Quote:
Originally Posted by Table 5
I don't understand why they wear the big baggy snowsuits for these freestyle events. I know it may mostly be part of the "culture"... but for ease of movement, and to better show off their form, you'd think they'd wear something more form-fitting.
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There's at least 3 big reasons:
1. Sponsorship is huge for the sport and the athletes. Brands are even more prominent at most events because they don't wear nation-based kit
2. It's practical and necessary. You can't train for hours in the elements throughout winter, including riding chairlifts all day. And the logistics of wearing tights for competition would actually be really complicated. Alpine skiers have one run per session; they wear a parka and bring a bag up the start, and a volunteer brings it down to the bottom. Whereas freestyle events is multiple runs....up/down/up/down/up/down to don on/off/on/off/on/off would just be a mess.
3. Related to the above, crashing in tights would hurt way more, and they crash more frequently than most other sports. A lot of athletes wear various forms of protection, but outerwear is a surprisingly effective first layer of defence. Build that into form-fitting apparel and you'll sacrifice some of the mobility.
In aerials they wear a happy medium of more form-fitting euro style outerwear. Maybe that creeps in at some point, but I don't think it would make a huge difference...and honestly it would probably just look a bit weird to the judges and may serve to expose flaws