/Does Flip While Fliping

Freestyle skiing was a major part of the pro waterski tour until the tour fell on hard times and died off back in the '90s. This stuff is awesome to watch and the crowds loved it. Our current "pro tour", if you want to call it a pro tour, focuses way to much on slalom skiing. Don't get me wrong I love slalom but damn does it get boring to watch after a few hours. The way jump has been coming back is great to see, but tricks has been completely ignored which is very sad to see.

Freestyle though saw its first cash prize event at the Malibu open last year and this year the word is there will be two freestyle events. The cash is sparse and it is unlikely that the likes of Matt May or Dave Reinhart would pick up their skis for anything less then about $10,000 in prize money. Even without the top names from the old tour showing up these events will still be cool to see. At the Malibu Open last year the winner landed a solid two ski mobe and a one ski gainer, while the other competitors threw many one ski gainers and front flips. There was even a 16 year old kid landing solid gainers and fronts and coming up just short on a mobe, brings to mind the young Matt May.

This year the freestyle event is returning to the Malibu Open and has added another event at the LA Night Jam. Freestyle Jumping in the south has whole heartadly embraced the new twin tip skis and this has led to some sweet new tricks being introduced. Tricks like hitting the ramp backwards and doing a laid out back flip landing backwards or 540 degree spinning front flips. The CRB crew will be attending the LA Night Jam as we have the past 3 years. Bennetts and the crew running the Night Jam are forward thinking and def bringing skiing back to where it needs to be.