Halfpipe World Cup
Genting ski resort, host of 2022 Winter Games, draws oohs, aahs at snowboard event
A dedicated group of foreign professionals proudly surveyed the fruits of their labor on Thursday as the Genting ski resort in Hebei province passed another significant milestone in its 2022 Winter Olympics odyssey.
Bathed in golden mountainside sunshine, spectators oohed and aahed at the spectacular tricks and flips performed during the FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup at the Olympic venue, situated in the Chongli district of Zhangjiakou, Beijing’s co-host city for the Games.
Among the cheering crowd was Tyson Goodrich, a 40-year-old American who led a team of foreign and local staff in building the sevenmeter-deep halfpipe ramp in time for the World Cup event and, ultimately, the Olympics.
“It’s a hard job but the smiles on people’s faces and the fun they enjoyed after riding ramps I built was invaluable,” reflected Goodrich.
“I put my energy into this facility and the next day you have hundreds of people run through it and they get so much enjoyment from it. There are not a lot careers in which one person can give that to so many people.”
Goodrich received an offer to work at Genting on the day Beijing won the right to host the 2022 Games — July 31, 2015.
His CV in course development is second to none, with his most recent Olympic experience coming at the 2014 Sochi Games in Russia, where he built the stopestyle course.
In Chongli, which will host freestyle skiing and snowboarding in 2022, Goodrich has reprised his role as developer-in-chief. After completing the halfpipe in 2016, he and his team revamped the entry ramp and extended the length of the slope this summer to generate more take-off speed for boarders to execute more challenging tricks.
Thumbs-up
On Thursday, World Cup competitors gave the results of that upgrade a resounding thumbs-up.
“Coupled with the good weather today, I feel really satisfied with this halfpipe which is of Olympic caliber,” said Chinese boarder Liu Jiayu after claiming the women’s title with three difficult routines.
“Anybody who knows this sport can tell how good this pipe is from the speed and difficulty of runs we finished today. I really enjoyed riding on it.”
Ultra-perfectionist Goodrich, however, said his best course is always his next one.
“It’s never good enough,” said Goodrich, who started his winter-sports design career at Mount Shasta Ski Park in northern California in 1998.
“We’ve tried to get rid of the mentality of ‘cha bu duo’, which means ‘almost perfect’ in Chinese. “Even the good pipes, if you go down to find the detail, there is still room for improvement no matter what.”
Facilitating the World Cup event is just the beginning for Goodrich and his foreign assistants, who have also been tasked with training up the local staff to maintain and operate the ramps, slopes and pipes.
The language barrier and his pupils’ relative lack of experience have meant that has proved to be an even tougher job than making snow or operating track groomers up to 10 hours a day in the freezing cold.
“It was a learning curve because the skiing industry is very new here,” said snowmaking specialist Chris Walker from New Zealand.
“The lack of experience here is the biggest challenge.”
Still, Goodrich insists his hosts’ work ethic and sheer determination compensate for the skills gap.
“I am truly amazed at how much they just keep going toward their tasks. Even without the right skills they still manage to do it,” Goodrich said of his Chinese colleagues.
Chongli’s rapid rise from its humble beginnings as a rugged and raw mountain county to a state-of-the-art Olympic venue underlines Goodrich’s observations.
In 1996, the only ski facility of note there was a handpaved 160-meter snow ramp. Now it boasts seven major resorts operating 166 ski courses totaling 160 km in length.
And with the Olympics adding extra impetus, Walker is sure Chongli’s ski industry will soon take off in a big way.
“I’ve definitely seen it growing. All the hype of the Olympics really helped get people paying attention to it,” said the 29-year-old.
“And, from where they are now, I’m sure the local staff will be well able to operate the facilities we leave here.”