Freestyle Skiing: Joseph Fitzgerald in interview

As part of its weekly interview series, FIS Newsflash interviewed Joseph T. Fitzgerald, FIS Freestyle Coordinator, about the upcoming season.

FIS Newsflash: If you had to describe the new season in a few words, what would they be?

Joe: “Space, Air, Free, Entertainment, Terrain, and Youth”

FIS Newsflash: Please elaborate on each of these words.

Joe: “Space, because we need a lot of space to have good courses. Air and Free, because these are the fundamental things that we are all about. Freestyle Skiing is about getting off of the snow on alpine skis and having the option of many different lines and skills that the competitors can choose from. Entertainment refers to presenting a great show with the best competitors and with interesting competition formats. Terrain, sculptured snow features which allows for great performances in safe environments. Youth, our discipline is about the young skiers from all over the world, getting together to show off their talents and skills to a global audience.”

FIS Newsflash: What’s the most recent “highlight” from Freestyle Skiing we should definitely know about?

Joe: “I would say it is finishing the Southern Hemisphere part of the 2012-2013 World Cup season in New Zealand and Argentina. These competitions allowed skiers from these regions / continents to try and qualify for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. This was a highlight for me.”

FIS Newsflash: As a season highlight, the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in Voss 2013 are less than 100 days away. What's special about Voss?

Joe: “Kari Traa and Norway is what is special about the Voss/Oslo edition of these FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships. Kari is a triple Olympic medal winner in moguls and she also personally supports a ladies moguls team, which will be showing their skills on the slopes of the Voss Fjellandsby Myrkdalen ski resort in March.

Norwegians are so into skiing and winter sports and you can see this when working with them. These championships we become a focal point for the young skiers in Norway, and perhaps start a new tradition in the ski nation to sit alongside their long history in cross-country skiing.”

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