Comments on: Freeskiing: the bastard child of action sports?

By: global Playboy

global Playboy — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:37:45 +0000

Right now for the first time the guys in half pipe 10 guys that are viewable on tv and if big air or slopestyle incorporates there own stuff off axis dubs that jon olsson created along with double fronts switch double fronts and freestyle aerials complete inverts it will explode but aerialist and freeskiers have to work together to make this happen they have to diversify jumps freestyle aerialist s too many triple backs with 3 to 5 twists need one of those along with a 1080 1260 version along with an off axis double makes it more tv friendly mixes it up and then the guys need to bring in outside skiers remember people when the battle of superstars has happend jonny mosely took 2nd 4 times jeremy bloom won it bodie miller won it and herman maier won it so the athletes are the top athletes in world they just need to market and sell the sports presently inverted aerials is too boring by itself and slopestyle is too boring unless the guys are motivated by judges to mix it up from 1260s to fronts backs switch stuff and off axis dubs

By: Bill Byrne

Bill Byrne — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:33:28 +0000

I won’t predict when the tipping point will be, if there will be a clear one at all, but I think the multi-activity rider is going to be an increasing trend. Look at Nike 6.0 and how they embrace more than one activity with the younger generation.

And personally, I know some people that both ski/snowboard or skate/BMX depending on their mood.

By: Corey Stecker

Corey Stecker — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:51:53 +0000

Here’s a little excerpt of an interview with Kenny Gart, of Specialty Sports Venture (largest chain of specialty ski shops in US). Found on Transworld Business.

How did Ski Rex go on the snowboard front as far as sales?

Ken Gart: As a prelude, because we’re partners with a public company, and they’re totally paranoid about any disclosure of untrue information, I’ll give you some general trends, but I have to be pretty vague. Generally, we’re pleased. Some stores were up, and some stores were down. The snowboard category is definitely more of a challenge than ski. Some of our earlier sales saw some big decreases in snowboard that we didn’t see in ski.

Are you talking last year?
No, I’m talking within the last thirty days. We did a sale in Telluride before Ski Rex. We did a sale in Crested Butte before Ski Rex, so leading up to Labor Day, and snowboard was way down. Ski Rex wasn’t that bad, it was close, but it was still off significantly more than alpine, which I think, I actually talked to the Burton guys, and I think that there’s this whole culture that’s morphing into twin tips and big mountain, a lot of different kind of skis for the younger demographic, and not just snowboarding. They might still be buying snowboard clothing, and they might still be snowboarding, but they’re also buying twin tip [skis]. There’s a cultural shift going on.

Sounds like a tipping point.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:40:41 +0000

Agreed. The good news is that the meeting room in the Montreal Hilton on Sunday was anything but sleepy!

By: Bill Byrne

Bill Byrne — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:28:06 +0000

Unfortunately, skiing is battling back from years of sleeping when it comes to marketing towards the youth. Outside of Dew/X events, most of the coverage on TV still seems to be race focused.

When snowboarding came up, the industry fought for parks and terrain in line with the freestyle leanings that were popular with riders. Skiing could have done the same thing.

My personal opinion is it’s going to take more marketing to push skiing’s heroes to the forefront. Skiing has their own Shaun White’s and Louie Vito’s, but if you don’t push them out, it’ll hard to get noticed among the clutter.

By: Corey Stecker

Corey Stecker — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:57:23 +0000

Great conversation! I think we all need to really realize the impact that this movement is having on the entire wintersport market. Snowboarding business is hemoraging. Snowboarder numbers have plateaued and show significant signs of decrease. Just as snowboarding took skiier numbers away in the 90’s, skiing is now taking away potential snowboarder numbers. Skiing has become cool again for young kids.

So a few points to take from this:
- Ski brands need to recognize this potential, and step up to support it and build the right products for it. Skiing is cool, but many ski brands are not cool….now.
- Rather than stealing numbers from snowboarding and vice versa, the industry MUST look outside the existing clan of participants and invite new blood into the mix.
- For future conferences like this, it is vital that the old guard (the old fat guy’s running some of the companies, tradeshow organizations, and other industry organizations) attend. Otherwise, we are just preaching to the choir.

Bring on the Snow. Never Stop Exploring.

Corey