Mogul skiing is a freestyle

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

competition consisting of one timed run of free skiing on a steep, heavily moguled course, stressing technical turns, aerial maneuvers and speed. Internationally, the sport is contested at the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, and at the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...

. Moguls are a series of bumps on a

piste A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French

formed when skiers push snow into mounds as they do sharp turns. This tends to happen naturally as skiers use the slope but they can also be constructed artificially. Once formed, a naturally occurring mogul tends to grow as skiers follow similar paths around it, further deepening the surrounding grooves known as troughs. Since skiing tends to be a series of linked turns, moguls form together to create a bump field. The term "mogul" is from the Bavarian/

Austrian German Austrian German (), Austrian Standard German (ASG), Standard Austrian German (), Austrian High German (), or simply just Austrian (), is the variety of Standard German written and spoken in Austria and South Tyrol. It has the highest prestige ( ...

word ''Mugel'', meaning "mound, hillock".

Competition

The first competition involving mogul skiing occurred in 1971. The FIS created the Freestyle World Cup Circuit in 1980. The first

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

were held in 1986, and are currently held in odd-numbered years. It was a demonstration sport in freestyle skiing at the 1988 Winter Olympics in

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. It has been a medal event in the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

since

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

. Mogul courses are between 200 and 270 metres with an average slope grade of 26 degrees. The moguls themselves are set approximately 3.5 metres apart. The course includes two small jumps which are used as a take-off for aerial maneuvers. Athletes can perform upright or inverted tricks off these jumps in the course of a competition run. Dual Mogul competition consists of elimination rounds where pairs of competitors compete against each other. Each loser is eliminated and each winner advances to the next round until a final result is achieved.

Scoring

*Turns count for 60% of the score. This is a technical evaluation by judges, including the rhythmic changes in the direction of travel to either side of the

fall line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is noticeable especially the place rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the ...

(the shortest line from start to finish), using an aggressive, controlled technique. The skier should employ carve turns, and should not skid or plow. The head should remain still, facing downhill. The chest should also stay straight and natural. Hands stay in front of the body in a natural position. Pole plants should be light and well-timed. * Air (jumps) counts for 20% of the score. Air is scored in two parts: form and difficulty. Jumps include

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, loops, rotations (helicopters/360,720), and upright jumps such as a spread eagle. * Speed counts for 20% of the score. Competitors receive a full score for speed at 10.3 m/s for women and 11.8 m/s for men.https://assets.fis-ski.com/f/252177/x/e350153441/sbfsfk-new-icr-spring-2024_05-08-2024.pdf

References

{{skiing Games and sports introduced in 1971 Freestyle skiing

Competition

Scoring

See also

References