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| photo: On Snow Magazine http://osmmag.com/freestyle-annd-best-trick-gone-from-x-games-gondee/ |
I was genuinely
surprised to see the press release that winter X Games was cancelling snomo
freestyle. I thought it was already gone.
Recall that in Jan 2013 X Games cancelled the Best Trick event
in freestyle snomo in the wake of Caleb Moore’s death. At the time I had
commented on how it was a good example of risk creep (story here),
and that the glare of the spotlight after Moore’s tragedy had X Games step back
from the edge in what is known in academia as ‘institutional pressure’.
What was left unsaid in the media attention that followed
was that the timed snomo Freestyle event would stay (essentially the same event
that killed Moore, with more jumps strung together in a timed run format). The
2013 freestyle event was “carnage filled” according to the X Games
report. In light of that, new safety gear was developed, including a chest
protector designed to prevent a death such as Moore’s and spectator fencing, to
deal with run-away snowmobiles which had a habit of careening into the
spectators. The 2014 edition of snomo Freestyle, in a made-for-tv moment, was
won by Moore’s brother (story here).
It seemed nothing had changed, as “more sketchy tricks and more potential for
disaster was on full display last year” according to On Snow Magazine.
The plug was finally pulled on snomo freestyle of all shapes
for the 2015 event (new release here).
Again, ESPN claims it is not due to the danger or exposure those events
generate, but are about a move towards ‘speed and style’ events. Hmm. That’s
what they said when they cancelled Best Trick after Moore died, but that
seemingly did not apply to the remaining Freestyle event (which has nothing to
do with ‘speed’). The quotes in the press from the pro sled-heads seems to
imply that they had to rein in their safety systems (hence the new gear and
fencing) in order to be allowed to stay, contrary to the ‘speed and style’ justification.
New events for 2015 were added: snomo snocross and uphill racing.
Like I said, I was surprised to see it still rolling, and
that their non-mention of Freestyle staying in more or less let them off the
hook, or at least turned off the glaring spotlight. I am also surprised that
ESPN gave it another try before pulling the plug. It would have been easy to
run. It does raise the question of what if there was a repeat of Moore’s
accident – the ‘institutional pressure’ would be potentially crippling. If I
were a decision maker there, I don’t think I would chance the reputation of the
whole brand just to keep one event in a line-up of many.