US freestyle!

[brett]

everything gets repetetive. thats why sports have to constantly evolve. it seems that surf is what is the cutting edge today but eventually it wil have to lead to somewhere else, if the sport lasts that long at all.

 

[parrdaddy]

Parrdaddy- I admire your dedication and obvious passion for Freestyle we share this love.
In 17 years in the sport I have seen many changes the biggest being the cost. Just as an example we trained the rider and built the ski for the 1st British competitor to do a Flat water Roll in competition. That same year he went on to win the British Championships. His engine was stock cylinder, stock milled head, stock carbs, with a FP, reeds and a prop. He had footholds but the pole and hood were also stock. This was approx seven years ago which gives you an idea of how quickly things are changing. Incidentally the name of the guy was Alex Fielder, Jordan Fielders older brother. These changes have very little to do with riders or the sport in general, it’s because the governing body keeps changing the rules for a few individuals. Rules make it expensive-every year changes are made to class rules- this year aftermarket hulls- the goal posts keep moving. I know times change but this is what is pushing the cost up. Every time I build a ski for a competitor they want it to the max that class will allow, then later down the line have an issue with how much it is costing them.
Don’t get me wrong I’m all for a PRO class with anything goes, this acts as a shop window for our sport, however there has to be a cheaper alternative for those who simply cannot afford it.

Some of you are suggesting taking it to the surf; I don’t really see the difference. Yes a big wave will make a flip easier but it will be higher with 1000cc than with 701cc, so you are back to square 1.

Over here a few good friends of mine also didn’t like the way competitive Freestyle was going so took it on them to organise their own tour. This is called the Freestyle National Tour. The FNT is not affiliated to the governing bodies (IJSBA, JSRA) and therefore can make it’s own rules and class limits. Cost and fun are the two main factors, these are weekend events held at different locations around the UK. The AM class takes place on the Saturday and PRO on Sunday. Nobody cares how bad you are or how little you spend on your ski and there are always lots of people to help you out if need be. Prizes for the event are covered by sponsors such as ourselves, and can vary from a simple can of oil, upwards. The cost of the event itself is covered by entry fees and the generosity of the people running the lake where the event takes place.
This does nothing whatsoever to give you National/British ranking as it is not affiliated. However many people including Ant Burgess and Spencer Wells have used this as a stepping stone to bigger things. There are riders competing in this tour for experience that have every intention of working their way up to competing in the British Championships to gain a place at WF equally there are riders that want a little bit of fun.

Hope this inspires somebody.

Chris

Now that's some good info right there :Banane35: I know several people in the US have tossed around the idea of starting a freestyle tour, and several years back there was one, but it didn't last (I'm not exactly sure why, maybe somebody on here knows better and can tell us?). I honestly believe cost is the MAJOR road block for most people, at WF I think there were more aftermarket skis on the beach than OEM during Am Freestyle. So apparently EME 800 is leagel for Am, that's all fine and dandy for the rich kids, but it's complete crap in my eyes......the ski is $24,000! And for the IJSBA to say it is homologated is crap too, homologation should be reserved for OEMs only, otherwise any aftermarket hull company interested can have their hulls deemed legal for Am competition.....which drives the cost up further.

I knew this thread would bring out some good ideas, but freestyle in general has so many different problems with each individual (judging criteria, cost, surf v. flat, no new tricks, no new talent, they still make those, etc.) it seems almost impossible to change. I guess I need to get in contact with the IJSBA and APBA to see what we can do :chairshot:

 

[parrdaddy]

Maybe we should make a rule where each racer must compete in freestyle at least once per season.....then we may find some new peeps, or have something to laugh about :biggrin:

 

[headshock]

Did you just type that with a straight face? What wins a surf competition? It's going BIG and CLEAN on a handful of standard tricks. Backflips, Barrel rolls, reentries, hard carving, etc. The waves might always be different, but the tricks are the same. Winning freestyle is the exact same thing. You have to go BIG and CLEAN on a handful of standard tricks. The amplitude might be different, but it's basically the same deal. I'll give you that it can be much cheaper to be competitive in the surf, but they're both quite repetitive.

x2

 

[Waste Land]

Move it to the surf?

more weather problems, surf problems? too big way, too little, none.......

or the fact that not everyone can ride surf on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis. Surf is 7/8 hour drive for me one way. However anybody can practice flat water anywhere.

the whole point of a surf comp is getting away from the same old repetitive stuff..ie 10 backflips from each guy..in the surf there are endless possibilities..every air or turn is different cause every wave is different

Just at repeatitive.....wave riding....backflip....barrell roll....nosestab.....reentry

All with tweaks to each.

There are actually more tricks in the flat water arsenal but pros are getting lamer with runs.

 

[FL-cracker]

The repetitive surf crap you guys speak of will forever change at Daytona 08. You want to see new tricks? You will see something new, I hope the Life Guard Honda's are ready for duty during best trick. :biggrin: It could be a flop, but Im going for it.

 

[madscientist]

being fairly new myself i believe that with my minimum investments an a set of cohones i will be able to pull some decent respect as the x2 rider i am.

personality and charisma is the key as well as character in any sport.


increases in venues and videos will bring more interest to our sports.

send video clips too direct tv for use on their 101 channel which shows videos and xtream sports

to much talk not enough action

every year there is talk of gracing the horizens at the x games w our presence

just do it

imagine 150 yards out from the surf comp some one starts throwing rolls and backies. PEOPLE WILL NOTICE AND OPEN DOORS

publicity is key find local sponsors to support the freerides w/ radio avertisement and in turn we bring large groups to their towns in the slow tourist seasons to help stablize their economies.

even our group going to daytona could be used as representation if documented well to sell more of these events to other locations.

lots of shops don't or won't do modifications because of said liabilities or it just does not interest them.

for example firestone a nation wide company will not do alignments on anything i own because of modified suspensions or jus the make of the car. GO FIGURE THEY JUST DON'T WANT MY BUSINESS ( the lack of interest or just lack of skill) cheep labor theroy or possibly just deemed not wort it

i've thrown and been to car stereo competitions that have 30 competitors and those w/ 300. the turn out was well determined by publicity and the competitive nature of mankind.

just my $.02 as a fund deprived freerider and thrill seeker

 

[cambo au]

i have not read every post in this thread but i am going to give my two cents i watched pro freestyle at the worlds and thought it was going to be a heap better than what it was
in my opinion i think flatwater freestyle needs to be judged half arial tricks and half hood tricks i know that heaps of people on here are going to say hood tricks are lame well i disagree that is the grass roots of freestyle and there is more than two hood tricks(barrel roll and back flip) when parr had problems with his ski he resorted to climbing all over the ski it was acctually in my eyes good to see that he had it all in his box of tricks what would any one else have done gone in to shore because there boat was not running right i think if you do freestyle you need to start at the beginner level tricks and work your way up
just my .02 as a spectator at the worlds i think it would have been a lot more enjoyable to watch in stead of every one getting judged on whos boat had the most horsepower to get a higher on the same trick

 

[Big Kahuna]

Freestyle is now flat water freeride........ Or better yet........ lets call it the "Back Flip" Flip Off........