SOCHI 2014 – Athletes call Olympic Halfpipe “Garbage”

Mountainwatch | Alex Horvath

The Sochi 2014 games are dealing with another spate of controversy after top pipe athletes Torah Bright and Danny Davis openly trashed the state of the halfpipe to be used for tonight’s qualifying events.

Both Torah and Danny had the chance to ride it during last night’s practice session and were unimpressed to say the least… Danny even said it is “Garbage”.

Torah’s coach, and older brother, Benny Bright was most vocal in speaking out against the standard of the halfpipe, he told the SMH:

“I’ve come to the point of being diplomatic, but it’s actually very shit. It’s come down to the final hour, the final minute. The men’s contest is going live to the world and the Federation of International Skiing has let ego get in the way of a good contest. They barely got it [right] in Vancouver [at the Olympics in 2010] and they haven’t got it here. So f*k. Surprise surprise. It is dangerous at the moment. You’ve got a mixed event going on – moguls and halfpipe together – so it’s f**ing retarded.”

There has been a lot of discussion amongst the world’s media about who is to blame for the sub-par conditions, and most of the finger-pointing is directed at the IOC and FIS. USA-based Snowpark Technologies (SPT) – headed by X Games pipe builder Frank Wells – are widely recognised as the best pipe and park builders in the world. So the question should be asked, why weren’t they contracted to build the Olympic facilities? Warm temperatures over the last few days certainly haven’t helped efforts to cut an Olympic standard halfpipe, and it is the warm slushy snow that’s causing problems. Tonight’s forecast is calling for rain, so time will tell if the problem worsens.

FIS official Uwe Beir has announced in a statement that the facilities are being improved, and assured the media that the pipe would be ready for tonight’s finals. But as Benny Bright rightly stated, perhaps it’s time to give snowboarding back to the snowboarders?