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Canadian freestylers take on the world

Marionettes on Methedrine meet the Twirly Birds Talk about kicking off the New Year with a Twister. Here comes the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships.

Marionettes on Methedrine meet the Twirly Birds

Talk about kicking off the New Year with a Twister. Here comes the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships. For an elite group of Whistler’s alpine skiers who compete in freestyle skiing events, this event has a special resonance. Not only is it time to add more results that will allow them to qualify for the Utah Winter Olympics in 2002, it’s also Canada’s turn to host the World Freestyle Championships. To top it all off, this marks the first time Whistler has hosted a major FIS World Championship event.

Whatever you do, don’t commit the faux pas of confusing freestyle skiing with freeskiing. Freeskiing, or "new school," is what used to be called "extreme skiing," with skiers being judged on radical off-piste descents and big air jumps. As you’ll see in the conversations that follow, freestylers have been known to take part in freeskiing events, as their aerial and bump skiing skills make it easy for them to cross over between the two disciplines.

Freestyle skiing has its roots in the 1960s where it blossomed in three major centres: Aspen, Colorado, Tignes, France, and our very own Whistler Mountain. In those early days an "anything goes" attitude developed that today still permeates the sport, although there are no longer the three-in-one fun events where moguls, ballet, and aerials were performed in one run. Today, 14 years after the first World Championships were held in 1986, freestyle skiing (or ski acrobatique as it’s called in French), has shed its "hotdog" reputation.

Whistler-based Wayne Wong and Nancy Greene were among freestyle’s earliest exponents. In that same tradition, new faces continue to emerge locally, particularly in the mogul (or "bumps") discipline, such as Tami Bradley and Sylvia Kerfoot, Ryan Johnson and Trennon Paynter. These four have taken charge since the retirement of B.C.-based World Cup freestylers such as John Smart, Marc McDonell, Bronwen Thomas, Brad Suey, and Korry Zepick. This year, one notable addition to the West Coast scene is aerialist Andy Capicik, a member of freestyle’s elite New Canadian Air Force.

Pique

caught up with the five freestylers who represent Canada on the Freestyle World Cup tour, and some of whom will be competing at the Freestyle World Ski Championships on Blackcomb when moguls, dual moguls, and aerial contests run between January 17-21. This is the first time that the prestigious meet has been held in Canada, and only the second time its been held outside of Europe.

Last January a new aerial site – dubbed JJ’s, after pioneering freestyle skier Johnny Johnston – was unveiled in a natural amphitheatre on Blackcomb. December’s World Cup aerial event got the new jumps warmed up for the World Championships, considered second only to the Olympics in terms of prestige. Canada has traditionally fielded one of the strongest freestyle teams in the world. There’s very good medal prospects this year in all three disciplines. As an added incentive for skiers to excel, only the top four men and women per nation per discipline are eligible to compete.

Ryan Johnson

made a huge splash during his first year on the Canadian national team. In 1997, he won a gold medal in a World Cup moguls race in Breckenridge, Colorado. It was only his 10th start in the big leagues and he’s been trying to repeat the feat ever since. At the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics he placed seventh in moguls. In November, Johnson returned to competition after almost a year away as a result of a knee injury.

"The injury was almost a good thing," he reflects. "It gave me more time for physical training and mental preparation. I feel stronger this year than ever." Which is a good thing. Canadians face stiff competition to reach the podium, especially from the Finnish men’s squad.

Ryan is one of seven men on this year’s Canadian mogul team. He long ago concluded that mogul skiing presented the most fun, blending as it does the most difficult and challenging aspects of skiing. "I like to jump and race, the two elements which make moguls the most skill-oriented." He’s made 360-degree jumps his trademark. "They’re spectacular, expressive, and not attempted as much by other racers. They also have a higher point value when being scored by judges. For me, a 360 jump has a great spectator appeal, which is just as important to me as judge appeal." Ryan has also been experimenting with the even more difficult "720" manoeuvre, something he may have a chance to attempt at the World Championships on Blackcomb’s steep Davies Dervish run. He highlights a simple equation: steepness plus speed equals pretty wild jumps.

Big air jumps are also synonymous with freeskiing. Ryan doesn’t compete in freeskiing events. The reason is straight forward. The world of freestyle skiing is so competitive that athletes must work flat out to hold their own, let alone improve their ranking, and can’t afford distractions. "To achieve my goals in freestyle I need to keep focused on it exclusively, even though I’m a freeskier at heart. Freestyle skiers are the best all-round performers in the sport. The best new school‚ or freeskiers‚ come to it from a background in moguls."

Ryan acknowledges that "new school" has helped make skiing cool again after having been overshadowed by snowboarding for much of the 1990s. "Freeride is less of an elite level, ultimate performance, and more of a style and expression approach. I see moguls as giving me the best of the best. Moguls provide a scale on which to compare yourself to others, whereas freeskiing is more difficult to judge as skiers have different moves among themselves, which makes it harder to gauge them equally."

One controversial move not presently permitted in official freestyle competitions is a front or back flip, both called inverts. This chafes Johnson. "Organizers say flips are too dangerous. But our sport is going this way. Little kids are doing inverts in terrain parks. Flips would definitely increase the wow‚ factor for spectators. Besides, they aren’t as difficult as some moves already performed, such as 720s."

If anyone is more vocal about allowing skiers to perform flips in mogul competition than Ryan Johnson, it’s his fellow teammate Trennon Paynter . "It’s strange that a sport that started out as radical in the 1970s now has a governing body (the Fédération Internationale de Ski) that sets rules to limit what we do. It’s silly to tell us not to when snowboarders are flipping like mad. The progression in skill is so fast, especially when you have made-for-television events like the X Games spurring on the extreme nature of sports. People want to see us reach our maximum potential."

In summer, Paynter coaches young skiers at freestyle legend John Smart’s Mogul and Freeride Camp held on the Horstman Glacier. He regularly sees teenagers doing flips off moguls. "It’s time for a change," says the 30 year old. "The image of freestyle today is one of people doing the same moves they’ve done for years. That’s why freeskiing is seen as fresh and new. We’re not stupid. We don’t want to hurt ourselves. It would be a big crowd pleaser at the Olympics if we could do a backflip off a top jump." This from a man who recently gained renown in Whistler for doing a somersault with his hang glider, a "scary move" that he doesn’t advise trying without a parachute.

Paynter learned to ski while growing up in Kimberley. He didn’t begin to race professionally as a freestyler until his early 20s. It took him several years of winning mogul races on the provincial, regional, and North American circuits before being selected to the national team three years ago. So far his best World Cup result is a fifth place finish at Blackcomb in 1999. Naturally, he’s enthusiastic to return to action on Blackcomb’s Davies Dervish run with its challenging 28-degree incline. "You have to adopt a different style of skiing on a steep course. It’s all about controlling your speed. It’s very easy to get going too fast."

Most skiers selected to the Canadian freestyle team have to exercise skills of an altogether different kind on their way to the races: fund-raising smarts. Elite skiers receive only $1,100 a month from their sports federation, the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association. That’s only enough to cover the cost of training. When it comes to getting to race venues that stretch all the way from Australia to Austria, it’s up to the racers to pay their way. Sponsorship helps, but for freestyle skiers based in Western Canada, those dollars are harder to find than for their Quebec teammates who enjoy a better atmosphere of support.

"I’d just like to concentrate on racing," says Paynter, currently ranked 11th in the world in moguls, who acknowledges that the rewards reaped by winning an Olympic gold medal will justify all the hardships and sacrifices. "It may not be the best time to be an amateur athlete in Canada, but there are more skiers making a living at it than there used to be. Emotionally, it’s hard to swallow when you see snowboarders getting all the publicity – and the sponsorship. Still, it beats working in a pulp mill. I may not be making tons of money, but I’m living the life of my dreams."

The perception of freestyle skiers living a wonderfully easy life on the World Cup circuit is at odds with reality. At least according to Canada’s leading female mogul skier Tami Bradley , a Vancouverite who recently wed aerialist Andy Capicik . They now make their home in Whistler. "I have a hard time dealing with that image," says Tami, a travel-savvy trouper who estimates that she’s only seen her husband for a total of four or five weeks since their June wedding. "It’s hard living out of a suitcase 10 months of the year. You travel to different countries, get off the plane, on to a tour bus or van, stop at a small resort with one grocery store where you’re stuck for three weeks. You don’t get to see much from a touristy point of view."

Husband Andy nods and adds, "And you’re in the gym constantly. We sacrifice quite a bit. We love it, but..."

Tammy jumps in. "The rewards are great, but it’s definitely not as glam‚ as a lot of people think."

To emphasize the point, Andy adds: "This is a competitive sport and you’ve got to be willing to sacrifice and work hard. And that’s definitely what we do."

With just a year to go to the 2002 Winter Olympics, Andy, currently ranked third in the world in aerials, and Tami, ranked sixth in moguls and eighth in dual moguls, have already qualified for the team that Canada will send to Utah. Their job now is to stay healthy. Which means they won’t be appearing in any freeski competitions any time soon.

"I’d like to go out and freeski," admits Tami, "but I’m definitely a mogul skier. Freeskiing is a fantastic sport, especially for the spectators."

Andy admits to competing in one freeski, or new school, event in Whistler. "That was just to do it, hang out with a lot of these guys who came out of freestyle, and have fun. I actually did fairly well," he deadpans.

Tami laughs. "He won!"

Andy points out that he grew up in freestyle and has dedicated a large portion of his life to go to the Olympics and win the gold medal. "To just jump on the bandwagon and say New school! New school!... it’s not me. As much as I think it’s cool and they’re having a great time doing it – God bless ’em – I’d never give up freestyle for new school."

As for life after the Olympics, Tami animatedly taps the interview table to make a point. "Every fall we both go through the same thing mentally. ‘We’re done after the Olympics,’ but it’s because it’s right before our season starts. We’re packing up, deciding what clothes we’re going to keep for six months in one bag. This is the time I hate. But then January comes around and you get a few good results... and suddenly I can’t ever see myself quitting after the Olympics." She takes a breath. "Then comes the end of the season, and it’s day-to-day."

Andy sums it up for the two veterans. "We’ve been in this a long time."

There’s nothing indecisive about up-and-coming mogul racer Sylvia Kerfoot’s attitude. The 23-year-old Vancouver native only joined the Canadian national team two years ago. So far, her best World Cup result has been a third-place finish in a dual mogul event held at Blackcomb in 1999. This year is crucially important for her to qualify for the 2002 Olympics, her "dream goal." To do that she needs four top-12 results in the two years prior to the Olympics. She finished 11th at Heavenly Valley last year and had a couple of 13th places elsewhere, so she’s confident she can do it.

Kerfoot finds being on the road is a lot of fun, although she wistfully admits that she still misses her family. She’s looking forward to the World Championships. "It’ll be very exciting. I didn’t think I liked competing at home, but I do now. I’ve learned how to stay focused and not get distracted by having my friends around." Her circle includes members of the Sonic Pomegranates, a team she plays for in the Vancouver Ultimate League. As to what makes Sylvia tick, it’s simple: "I love to jump. With my acrobatic background I’m really comfortable in the air."

Sylvia explains the basics of her sport. "You’re trying to find the most direct route down the hill around mounds of snow. There are also two jumps on the run. We ski down, do a jump, ski some more, do another jump, then ski to the bottom. Seven judges award you points based on three different aspects: the technical quality of the skier’s turns counts for 50 per cent, the two upright aerial manoeuvres are another 25 per cent, and your speed counts for 25 per cent. While speed is a factor, the fastest skier across the finish line doesn’t necessarily win. On a regulation 200-metre course, it takes us about 28-to-30 seconds to complete a run."

Mogul skiers look like marionettes on methedrine. Their legs pump furiously back and forth, up and down. "One of the hardest techniques we work on is keeping our upper bodies quiet and using the lower body to gain speed or slow us down," Kerfoot says. She spent the past summer learning triple jumps, complex manoeuvres that are becoming a critical part of competition.

"I’ve been working on daffy-twister-spreads, and triple twisters. A daffy is a split jump where you extend one leg forward and the other backwards. Adding a twister involves bringing your feet back together, then turning them 90 degrees while you keep your upper body facing straight down the hill. Then you bring your feet back to centre and finish off with a spread like a starfish. It all happens so quickly. It’s harder to follow than a simple ski race. Part of what makes freestyle so exciting is that we are doing things differently. And don’t forget... freestyle is what originally encouraged people to start taking big air all over the mountain."



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