The Evolving Events of Olympic Freestyle Skiing

A self-employed filmmaker in Boulder, CO, Scott Klumb has made several short films on the subject of autism. Through his production company, SMK Media, Scott Klumb has also made a name for himself capturing freestyle skiers in action.

When freestyle skiing coalesced under the International Ski Federation and debuted as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Olympic Games, it consisted of three events: aerials, moguls, and acrobatic skiing (also known as acro-skiing or ski ballet). Although aerials and moguls are now included in the official Olympic program, the National Olympic Committee dropped acrobatic skiing from competition in 1994.

In addition to aerials and moguls, the racecourse ski-cross event has been an official part of Olympic freestyle skiing competition since 2010. Halfpipe and slopestyle events have been an official part of Olympic freestyle skiing competition since 2014, and a large jump freestyle skiing competition will debut at the 2022 Olympic Games under the name “big air.”