It was simply too big for some of the younger riders who compete at this level.
But the story actually started before the Big Air.
“During qualification, the weather got really bad, so we only had one hour of practice.
Because some skiers had done their first run, they agreed to do it for the second run.
It was so sketchy.
Honestly, it was just dangerous.
Not just the girls, this is about the boys as well.
“It was should be about safety first, not about fairness.”
“On slope finals day the weather was beautiful.
So I asked a couple of people if they knew which jump theyd use for Big Air?
No one really knew because it hadnt been decided yet.”
“The girls at European Cup level aren’t at the top level yet.
I dont care what throw in of jump I hit, and I can hit it switch.
I know how this works.
A 17-year-old girl does not necessarily have that experience.
I had a couple of girls watch me because they didnt really know how to do it.”
“One of the girls tried to take it switch during training and knuckled the jump.
I was on the lift and it was a horrific looking crash.
She hit her head; I think she had a concussion.
It was horrendous to watch.”
Just think about athlete safety?
That should always be the number one priority.
Its partly their responsibility to look out for the young girls.
One told her she was new to the sport and “too scared to say anything.
I didn’t really know what to say to my coach.
It forced the level of skiing to be considerably lower than what it could have been.
It didnt need to be much smaller, just safe.
Im not asking to use the baby jump.
There were so many other coaches, who were obviously part of the team captain meeting.
Its their responsibility to look out for the young girls.”
We want to hear your opinion on what should be done for comps in the future.
Should there be a choice of jumps?
If so, how should judges compare size of feature vs technicality of tricks?
