There are many sports styles and freestyle is considered to be the most spectacular and interesting. It is used in different directions, for example, snowboarding, football, dancing and so on. Skiing also includes freestyle and is listed in the Olympics.

What is freestyle?

This term refers to the performance of various tricks. If the title is translated from in English, then it is "free style". Athletes not only improve their movements, but also constantly come up with new and spectacular tricks. Finding out what freestyle is in sports, it is worth saying that it is also used in other areas of life, for example, dancing, vocals, and so on. Many people think that freestyle is an amateur sport, but in fact it is not, because this direction is represented in various competitions and even Olympic Games.

Freestyle - Olympic sport

Medals at the Olympics can be obtained for good performance in snowboarding and skiing. The first direction will be discussed later, so we will pay attention to the second. He started his story with a ski ballet and it was a mountain show on skis that was used to entertain people. Freestyle as demonstration performances was first introduced at the games in 1988. Freestyle is skiing, which includes several areas:

1. Ski acrobatics. This discipline involves performing complex jumps from a special springboard. The slope includes a part for acceleration, a platform with springboards and a place for landing. The performance score consists of: 20% flying, 50% shape and 30% landing. Acrobatics has been in the Olympic Games since 1994.
2. Mogul. The direction in which the athlete descends skiing on a slope with numerous hillocks, and also performs ski jumping. The evaluation takes into account the following parameters: turning technique, difficulty of the jump, quality of performance and duration of the descent.
3. Ski cross. This is a ski race on a special track, which includes various obstacles in the form of springboards and steep turns. The debut of this direction occurred at the games in 2010. The competition is held in two stages: qualification (passing the track for a while one at a time) and finals (4 athletes participate in the race).
4. Halfpipe. In this discipline, they go down a special slope and perform a series of tricks. For the first time, athletes began to fight for medals in 2014. The complexity of the tricks, their height and technical performance are evaluated.
5. Slopestyle. The discipline includes a series of ski jumps, drops and other structures. Obstacles are located throughout the track. We presented this direction at the Olympics in Sochi in 2014.

Freestyle is a sport?

If initially freestyle was invented for the sake of diversity and entertainment, then over time it was officially recognized as a sport in many disciplines. Various competitions are held to determine the best in their field. The sport of freestyle can be compared to improvisation, thanks to which an athlete can show creativity, reveal his potential and demonstrate his abilities. It is used in different directions.

Football freestyle

This sport is based on performing different tricks with soccer ball. This “game” involves different parts of the body. Football freestyle began to develop actively in 2003 thanks to a video filmed by Sufian Tuzani. In it, he performs various tricks, one after the other without stopping. Freestyle in football is divided into the following disciplines:

1. Air Moves. Tricks are performed with the ball in the air. They are the most popular. Several difficult tricks performed in a row are called "combos".
2. upper body. Many tricks are performed on the head, chest and shoulders, but the hands are not involved in this.
3. Sitting. In this discipline, tricks are performed while sitting on the ground.

Freestyle snowboard

This direction is based on performing various tricks on a special track. Athletes do them both on a flat surface and in the air. In order to do jumps, somersaults and other elements, an athlete must have a serious physical training. Freestyle style involves performing tricks on special structures:

1. Halfpipe is a large U-shaped half-pipe, in which the athlete moves from edge to edge.
2. big air is a large springboard, flying out of which the athlete performs various elements in the air.

Freestyle is a winter sport that requires special equipment. A snowboard must be strong and withstand heavy loads, and high rigidity of the board is also important, while it must be light. Shoes must have high rigidity in order to fix the foot, and high-quality bindings are equally important so that the load can be accurately transferred.

freestyle dance

In the dance direction, freestyle means improvisation and movement without established limits. This technique involves performing standard techniques that are complemented by artistry to make a show. The main goal of this direction is to ignite the crowd. When figuring out what freestyle is in dance, it is worth noting that improvisation is possible only when a person is fluent in the style, otherwise it will not work to loosen up and move away from the framework. Freestyle is used in such popular styles as go-go and hip-hop.

Parachute freestyle

This concept is understood as one of the types of parachuting, in which various movements and rotations are performed during free fall. The main idea of ​​this direction lies in the aesthetics and beauty of movements. Freestyle - parachuting based on improvisation. It is worth noting that jumps are performed by both one and several athletes. Each movement is realized solely based on the air flow. Particularly fond of freestyle skydivers who have experience in rhythmic gymnastics and dancing.

The first competitions in this direction were held in 1990. Many people call parachute freestyle "dance in the air" and its beauty is evaluated according to several criteria: grace, plasticity, lightness, and so on. Particular attention in freestyle is paid to the athlete's legs, so it is important to carefully choose a suit that should have tight legs and wide sleeves, thanks to which the skydiver can better control his own movements.

Freestyle on motorcycles

Many people think that motofreestyle is the most spectacular view sports, as athletes perform jumps on motorcycles and do different tricks in the air. On motorcycles, freestyle is a sport that originated in the 90s in America. Initially, the athletes simply jumped off the ramp and only after a while began to perform tricks. In 2005, FMX was recognized as a new sport and began to be held the following year. international competitions. The evaluation takes into account not only the complexity of the trick, but also the technique, variety and reaction of the public.

All types of competitions are divided into two groups: freestyle motocross and the best trick. To practice this sport, you need to have a motorcycle that must weigh 90-95 kg, which is important for performing stunts. Each rider prepares a motorcycle for himself, so that it is as convenient as possible. During training, athletes master not only tricks, but also falls to minimize injuries. There are standard chips, but at the same time, each athlete wants to come up with something of his own, more unusual and spectacular.

freestyle swimming

There is different styles swimming and freestyle understand freestyle. This discipline allows the athlete to swim in any way, and the style can be changed at any time at your discretion. The freestyle swimming style is included in the medley and relay races. Today, competitions are held and freestyle records are recorded at various distances, from 50 m to 1500 m. Freestyle is an ideal sport for people who work on their bodies, since many muscles receive a load.

Freestyle on a skateboard

One of the first riding styles that was invented with the advent of the skateboard. It does not need any additional structures, such as ramps, since all tricks are performed on the plane. Freestyle in sports allows the use of different comfortable boards, but professionals recommend giving preference to shorter decks, 27-29 inches. For the convenience of performing tricks, it is better to choose a suspension so that the wheels do not peek out from under the board. Athletes perform different rotations, jumps and so on.

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History of freestyle and discipline

A very beautiful sport freestyle (English - freestyle), translated as free style.
The history of freestyle is still quite young. He was born in the 60s of the twentieth century in Europe. At first it was just entertainment. Freestyle soon became popular in Japan and North America. Subsequently, it became an official sport, and was divided into three varieties.
Freestyle disciplines: ski acrobatics, mogul and acrosking (ski ballet). Since 1978, a multi-stage World Cup has been held for all three.

Ski acrobatics

The acrobatic stadium consists of a mountain of overclocking, platforms with several jumps of various sizes and steep slope landing. At competitions, athletes perform pre-announced jumps, which may consist of somersaults, twists, flips and other elements. A special sports commission evaluates the difficulty of jumps and gives marks for them. Most difficult jump in ski acrobatics, allowed in official competitions is a triple somersault with four pirouettes. Although in 2000, at one of the commercial tournaments, Eric Bergust performed a quadruple somersault with four pirouettes.

freestyle mogul

This competition is very similar to the slalom. More different from him short distance- 250 m. - 300 m. The route here is steeper and mounds rhythmically go along it. The participant performs a descent along the track and at the end makes two jumps. Figures in this discipline are divided into single, double and triple jumps. Athletes are evaluated by a commission of seven people. Estimates are given for the technique and aesthetics of the descent, as well as for the time of its passage. Mogul is divided into individual and parallel (paired).

Akrosking

In this discipline, athletes perform free program, which may include coups through a stick, rotations, etc. The judging commission evaluates the figures performed by the athletes, technique and artistry. In this discipline, participants perform on a smooth, not steep and not long slope.
The first freestyle world championship took place in 1986 in the Savoyard resort of Tignes. He made a crazy sensation among the public. Freestyle was first included in the program of the Olympic Games in 1988 in Calgary. Since then freestyle history became noticeably richer.

Translated from English, the word "freestyle" means "free style". This is freestyle skiing. This species is under the control International Federation skiing.

Athletes began to perform various acrobatic numbers on skis a long time ago. The first somersault was recorded back in the 20s of the last century. However, to recognize freestyle as an independent sport, fans classic skis didn't want to for a long time. They did not take him seriously and considered him a kind of show. Athletes successfully attracted tourists to mountain resorts.

The first official competitions in the new sport took place in 1971. At this point, the best masters of acrobatics and mogul have achieved excellent technique. Competition rules were developed and approved seven years after the first competition. Four sets of awards are played at the White Olympiads. Competitions in both mogul and acrobatic jumps are held among men and women.

Mogul became the first Olympic discipline of freestyle. This type has much in common with traditional ski types, however, competitions are held on special hilly slopes. In the "pre-Olympic era" these tracks arose spontaneously. Hillocks appeared from the frequent turns of skiers in the same place. The modern mogul track is 250m long and steeper than the slalom. In addition, the athlete must perform 2 acrobatic jumps. In is not only the speed of passing the distance, but also the technique of performing turns and jumps.

At the next Olympic Games in Lillihammer there were already two types of freestyle. Acrobatic jumps joined the mogul. Athletes jumped from three springboards of different heights. The largest one is 3.5m high, the middle one is 3.2m and the small one is 2.1m. At the 1994 Games in Nagano, there were already seven ski jumps, and athletes could choose them to their liking. At any competition in acrobatic jumps, the results of two jumps are taken into account. Panel of judges awards points for the take-off technique, the quality of the jump itself and the acrobatic element. The coefficient of difficulty of the jump is also taken into account. During the construction of springboards for acrobatic jumps, quite stringent safety requirements are imposed. The area on which the athletes land must be covered with loose soft snow.

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Ski halfpipe is the new kind discipline in freestyle, which made its debut at the Olympic Games in Sochi.

Freestyle is considered a relatively young winter sport. For the first time it was included in the Olympic program winter games in 1988. In Russia, these competitions are only gaining momentum, while Canadian and American athletes are already actively winning medals. In 2014 Olympic competitions freestyle includes 5 types of disciplines, among which two new ones have appeared - ski halfpipe and ski slopestyle.

What is a ski halfpipe?

The name of this discipline is from literally as "half-pipe" or "half-pipe" (half-pipe). It's just that athletes perform their tricks on freestyle skis on a slope that is a U-shaped bowl. In it, the athlete begins to move from one wall to another, thereby developing speed and height. It is worth noting that this sport is not for freestylers, as here you need to perform tricks with almost every move.

During the competition, each participant goes to show his program twice, that is, he has 2 attempts for a successful rental. Each of the attempts is evaluated by judges who take into account certain tricks and give points. The sum of the points of both attempts is summed up, and the athlete who scores the maximum number of points wins.

In the ski halfpipe, the following types of tricks are evaluated:

Backs: an athlete performs around his axis while in the air;

Grinds: how smoothly and softly the athlete slides along the railing;

Flips: how cleanly the athlete jumps, while he must push off with one ski and land on the other;

Grabs: How long will the skier be able to hold the gripped skis in the air before landing.

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Slopestyle is another new freestyle discipline that made its debut at the Sochi Olympics.

Ski Slopestyle is a relatively new freestyle discipline that has already made a successful debut at the World Championships and has now entered the Olympics. The literal word "slopestyle" means "style of skiing on the slope" (slope style). Currently, this is one of the most spectacular and interesting types of competitions in freestyle.

The essence of the competition is that the athletes perform tricks on the rock, on which various obstacles: rails (railing); jumps and quarterpipes (wall with a ride). Each athlete has two attempts to run in each round. The judges evaluate the quality of the performance of the trick according to the point system. The athlete who gets the best score will be the winner.

To win, it is not enough just to perform the same tricks well, you need to strive for diversity. To demonstrate their level of skill, the freestyler must definitely use each type of obstacle, then the points will be the highest. Till world championship in belongs to the Canadian team, while the Russian team is still a novice in this kind of discipline, but is already actively trying to get into the semifinals and finals of the Olympic Games.

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Freestyle skiing is a type of skiing included in the program of the Winter Olympic Games. Freestyle disciplines are ski acrobatics, mogul, ski cross, ski halfpipe, slopestyle. It is customary to refer to freestyle and new school style. Ski ballet - one of the freestyle disciplines that existed until 1999, was excluded from the programs official competitions.

Organizationally, freestyle is one of the ski types sports, competitions in which are held under the auspices of the International Ski Federation.

The Freestyle World Cup has been played since 1978. In 1986, the first World Cup was held in Tignes, France.

At the Winter Olympics, freestyle was first introduced as an exhibition performance in 1988, at the XV Winter Olympics in Calgary. First Olympic medals in freestyle (in men's and women's mogul) were played at the next Winter Olympics in Albertville. In later years Olympic program freestyle disciplines expanded:

• In 1994 ski acrobatics was added in Lillehammer;
• Ski cross, debuted in Vancouver in 2010;
• In 2014, halfpipe and slopestyle were added to the Sochi Winter Olympics.

Thus, to date Olympic disciplines freestyle are ski acrobatics, mogul, ski cross and slopestyle.

Freestyle appeared in the USSR in the 1970s. On July 1, 1985, a department was created freestyle skiing Sports Committee of the USSR. The first All-Union freestyle competition took place in February 1986, in the vicinity of the village of Gorki. In 1988, an independent USSR Freestyle Federation was created.

Freestyle disciplines

Ski acrobatics

In ski acrobatics, athletes from a specially profiled springboard make a series of two jumps of different complexity. Springboards are of 3 types: large (triple) (height 4.05 meters, slope 70 °); medium (double) (3.5 meters, 65°); small (alto) (2.1 meters, 55 °). The landing mountain must be covered with loose snow. Points are awarded for take-off technique, flight path, figure and landing. 5 judges evaluate the figure (out of 7 points), 2 judges evaluate the landing (out of 3 points). The highest and lowest scores for the flight are discarded, the remaining 3 scores are summed up. From the scores for landing, the average score is derived and multiplied by 3. The resulting amounts for the flight (maximum - 21 points) and landing (maximum - 9 points) are added and multiplied by the element's complexity factor. The winner is determined by the highest number of points. On the this moment, unofficial record is the sum of points - 268.7 (PETERSON Jeret (USA) 11.01.2007).

Mogul

Mogul is a descent along a hilly, hummocky slope. Maneuvering between the hillocks, the athlete constantly turns his legs with skis in one direction or the other. The descent route contains two jumps, on which the skier demonstrates jumps. The performance is evaluated according to the following criteria: the technique of turns, the complexity of jumps and the quality of their execution, as well as the time of descent. A variation is a paired (parallel) mogul, when two athletes follow a parallel course.

Ski cross

Ski cross - a race on a special ski track, which includes snow obstacles in the form of various jumps, waves, and turns. Ski cross competitions are held in two stages. At the first stage, in qualifying, athletes pass the track for a while one at a time. According to the qualification results, athletes are divided into groups of four to participate in the finals. The final races are Olympic scheme, with elimination. The one who comes to the finish line first wins.

Slopestyle

Slopestyle - a series of acrobatic jumps on springboards, pyramids, counterslopes, railings, located sequentially along the entire length of the track. The discipline was included in the program of the 2014 Olympics by the decision of the IOC Executive Board at a meeting in Durban (South Africa) on June 4, 2011.

Ski Halfpipe

Ski halfpipe is a sports discipline in the winter Olympic sport of freestyle (skiing), which consists in skiing down a specially equipped slope called

(English) freestyle skiing) is a type of skiing. Freestyle includes: ski acrobatics, skicross and mogul. Ski ballet, one of the freestyle disciplines that existed until 1999, was excluded from the programs of official competitions. The ballet consisted of a descent along a gentle slope to musical accompaniment with a demonstration of the elements of sliding, steps, rotations, and jumps.

In ski acrobatics, athletes from a specially profiled springboard perform a series of jumps and somersaults of varying complexity. Springboards come in 3 types: large (height 3.5 m, slope 65 °); medium (3.2 m, 63°); small (2.1 m, 55°). The landing mountain must be covered with loose snow. Points are awarded for lift-off technique, flight altitude and length, element shape and landing.

Mogul- this is a descent along a hilly, hummocky slope. Maneuvering between the hillocks, the athlete constantly turns his legs with skis in one direction or the other. The descent route contains two jumps, on which the skier demonstrates jumps. The performance is evaluated according to the following criteria: the technique of turns, the complexity of jumps and the quality of their execution, as well as the time of descent.

Ski cross- a race on a special ski track, which includes snow obstacles in the form of various jumps, waves, and turns. Ski-cross competitions are held in two stages. At the first stage, in qualifying, athletes pass the track for a while one at a time. According to the qualification results, athletes are divided into groups of four to participate in the finals. The final races are held according to the Olympic scheme, with elimination, the winner is the one who comes to the finish line first.

In the middle of the 20th century, in some countries of Central Europe, skiers began to get involved in competition not only in the speed of descending the slopes, but also in the beauty of the movements, turns and other technical elements, as well as rather complex acrobatic exercises.

The freestyle hobby, which originated in Europe and the United States, a short time covered the whole ski world. Amateur local competitions began everywhere, when their rank rose to the level of national championships and international tournaments, then there was a need for unified rules.

In 1966 freestyle first seriously asserted itself as a sport when a major freestyle competition was held in the United States in the city of Attachitash, New Hampshire. In the future, freestyle competitions began to be held more and more often with the participation of athletes from Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Austria, the USA, Canada, France and other countries of Europe and America.

Freestyle has been included in the program of the Winter Olympics since 1992.(men and women) - mogul only, ski acrobatics included since 1994.

Since 1975, annual competitions have been held on freestyle world cup.

In 1979, the International Ski Federation (FIS) created a technical committee for freestyle skiing - and this sport is included in the program of international competitions held under the auspices of the FIS. The Freestyle Technical Committee has developed a unified competition regulation.

In February 1986, France hosted the first world championship in this sport.

At the XV Winter Olympics in Calgary in 1988, demonstration performances demonstrated unique numbers in all types of freestyle.

To our country freestyle came in the 1970s, as an independent sport took shape after 1985. In 1988, an independent USSR Freestyle Federation was created. In the same year, for the first time in the USSR, in Dombai, international freestyle competitions were held, included in the official FIS calendar. Liza Kozhevnikova became the winner of three stages of the World Cup, and Sergey Shchupletsov - in all-around and Vasilisa Semenchuk - in ski acrobatics became the first among Russian freestylers to become world champions on the tracks of the American resort of Wayne.

The Olympic debut of Russian freestyle took place at the Winter Olympics in Calgary (1988). demonstration performances Acrobatics was demonstrated by Vasilisa Semenchuk and Andrey Lissitzky.

The world champions in ski ballet were Elena Batalova in 1995, Oksana Kushchenko in 1997, Natalia Razumovskaya in 1999, and Vasilisa Semenchuk in acrobatic jumps in 1991.