,

As you guys may have seen free ski big air hit the Olympics the last few days and oh my, has it been epic? However I can’t help but notice there’s a bit of an elephant in the room. What’s this you might ask? Nope it’s it the judging (well kinda) it’s actually the use of poles, or rather the lack of.

As some of you might have noticed 4 out of the 6 podium places in the ski big air were won by people who skied without poles. Poles at this point in the sport where doubles and triples are a required to win events are what differentiate us from aerials. That and the addition of grabs of course.

I feel like FIS are at a point where they should either reward the use of poles in big air events or deduct points for the lack of poles in big air, the way I see it is, it’s something else to control while performing a double 1620. Especially in the woman’s competition all they seemed to be rewarding was spin to win. I was so disappointed to see Meg Oldham finish fourth with her progressive rotations and grabs, not to mention. USING POLES.

I myself prefer to ride park without poles however I firmly believe at the top level of the sport it should contribute to the difficulty level of a trick whether you use poles or not. Let’s hear your opinions!

Much love guys and shred hard!