Freestyle 101: The Basics of Moguls and Aerials

New to Freestyle Skiing? You’re in the right place.

This is the first part of our Freestyle 101 series, where we break down the basics of the sport and guide you through everything you need to know. Our Freestyle 101 guide is designed for anyone curious about one of the most athletic, creative, and gravity-defying disciplines on snow: Moguls and Aerials. Whether you’re new to the sport, discovered it on social media, or have seen a few clips during the Olympics, this is where you can learn what makes freestyle skiing so special — and why it's set to be one of the highlights of Milano Cortina 2026.

The Basics

Freestyle skiing is a judged sport that blends technical precision, acrobatic skill, and athletic courage. Unlike racing disciplines, where the fastest time wins, moguls and aerials reward style, execution, and difficulty. Athletes must not only go fast—they need to do it with control, creativity, and finesse.

In moguls, skiers descend a steep, bumpy slope filled with snow mounds (called moguls) and perform aerial tricks off two jumps placed along the course. They are judged on three criteria:

• Turns (60%) – Precision, rhythm, and control while skiing through the moguls

• Air (20%) – Quality, difficulty, and execution of tricks performed on the jumps

• Speed (20%) – The total time from top to bottom

Dual moguls, a head-to-head version of the event, adds even more excitement, as two athletes ski side-by-side in a knockout format.

In dual moguls, the judging criteria are adjusted to place more emphasis on dynamic performance:

• Turns (50%)

• Air (25%)

• Speed (25%)

This results in a faster-paced, more aggressive format that challenges both skiers in real time.

In aerials, athletes ski down an in-run and launch off a near-vertical ramp to perform high-flying flips and twists before landing on a steep slope. Each jump is judged based on:

• Air (20%) – The quality and precision of the take-off

• Form (50%) – Execution of the trick in the air, including body position, style, and control

• Landing (30%) – Stability and accuracy upon landing

Each of these scores is then multiplied by the Degree of Difficulty (DD)—a pre-assigned value based on the complexity and risk level of the trick—to calculate the final score. The higher the DD, the more potential an athlete has to boost their total, but also the more difficult it is to execute cleanly.

A team version of aerials, known as Mixed Team Aerials, features three athletes per team, with at least one of each gender—either two men and one woman, or two women and one man. Each athlete performs one jump, and the scores are combined to determine the team's overall result.

A Sport with Style — and a Deep History

Freestyle skiing began not as a formal discipline, but as a series of bold, individual experiments—athletes testing gravity and convention on snowy slopes, long before the term “freestyle” entered the lexicon.

The primary attraction of skiing has always been the freedom of movement, constant changes in speed and direction, and that special sensation of sliding along an almost frictionless surface out in nature.

One of the earliest documented acts of ski acrobatics occurred in 1908, when John Rudd, a Duluth native with a background in circus performance, performed front flips at the National Championship Ski Jumping Tournament in Minnesota. Launching off the jump hill with knees tucked, Rudd completed clean somersaults to the amazement of spectators. Though more stunt than sport at the time, his aerial display is now recognized as one of the first recorded instances of freestyle movement on skis.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic in the 1930s, Swedish ski innovator Olle Rimfors was pushing the boundaries of skiing in his own way. After studying modern alpine technique under Hannes Schneider in Austria, Rimfors returned to Sweden where he established the country’s first alpine ski school. He emphasized precision and form but also championed expression—developing choreographed skiing displays, experimenting with terrain, and even performing front flips well into his later years. His contributions to technique, instruction, and equipment laid a foundation for the expressive side of skiing that freestyle would later embrace.

By the 1950s, Olympic alpine champion Stein Eriksen helped elevate ski acrobatics further, especially in North America. Known for his fluid style and graceful front flips off natural features, Eriksen was instrumental in popularizing early forms of aerials, and in demonstrating that skiing could be both athletic and artistic.

Competitive freestyle skiing truly began to take shape in the 1960s, reflecting a wider cultural shift. The sport’s emergence mirrored the era’s spirit of rebellion and creativity, breaking away from the strict formality of alpine racing. The first known freestyle meet is believed to have taken place in Attitash, New Hampshire, in 1966, where skiers were judged on both "compulsory form" and free-form stunt runs. These early events quickly attracted skiers eager to show both skill and style.

A pivotal moment came in 1969, when Waterville Valley Resort in New Hampshire launched the nation’s first freestyle instruction program—earning the title “Birthplace of Freestyle Skiing.” Just one year later, it hosted the first National Open Championships of Freestyle Skiing, helping define the sport’s early format and community.

In late 1970, a now-legendary conversation between Tom Corcoran, Olympian and founder of Waterville Valley, and Doug Pfeiffer, editor of Skiing magazine, sparked a friendly but decisive debate: who were the best skiers—alpine racers or those skiing bumps and performing aerial tricks? Pfeiffer challenged Corcoran to showcase the freestylers. The result was the 1971 Hot Dog Competition: National Championships of Exhibition Skiing, held at Waterville Valley, and widely recognized as the first major freesstyle competition. Among the competitors was Wayne Wong, who became one of the sport’s most pivotal early figures and later served as freestyle head coach at Waterville.

That same year, 1971, also saw the launch of the first Professional Freestyle Skiing Competition, which further propelled the sport into the spotlight.

FIS officially recognized freestyle skiing by the end of the 1970s. Safety standards and athlete certification systems were introduced in 1979, followed by the first FIS Freestyle World Cup in 1980. The inaugural Freestyle World Championships were held in 1986 in Tignes, France, showcasing the growing global appeal of the sport.

Freestyle made its Olympic debut as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games, featuring moguls, aerials, and ski ballet. Over the next decades, freestyle skiing earned its place in the official Olympic programme:

• 1992 Albertville – Moguls became an official Olympic discipline

• 1994 Lillehammer – Aerials were added to the Olympic programme

• 2022 Beijing – Mixed team aerials made its Olympic debut

• 2026 Milano Cortina – Dual moguls will be included for the first time

While ski ballet was once a crowd favorite and an essential part of early freestyle competitions, it never became an official Olympic discipline and gradually faded from the competitive scene by the early 2000s. Today, moguls, dual moguls, aerials, and aerials team events stand as the core competitive pillars of freestyle skiing—carrying forward its unique blend of expression, technical mastery, and fearless creativity.

The World Cup Scene

The FIS Freestyle World Cup has served as the elite international circuit for moguls and aerials since 1980, offering athletes a season-long platform to compete for points, rankings, and global recognition.

In the early years, the World Cup featured a wide variety of events, including ski ballet and combined formats. Ballet remained part of the circuit until the 1999–2000 season, after which it was discontinued.

Over time, new formats have been introduced to reflect the sport’s evolution and creative spirit:

• Dual Moguls was added to the World Cup circuit in 1995, bringing head-to-head racing and a knockout format to moguls skiing.

• Mixed Team Aerials joined the World Cup in 2016, adding a strategic and collaborative dimension to aerials competition.

• Dual Moguls Mixed Team, introduced in 2022, is the newest addition. This event features male and female athletes competing together in alternating runs and has already proven successful at the FIS Junior World Championships and the Youth Olympic Games.

• A new Aerials Synchro format—where two athletes launch off jumps simultaneously to perform mirrored tricks—has been tested at the Continental Cup level, but has not yet debuted in World Cup competition.

A Global Sport with a Growing Reach

While Freestyle’s roots are in North America, the sport today is truly global. Countries like the United States and Canada continue to lead the way, with long histories of Olympic and World Cup success. Australia has emerged as a major force in recent decades, producing Olympic champions and consistently reaching the podium at the highest level.

China has developed one of the strongest and most consistent aerials programs in the world, with a track record of excellence that spans multiple Olympic cycles. The country's commitment to technical precision and athlete development was especially visible in the lead-up to the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, where Chinese aerialists delivered standout performances.

Japan, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Kazakhstan, and Russia also maintain strong freestyle traditions, and the field continues to grow. With new nations entering Continental Cups and junior circuits each year, the global reach of moguls and aerials has never been broader.

Why It’s Worth Watching 

Freestyle skiing combines raw athleticism, artistic expression, and split-second decision-making. No two runs or jumps are ever the same. It’s a sport where innovation meets consistency, and where high risk brings high reward.

Every event is a spectacle — from the intensity of a dual moguls battle, to the sheer beauty of an aerial triple flip, to the teamwork and drama of a mixed team event. The judging element adds suspense and nuance, while the personalities and flair of the athletes bring the sport to life.

With the road to Milano Cortina 2026 already underway, this upcoming season promises to be packed with defining moments, rising stars, and Olympic dreams taking shape.

The Games in Italy will mark the 10th time freestyle skiing is included as a medal discipline at the Olympic Winter Games—a milestone worth celebrating. And just one year later, in 2027, the sport will mark 50 years since its official recognition by the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Together, these two anniversaries offer a unique moment to both honor freestyle skiing’s evolution and build momentum for where it’s headed next—a sport defined by innovation, expression, and fearless progression.