Sochi 2014: how to win at snowboard slopestyle – graphic
It may be the newest of the Winter Olympic sports, but Team GB’s Sochi snowboard slopestyle team contains two medal prospects. Our infographic explains what you have to do to win.
There are five snowboarding events, respectively, for men and women at Sochi 2014, producing 10 gold medals. Among those are the male and female slopestyle events.
In snowboard slopestyle, athletes are scored for their technical proficiency on, and the use they make of, the rails, ridges and jumps on the course.
Height gained on jumps is also a factor. Failure to land cleanly results in the competitor being marked down. New “tricks” generally score high.
Slopestyle begins with a qualification round, from which 22 advance, the top eight progressing straight to the final.
Jenny Jones, a two-times Winter X Games slopestyle champion, is among British medal hopes. Snowboard slopestyle was not on the programme in the 2010 Vancouver Games, so she was unable to compete.
Billy Morgan, another medal prospect, came fourth in the pre-Olympic season World Championships.
Read more: Channel 4 News coverage of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics