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Why riding and spinning backward are among snowboarding's most valuable skills
Mastering switch riding and multi-directional spins is essential for medal-winning runs at major snowboarding events, according to U.S. coach Rick Bower.
- When the medals are handed out at the Milan Cortina Games, riders who best execute riding switch and multi-direction spins will likely win medals, as these skills are central to slopestyle and big air.
- Shaun White, three-time Olympic gold medalist, developed switch proficiency by riding backward 'all day, every day,' while Chloe Kim, U.S. Olympic halfpipe champion, spent four years mastering switch before winning her second gold four years ago.
- Experts say riding switch feels like throwing with your non-dominant hand on a 22-foot halfpipe wall, while non-expert viewers often can't tell switch runs due to similar board fronts and backs.
- Progression in tricks is already pushing athletes toward back-to-back triple corks and complex flips, and Scotty James says he must go bigger and practise awkward spins to stay competitive before Milan Cortina.
- This season's X Games demonstrated rising rewards for switch and multi-direction spins, with Eileen Gu saying it's "literally called 'unnatural' direction" and "your two sides never feel the same.
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Total News Sources24
Leaning Left3Leaning Right1Center20Last UpdatedBias Distribution83% Center
Bias Distribution
- 83% of the sources are Center
83% Center
13%
C 83%
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