What Is Freestyle Skiing? Events, Scoring and Getting Started (2026)

Freestyle Skiing in a Nutshell

Freestyle skiing is the creative, acrobatic side of the sport. Instead of racing the clock through gates like alpine skiing, freestyle skiers are usually judged on tricks, turns and jumps. Today it covers moguls, aerials, ski cross and the park-and-pipe events, and it's one of the biggest sports at the Winter Olympics with 15 medal events in 2026.

Freestyle Disciplines at a Glance

Moguls and Dual Moguls

Moguls skiers race down a steep course of bumps, keeping their skis tight together and their upper body still while their legs absorb each mogul. The course has two jumps where they perform tricks. Under FIS rules, turns count for 60% of the score, air for 20% and speed for 20%.

Dual moguls puts two skiers on parallel courses at once in a knockout format. Turns count for 50%, air 25% and speed 25%, and judges split their points between the two skiers. Dual moguls made its Olympic debut in 2026.

Aerials

Aerialists launch off steep kickers, flying high enough to perform multiple flips and twists, and land on a steep hill about 30 meters long. Judges score air (20%), form (50%) and landing (30%), then multiply the total by the jump's degree of difficulty. Aerialists famously train in summer by jumping into pools from water ramps.

Ski Cross

Ski cross is the one freestyle event that's a straight race. After a timed seeding run, skiers race in heats of four down a course of banked turns, rollers and jumps, and the top finishers advance until the final. It's fast, tactical and often features contact.

Halfpipe, Slopestyle and Big Air

These park-and-pipe events, often called freeskiing, grew out of twin-tip park skiing and its culture.

• Halfpipe: skiers ride a U-shaped channel of snow, launching above the walls for spins, flips and grabs.
• Slopestyle: a course of rails, boxes and jumps, with tricks on each feature.
• Big air: a single huge jump where skiers throw their biggest tricks.

Judges score on difficulty, execution, amplitude (height), variety and progression.

A Short History of Freestyle Skiing

Acrobatic skiing goes back to the early 1930s in Europe, when skiers performed flips and ballet-style moves. Norwegian Olympic champion Stein Eriksen helped popularize aerial tricks around 1950. In the 1960s and 1970s, freestyle exploded in North America as "hot dog" skiers pushed new moves on bumps and jumps.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) recognized freestyle in 1979, according to the Olympics, and launched a World Cup in 1980. Freestyle was a demonstration sport at Calgary 1988 with moguls, aerials and ballet. Ballet (later called acro) was dropped from the Olympic program in 1994.

For the bigger picture, see the history of skiing.

Freestyle at Milano Cortina 2026

Freestyle events were held at Livigno.

Highlights included Eileen Gu's three medals (halfpipe gold and silver in slopestyle and big air), Kingsbury winning the first Olympic dual moguls title, and Italy's one-two finish in men's ski cross.

At the French Alps 2030 Games, freestyle is planned for Serre Chevalier and Montgenèvre, and freeride skiing joins the program.

Freestyle Competitions Beyond the Olympics

• FIS Freestyle World Cup: the season-long circuit, running since 1980, with crystal globes for each discipline.
• FIS Freestyle World Championships: held every two years, awarding world titles in each discipline.
• Invitational events: park-and-pipe skiers also compete at invitational contests such as the X Games.

Canada's Mikaël Kingsbury is the sport's most successful competitor. According to FIS, he won nine straight overall World Cup titles from 2011/12 to 2019/20 and holds the freestyle records for World Championship medals (15) and golds (9). He became the first freestyle skier to reach 100 World Cup wins in January 2026, then won dual moguls gold at Milano Cortina.

Freestyle vs. Freeskiing vs. Freeride

See types of skiing for how these fit with alpine, Nordic and backcountry skiing.

Freestyle Skiing Gear

For recreational park skiing, a twin tip is the key piece: its upturned tail lets you ski and land backward. Pair it with a helmet and goggles, and consider wrist guards and impact shorts while learning.

See our guide to ski helmets for head protection.

How to Start Freestyle Skiing

1. Build a solid base. Be comfortable linking parallel turns on blue runs and controlling your speed. See how to ski.
2. Take a freestyle lesson. Many resorts offer park and freestyle lessons.
3. Learn the park rules. Follow the Park SMART safety program and start on the smallest features.
4. Learn the basics in order. Pops, butters, straight airs, switch skiing and 180s come first; see ski tricks for beginners.
5. Try bumps. Short mogul runs build the leg strength and absorption moguls skiing needs.
6. Join a club. If you want to compete, US Ski & Snowboard clubs and camps are the usual path into freestyle competition.

Is Freestyle Skiing Safe?

Freestyle carries more risk than cruising groomers, because jumps and rails add speed, height and hard surfaces. Most risk comes from going too big too soon. Progress one size at a time, wear a helmet, take an inspection run before hitting any feature, and never stop in a landing zone. Aerial flips should only be learned with qualified coaches, often with water ramps or airbags.

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