X games taking away some winter sports for 2013 games.

[drjeff]

I agree the final jump in both Skier X and Snowboarder X is moronic, and unnecessarily dangerous, but that snowmobile crap is far more dangerous. Someone is going to be killed on live TV pushing the envelope on that thing soon.

The physics behind it doesn't quite see it that way though. The snowmobiles + riders all weigh roughly the same amount, and reach roughly the same acceleration at the top of the ramp. Then it's all just figuring out the mass, the acceleration and the launch angle and then you can design a landing ramp area where basically all the competitors will be coming down at, and make it both steep and soft enough that even if the sled comes down ontop of the rider (as opposed to the rider coming down ontop of the sled ) the forces get dissapated via the landing angles and while the rider certain can get beat up and break some bones, they're not nearly as unprotected as in the skier/mono x where that landing area is far greater due to the greater variability in the speeds of the competitors hitting the jump. There's far more "constants" in the snowmobile trick jumping than in skier/boarder X.

If I had to guess, I'd bet more people probably watch Badminton than most other summer Olympic sports.

Totally agree on a worldwide basis. Now if they put some of the women's badmitten competitors in outfits say similar to what the women's beach volleyball players wore, then maybe in the US you'd have mega badmitten viewership and far greater "appreciation" for the sport than the stature that it has now in most of the US, a backyard, cookout sport often played with a beer in 1 hand

 

[drjeff]

I believe one skier died this year in a skier x race.They have lost me a viewer as those were my 2 favorite events.Whats more exciting than a chineese downhill?

Yup. Can't remember if he was Swiss or Austrian. I do believe that it was in a world cup skier cross event in Europe

 

[AdironRider]

The physics behind it doesn't quite see it that way though. The snowmobiles + riders all weigh roughly the same amount, and reach roughly the same acceleration at the top of the ramp. Then it's all just figuring out the mass, the acceleration and the launch angle and then you can design a landing ramp area where basically all the competitors will be coming down at, and make it both steep and soft enough that even if the sled comes down ontop of the rider (as opposed to the rider coming down ontop of the sled ) the forces get dissapated via the landing angles and while the rider certain can get beat up and break some bones, they're not nearly as unprotected as in the skier/mono x where that landing area is far greater due to the greater variability in the speeds of the competitors hitting the jump. There's far more "constants" in the snowmobile trick jumping than in skier/boarder X.





Totally agree on a worldwide basis. Now if they put some of the women's badmitten competitors in outfits say similar to what the women's beach volleyball players wore, then maybe in the US you'd have mega badmitten viewership and far greater "appreciation" for the sport than the stature that it has now in most of the US, a backyard, cookout sport often played with a beer in 1 hand

All this over a 60-70 foot straight air in boardercross?

Look at their level of competition, hell even my level of having fun, that jump was nowhere near pushing the limit.

Pros have been launching off 100+ plus kickers for almost 10 years now, and doing double backflips and three plus spins the process.

 

[Hawkshot99]

I used to be obsessed with the X-Games when I was little. All the sports were different, and the majority were decided by the clock, rather than by judges. Over the years they have eliminated every single one of the races, and now it is all judging.

As for the jumps. I can comfortably hit all of the jumps I have seen in the races over the years. The difference is I can do them on MY terms. I am not linking the entire run together, all the while doing it with 5 other guys bumping me at the same time.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Whats more exciting than a chineese downhill?

I would be glued to my television set if Chinese Downhill were a sport.

The physics behind it doesn't quite see it that way though. The snowmobiles + riders all weigh roughly the same amount, and reach roughly the same acceleration at the top of the ramp. Then it's all just figuring out the mass, the acceleration and the launch angle and then you can design a landing ramp area where basically all the competitors will be coming down at, and make it both steep and soft enough that even if the sled comes down ontop of the rider (as opposed to the rider coming down ontop of the sled ) the forces get dissapated via the landing angles and while the rider certain can get beat up and break some bones, they're not nearly as unprotected as in the skier/mono x where that landing area is far greater due to the greater variability in the speeds of the competitors hitting the jump. There's far more "constants" in the snowmobile trick jumping than in skier/boarder X.

That's not true, those snowmachines you're seeing in the Winter X-games are about 450 to 500 pounds each, and the lists of injuries of those nutjobs reads like a horror show. IMO, they're completely insane.

 

[Nick]

Wow missed this earlier, that is pretty big news. That's truly unfortunate. I remember the very first every X-games, it was so enjoyable to watch.

 

[Nick]

As for the jumps. I can comfortably hit all of the jumps I have seen in the races over the years. The difference is I can do them on MY terms. I am not linking the entire run together, all the while doing it with 5 other guys bumping me at the same time.

That's pretty damn impressive. I can't hit any of them. I can ski OVER them, but not the way they are intended to be hit.

 

[Nick]

 

[Glenn]

Flipping a sled takes some serious brass.

Ski-DooDoo....now I need a snowmobile so I can name it that. :lol: