Northstar rider questions slopestyle judging
By Jeffrey Weidel, Examiner
Although Lake Tahoe snowboarder Chas Guldemond loved competing in Sochi, he can’t help but think – what if the judging was easier to understand for competitors?
Guldemond missed the finals after finishing seventh in the semifinals on Saturday, posting a score of 79.75. But Guldemond felt like he performed well, successfully landing a difficult triple cork – three flips. Yet Guldemond, who calls Northstar his home resort, missed out on the top four who advanced to the finals by a full five points.
While not complaining about his individual score, Guldemond said he still isn’t sure what the Olympic judges wanted.
The 2014 Winter Olympics uses judges that are from the International Ski Federation (FIS), and they typically judge World Cup events. Guldemond, a member of the World Snowboard Tour board of directors, believes the tour brings judges in three times a year to update them the state of the sport. But the FIS does not.