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by Jason Dow
Today's performance was important. Imagine, the fate of Olympic gold,
silver, and bronze medals lying 20% in your hands. As one of five
judges, the USA rotations judge, here I am deciding who rules the most
out of 62 of the worlds' best riders. Let me rephrase that..... that
is..... who of the best riders who are here on this day, and who can put
together the best two combined halfpipe performances on this day. I'm
not here to decide who I think is the best from those videos I saw last
week, or that time when so and so did this in some other contest. All I
see and hear in my little judges' cubicle, overlooking the sickest
halfpipe I have ever seen and rode, is a halfpipe run and a bib number.
That's the mode I am responsible for, and that it where I was. Being
here to provide snowboarding and my role models with a fair evaluation,
is challenging and fun. Unfortunately it's also one of the hardest and
most pressure undertaking jobs in snowboarding.
The sport I love and have tried to give to as much as possible in return,
is here, right now. I have not met anyone who isn't having a good time,
despite every negative or challenging moment. At one level, this is just
another contest; at another, it's about pride in your country; at
another, it's just a money scamming farce.... heck, the world has always
has been ruled by money and power, and this just another
manifestation.... but for all those involved here in the spirit of
competition.... at least it's a damn good time, and everyone else can
just watch.
Everyone was going off. This is the hardest contest ever to judge or to
ride in... the stakes are pretty high, and after recently fondling the
Gold medal of Nicola Thost.... heck, I want one too. Fabien was going
super fucking high. Canadian Jean-Baptiste Charlet was spinning so
grabbingly perfectly it was truly insane to watch. Simmens' first run
was sick. The Fins were solid. The French were solid. Some stuck
everything. Some slammed on everything. Todd Richards was at his best,
but crashing too much. Michelle Taggert had the same problem. Shannon
Dunn was flawless, and then missed the Gold by one speed check. Ross
Powers was super strong and consistent. Americans were so close to so
much, but then again, so was everyone else. Almost everyone in the
contest had potential for gold. The skill level was amazing.
One note, if you saw it on T.V., you have no idea how sick these riders
really are... the coverage was of little justice, and CBS sucked. The
effect of being there and standing on the edge of the halfpipe, has
little equal. Watching Daniel Franck come flying out of an icy tube,
soar ten feet high and over 20 feet long, all while McTwisting over your
head to a perfect landing... is truly insane. In the end, the contest
went smoothly, and the judging was questionable. The results were
tweaked, people bewildered, some stoked, and some down right pissed. But
all in all, ask yourself, was snowboarding really ready for the Olympics?
Did anyone really expect perfect results. Was a solid judging system
implemented? What is the best way to decide out of 65 riders... who is
the best? I've been doing this for six years and I still don't know.
Personally, I don't think any judged contest should be an Olimpdick
event. Judged contests should all be jam format and the participants of
the contest should vote and determine the winners. Look at Ice
Dancing... does that deserve to be an "Olympic Event"? Is this what the
Greeks had in mind? Nope. Wasn't it about fighting, ass kicking,
fastest and strongest? The Olympics should be about timed events and
boarder cross..... we're talking about real competition... where
results are solely determined by the skill of the athlete... not by a
panel of "Judges." I came in and agreed to be a part of this, wanted to
be a part of this, and was a part of this. Now, I don't feel like it was
as fair or as monumental for snowboarding as I imagined it could be. The
Olamepics is all about money, power, and Ice Dancing... why isn't Square
Dancing in the Summer Olympics? To many old lame IOC poseurs, not enough
ammunition. Terje is the man.
Snowboarding; make the most of it to your own satisfaction, and be the
king.
Training Day 2 (2-8-98)
The US team finally gets their first test run in the Olympic Pipe. Ross,
Ron, and Richards all give the thumbs up. Barrett, Taggart, Shannan, and
CB are all smiles and laughs. It seems like any old day at the Olympics
for these US Athletes. However, the pressure and intensity is rising for
those on practice day two. Day one was relaxed and cool but competitors
are starting to get serious about training. The guys were going off this
afternoon. Michealchuck of Canada is sticking his new backside
Rodeo-like 540 and there are rumors of him attempting a double (backflip)
crippler,like the one he pretty muched pulled off at the Bachelor
Halfpipe a couple of weeks ago. Daniel Franck of Norway is solidly
riding, along with a strew of others like Guillaume Chastagnol of France,
Fabien Roher of Switzerland, and Shinichi Watanabe of Japan. Pretty much
everyone was pulling off anything they wanted in this pipe with good
height, too. Average airs are 5-6 feet. The pipe quality is certainly a
factor in making the level of competition so high. The competitor
facilities are ok, a big room to chill with free fruit and drinks and
stuff, but nothing special. Security is not real tight, but kind of
anal. Some competitors' parents showed up to watch, but they wouldn't let
them up the hill without a 24 hour advance security clearance.
Doug Waugh and the pipe dragon will be hard at work tonight to rebuff the
pipe and the competitors singin' some Karaoke or playing in the Sega room
before resting for tomorrow's practice.
First Day of Olympic Practice (2-6-98)
The pipe is perfect. Some thought it would be too steep, but it has
proven to be superior. The pipe rides fast and feels more similar to a
skate ramp. Stine Brun Kjeldas's evaluation..."Wow, I wish all pipes
could be this good." Daniel Frank, was going off, tossing 7's, McTwists,
and 8 foot airs just to warm up. Canadians, Swedes, Norwegians,
Japanese, and the rest of the worlds' top riders were ripping it up.
But, where the heck was the US Team? Apparently, due to the last minute
selection process of the Mammoth Grand Prix combined with a storm-delayed
plane departure, the US team didn't make it to practice. Bummer, thay
missed out on riding a really nice pipe. Good thing practice is also on
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Cool, no big deal. Hopefully the
weather holds and they will all be beautiful sunny days like today.
Saturday is the opening cerimony, and Sunday is back to practice. Then
everyone can continue stratagizing to win a gold medal. Overall
assessment of the Olympics so far, no complaints and all smiles.
Pipe Inspection (2-4-98)
Today the judges, along with a whole bunch of Olympic organizers, TD's,
officials, and translators went to inspect the Olympic halfpipe. Ahhh,
what image of grandeur do those words hold: "The Olympic Halfpipe".
Well, put all that super fantasy out of your mind and just picture that
same old ditch that you saw at any other old contest. It's a Pipe Dragon
shaped pipe made to specifications as dictated by the FIS rule book.
Which hey, who knows if that's what everyone wants to ride. Every
competitor wants something different. So I suppose they just made some
sort of compromise on the whole thing. The surrounding structures are
amazing. Big 'ol grandstands and media/competition staff/judges
facilities. Back to the pipe itself. First note: it looks super fast.
With an 18 degree pitch the damn thing is sure to chuck some riders
pretty high. The trick will be to see if everyone can land and hit the
next wall under enough control not to shoot right into the stratosphere
and all the way back into an icy flatbottom. My evaluation though, so
far, is positive. Everyone will get a ton of hits and the world will get
to see some pretty sick riding. We'll find out more on Friday, the first
day of pipe practice.
Travel day (2-3-98)
Upon arriving at Narita airport, I am wrangled up into one of many groups
of "Olympic people." These are mostly a bunch of square media robots who
complain about everything from their bento (box lunch) to how everything
here "sure is different from Missouri." The number of athletes are
dwarfed by the swarms of, ironically, "important people." Your badge, or
credential that you wear around your neck is looked upon and status
judged upon by all others. Of course to all the "important people," "A",
standing for "athlete" is low on the scale since they are only able to
access some areas..... but if you have the ultimate IOC badge, you are an
all accessing God. So many old ski suit poseurs, so little ammunition.
All are bussed to Nagano and snowboarders to the Shigakogen Prince Hotel.
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