Freestyle Skiing

Freestyle Skiing began in the 1930s, when Norwegian skiers began using ski acrobatics in alpine and cross country training. Whilst not considered a competitive sport, professional skiing exhibitions in the United States featured performances of what would later be called freestyle.

Freestyle skiing, or "hotdogging," began to develop further throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s. The free-form sport had few rules, and wasn't without danger.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) recognised freestyle as a sport in 1979 and brought in new regulations regarding certification of athletes and jump techniques in an effort to curb the dangerous elements of the competitions.

The first World Cup series was staged in 1980 and the first World Championships took place in 1986 in Tignes, France. Freestyle skiing was a demonstration event at the Calgary Games in 1988. Mogul skiing was added to the official programme of the Albertville Games in 1992 and aerials was added to the program of the Lillehammer Games in 1994.

Currently there are two main disciplines of Freestyle Skiing; Moguls and Aerials. A new branch of freestyle skiing has recently emerged and is called New school skiing.