First of all the Liberals and Conservatives shake hands and become best of friends and now it seems skiers and snowboarders are dropping old rivalries and claiming to be best of mates.

Friend or foe?

It's been evident in the fun parks and even off piste as the two groups enjoy themselves together.

Now it's happening in the competition arena.

In the USA this winter halfpipe skiers will be competing along side the snowboarders in the USSA Snowboarding Grand Prix.

The first round takes place in December at Copper Mountain where the new spirit of friendship will be there for all to see.

It's the first time it's happened in North America and is a further sign that the two sports are moving closer together.

At least in the competition world.

Earlier this summer we reported on the 2010 Snowboarding and Freestyle Junior World Championships that were held in New Zealand.

Not only was it the first major FIS event in the southern hemisphere but also it was the first time skiers competed alongside snowboarders at the same FIS event.

In the USA the competition at Copper Mountain marks the first time in the Grand Prix series' 15-year history that a skiing event will be held in conjunction with the snowboarding competitions.

There is also a very real possibility the International Olympic Committee, IOC, will have decided to add half pipe skiing to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, by the time the event takes place.

"We're making some assumptions that the half pipe skiing is going to get the OK from the IOC," said a spokesman for USSA, Tom Kelly. "As an organisation, we're making a pretty big commitment to halfpipe. And we want to showcase Copper as a world-class event."

Copper will be the only Grand Prix venue to include skiing this winter, but that may change in the years to come.

It should attract an international field and could well be seen as the first major event where the skiers and snowboarders came together.

But will the same friendship be reciprocated out on the slopes this winter?

Well, that's another matter.

Skiers will no doubt compaln that too many snowboarders are coming down the slopes out of control and are a danger to everyone else.

Snowboarders will not doubt complain that skier are arrogant, in the way and up think they own the mountains.

All probably have a point.

PlanetSKI.eu
Friday October 15, 2010

Freestyle; the next decade

It is one of the fastest growing snowsports and the people who run it are looking at a ten year plan to develop it. They met recently in Zurich, Switzerland.

The people at the FIS Freestyle Committee meetings in Zurich were looking at the discipline's 10 year strategic plan called, 'Vision 2020'.

One of the main aims is for skiing and snowboarding to work alongside each other at the same events.

They did so for the first time in New Zealand this summer at the 2010 FIS Junior World Championships.

It made history as the first world championships to combine freestyle skiing and snowboarding, as well as feature slopestyle in both disciplines.

It is hoped to develop this co-operation as it was deemed a great success.

Freestyle has grown rapidly in the past ten years.

There are 350% more competitors and there has been a 66% rise in competitions.

" Looking forward, we have to manage an increasingly complex sport model to balance our development in the new events while maintaining strength in our classic events," says explained Chris Robinson, Chairman of the FIS Freestyle Committee, Chris Robinson.

"When completed, the Vision 2020 document will detail the priorities and set the pathway to keep our activity focused so we can continue to achieve our goals."

The closer relationship between skiers and snowboarders at a competitive level is certainly an interesting developement and maybe is reflecting what is going on out on the slopes.

PlanetSKI.eu
Friday October 15, 2010

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