Amen!

Graham said it already

It would be absolutely awesome if Seb, Marc, Chas, Eric, Sage, etc. demand a change. I hate to say it but don’t think that they will though.

Terje is absolutely right. Still, I find it pretty hard to get fired up on this subject. IOC, FIS: yes, they’re a bunch of corrupt bastards lining their own pockets, but they’ve got the power. As long as the FIS continues to do a semi-decent job of running its tour, there’s not a damn thing anyone can do about it.

As for expecting the top riders to boycott… hah!

Lose the chance to represent their country, become a national hero, triple their income, win the biggest prize in sport… over some political bullshit? Why would they?

Terje is right to say Olympic snowboarding should be run by snowboarders. Good luck to the TTR or whoever else steps up to make that a reality. But they have a long way to go.

as great as it would be to see these riders boycott the olympics, there will always be that one rider who will say fuck it and do it. So if the best, and even the next best, boycott then we are left with some random AM representing the sport in front of the world audience. People like J-Sak already made snowboading look like shit on a national audience.

If only a certain red head said what needs to be said.
He can almost single-handedly make enough of a stir by saying the IOC and the FIS aren’t treating snowboarding like it’s own sport to make olympic snowboarding become better.

Maybe (just maybe) he’ll gain enough respect so we forget about the razor scooter thing.

How hard can it be? Just boycott it, many will follow and snowboarding will be better off and might make the IOC reconsider for 2018.
Does he really need another medal, under these circumstances?

When you peel back a few layers, the TTR is no better than the FIS – if you look at the TTR board it looks like a whose who of Burton people. No wonder the Burton global series are six star events despite being lame duck events that competitors despise. If they can ruin the US Open, there is no doubt they can subvert the interests of the sport for Burton’s corporate interests as good or better than the IOC or FIS.

This is the pot calling the kettle black. Stop having people on the board who have direct financial interest in the events and you could gain the respect of REAL riders.

Maybe the FIS will do a better job, because they do not have to consider if they will help maintain/gain marketshare for Burton or DC or anybody else.

Whether it is fat fucks in Geneva or fat cats in Burlington, it is pretty much the two sides, both trying to squeeze their fat fingers into snowboarding’s cookie jar.

Ignorance is bliss, right? Fuck both of them and have an organization that really keeps the riders in mind first. The Althete union may be the only way to make it happen, that is, if the riders are willing to pitch in dues and not submit to corpo sponsors (and interest).

What we need now, is a TTR event staged at exactly the same time the Winter Olympics are on – an event so monumental in its stature, all the best riders would be begging to compete – and TTR events on at the same time as the major FIS qualifiers. The difference with these events is that they’d be competing not only for themselves, but for their countries. The major attraction for the Olympics is that national pride is at stake – and there’s nothing stopping TTR from incorporating this factor into some of their competitions.

Then it’s up to the athletes to decide – a megalomaniacal dictatorship that doesn’t give a crap about them, and imposes all kinds of asinine rules (FIS), or a group consisting of their own people, who actually have their best interests at heart (TTR).

The world press would be all over something like this during the Winter Olympics – it’d easily be the most covered TTR event EVER! Every TV network not willing to pay millions to the IOC would jump at the chance to broadcast an event competing with the Winter Olympics’ major drawcard – it makes for really big news, especially when word gets around that ALL the best athletes are boycotting the FIS/IOC events (that’s what would have to happen to make this work).

It’s also up to the snowboard industry to support their sponsored riders in this decision. Then we’ll see which companies really cares about snowboarding and snowboarders. The flow on effect will be that the average snowboarder will support the companies that they see are supporting snowboarding, and only buy from them. It’s a win-win.

It’s all about money… The solution is to convince the main sponsors of the top riders to agree to boycott the olympics. Riders on their own cannot make it. Swatch, Burton, and co should stand up for them and say no… If sponsors stop throwing money into Olympics, it’s over. They have the final cut. Organise a big meeting with all the biggest sponsors in the snowboarding industry, and have them fight for us at FIS and CIO.

“I know of no other association that organizes several sports. Football is football, hockey is hockey, baseball is baseball, biathlon is shooting and skiing”

The UCI has at least 6 sports and IAAF has like 50 sports.

This is actually pretty funny. Many great comments here, but as it has been for the past 25+ years, snowboarders (yeah YOU) have been a bunch of stupid, blind sheep only concerned about themselves. It’s like politics, if you want to be a bunch of self sustaining, not concerned for the greater good type of people, then you will always go to that contest and step in line because it’s good for you personally. Why would you sacrifice yourself for the greater good of snowboarding? The FIS isn’t too concerned with who the talent is at the events, they just need someone to show up. The lure of sponsorship, fame and recognition are powerful enough to make the majority of riders lose their personal mindset regarding what’s good for everyone and they decide to compete. It’s incredibly simplistic to say “just boycott the Olympics” or “put on an event at the same time”. The Olympics have the biggest infrastructure and they have the PR firepower that can’t be rivaled. Do you really believe the “industry” gives a crap about anything besides selling more of their widgets? Do you really believe the “industry” is so intellectual they can have the foresight and focus to do what’s “right” for snowboarding? It’s so much easier to just tap into an existing infrastructure that provides all the tools an “industry” needs to promote and sell more widgets. You all say it over and over, money drives everything. How can you blame Shaun White without blaming everyone who competes at snowboard events? Don’t they all share the responsibility of keeping the sport on track and moving in a direction that is best for the sport? Or could it be that what’s best for the sport isn’t actually a tangible answer? Maybe what’s best for the sport is to let the power struggle go, see it for what it is, entities just trying to control and profit. Maybe at that point you can understand the simple concept that Shaun White’s gold medal runs and the subsequent publicity have nothing to do with my personal experience of riding snowboards. Where were all of you people in 1984 when all of the contests were developing and there were politics back then? Chantry was there and he’s right, he’s always been there for the riders. But Mike and I both have been powerless time and again when sponsors and organizers decide to make their own rules and the riders are compromised. It happened at the ISF level, the IOC and FIS level and it happens at the TTR level. I don’t think any of these entities are inherently “bad”, but I also don’t believe there is anyone who truly cares about riders enough to sacrifice their own interests. Only individuals such as Chantry and people who volunteer their time to work events and be there for the riders sake seem to never waver. Once people begin to profit from this stuff, all bets are off and I say the control and power goes to the highest bidder. Just a fact. When riders actually want to be serious about this stuff, they will stop relying on any organizational entity and they will form a union and that union will prevent riders from participating in unauthorized events. Even in that case, there would probably be scabs who would cross the picket line and compete. The FIS and IOC would gladly accept them and they would be propped up as top level athletes and heroes. They should have listened to me back in 1989 when I was constantly fighting for the riders. Some of the best insight on this subject is contained in the interviews on http://www.buoloco.com particularly Peter Carlisle’s comments. I can’t wait to go to all of the events this year, whether sanctioned by snowboarders for profit, skiers for profit or television executives for profit. I love all of the events, but I love riding powder by myself the most. I never think about contests or the Olympics when I’m riding a snowboard in powder.

Storm is coming. I’m going to go ride powder.

can’t belive what is going on again and again! Gian-Franco Kasper still sitting in this comissions!!
Riders, please BOYCOTT the Olympics, as long as Snowboarding is treated as a ski discipline!! SPONSORS, please support the riders in this descicion!!!
Rescpect, standing sideways!!!

NK Sports and Terje hit the nail on the head. I will say this. Back in the late 80′s and 90′s when i work for companies and i would attend the SIA show in vegas man I miss those days. I saw then the big corp. bucks coming in and taken over grass roots companies that was for the sport and the riders and turning then into ATM for board members. then once they had a few companies with riders under their belts they moved on to stage to get on boards of assoications and then controls the sports. This was the begin of the end. I only saw two comapnies not sell out you know who they are. Event ther biggest names of riders have fallininto the trap because they needed a easy way to make a living to keep riding. Some got bigger heads than others. But we are talking about millions on the table now and just like every other sport out their. It’s all about who controls the pie. We have lost our way and need to regroup fast before we become no better than the assoles in the NBA fighting over millions of dollars while the fan get bent over on the side line. Do we really want to become a sport of million dollar assholes and cry babies!

Get a new organization together and get it on ESPN! I have seen this problem before and it’s brutal fo’ sho’! Think of it this way if the UFC was given over to a boxing organization, do you think the Ultimate Fighting Championships would be so popular? Probably not! So “Fight the Power”! FIS stands for (Filfthy International Skiers) here to line their own pockets with cash and get snowboarding out of sight and out of mind!
Fight the Power, Powder to the Riders,
Brizzad

Terje- unfortunately you’re clear and consider with your words. And from someone that has stood behind his morals and words to NOT breakdown and join in on the travesty known as Olympic Snowboarding. Those that do participate have ridden the back of you, Terry, Craig, and so many many more that fought for individuality. And to merely develop a career in that an Olympic medal is mire important than the precedent being set is absolutely dishonorable.

Thank you Terje for continuing to stand firmly on your opinion. As always- we all support you and feel the same.

Shawn Frederick
Snowboard Photographer (circa 1986)

yep, as long as the FIS dictates how snowboard competition should be run, we will have tours and events that benefit the upper levels of the FIS and not the grassroots of our sport….snowboarding….. this is why there are hardly any pipe riders left in canada… everything gets dumped into the one event of the olympics and the fundamental levels of our sport get nothing. We barely even have halfpipes in canada these days. These organizations(FIS) will and are sucking the life out of the most important levels of our sport that create progression and how snowboarding should be structured…. snowboarding is just getting eaten up by big $ politicians and the weird IOC posse that rolls around the world like royalty… whats up with those dudes??? hahahahaha… weird0s…

Well said Terje! As a previous FIS and TTR snowboard judge I have to say that working with the TTR always felt real, snowboarder style, whereas workin for the FIS felt like working for a big company of money driven fat c**ts! Sorry to the peeps I concider personel friends who are still under the dictatorship that is FIS. But my friends, if u truly love snowboarding for what it is, then get some balls and tell those fatc**nts to ski the fuck outa town!!!
Now lets get some POW POW :o)

All the Pro shreds have read this,an if not yet,Soon. Terje is like the “Spokesperson” so to speak for snowboarding,an his Legend Status, will know doubt get any Snowboarder to read what has been said.But alot of Pros are more than likely afraid to loose sponsorship.Would Someone like say Travis Rice loose his (sponsors) for saying some Real talk? doubt it . . .

I hope they stand up…

They have snow in Europe?