Big Air: Winter daredevils take over the home of the Braves

ATLANTA (AP) — The crack of the bat has been replaced by the swoosh of skis and snowboards at SunTrust Park.

Gnarly, indeed.

The home of the Atlanta Braves is hosting a Big Air competition this weekend, bringing a hip new winter sport to the heart of the deep South.

A daring group of snowboarders and skiers will be soaring off a 15-story tower that looks like a massive erector set in the middle of the 41,000-seat baseball stadium, making their runs down a treacherous slope covered with 800 tons of artificial snow in a city that rarely experiences the white stuff.

Instead of Freddie Freeman hitting homers, it will be Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard and Co. performing all sorts of twists, flips and gyrations.

“I was so excited,” Gerard said, standing right behind what is normally home plate after practicing Thursday. “Hopefully kids will see this and they'll be like, ‘Mom, dad, can I get a snowboard?’”

U.S. officials believe that bringing a World Cup-sanctioned Big Air event to the Southeast for the first time will expand the popularity of a sport that won raves during its Olympic debut at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games but draws scant attention the rest of the time.

“People will just be super-hyped to see something they've never really seen with their own eyes,” said Mark McMorris, a Canadian snowboarder. “I don't really know what they're going to be able to make of it, but I think it's a pretty eye-opening, wow-factor sport.”

The only Big Air competition at last year's Winter Games was for snowboarders.

The acrobatic skiers will get their own event in 2022 at Beijing, where a massive new tower has already been completed.

Unlike other freestyle events, which require a variety of jumps and moves, Big Air is essentially a single run down a steep slope...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Big-Air-Winter-daredevils-take-over-the-home-of-14919969.php