Slopestyle is a
winter sport in which athletes
ski or
snowboard down a course including a variety of obstacles including rails, jumps and other
terrain park features. Points are scored for amplitude, originality and quality of tricks. The discipline has its roots in action sports like
skateboarding and
BMX and has very successfully crossed over into the snow sports worlds of skiing and snowboarding.[1] Skiers use
Twin-tip skis for their symmetry since they often go large portions of the course backward (referred to as "switch") and for their balanced weight so as to not destabilize spins. Slopestyle tricks fall mainly into four categories: spins,
grinds, grabs and
flips, and most tricks done in competition are a combination of these.
In competition, athletes compete for points awarded by judges on a structured basis. The scoring criteria vary from one organization to another and from each event to the next, but in general athletes are judged on these criteria:[1][3]
Amplitude: Height of jumps, also called air. Bigger tricks score higher.
Execution: How well the athletes perform their tricks. For example, tight rotation, clean grabs, and smooth landing.
Variety: The difference of the tricks within the run. Doing the same trick off all the jumps will not score highly even if it is a very difficult trick.
Progression: How the trick selection progresses the sport, for example brand new tricks will score high because they push the sport forward.
Combinations or flow: The way the athletes string the tricks together. Having to slow down or otherwise reset after a trick will lose points.
Overall: The whole package, including the athlete's personal style.
A feature that is somewhat unique to slopestyle and similar events is that even though it is a judged sport, scores cannot be compared between events: "A run that scores 65 at one event may score 75 at another event. The score is just a tool to organize the rankings and may vary based on the range and anchor score set for the day."[4]
