Thing is, you’ve only got to look at the fact Red Bull have just dropped half a mill on building Shaun White his own private half pipe in the Colorado wilderness (so he can “push the sport further”) to realise that those two worlds are light years apart… especially when, instead of a drag lift, he prefers the combo of private chopper and skidoo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....h2JC_XA

Does it really ‘push the sport forward’ if Shaun White hammers his pipe non-stop (easy tiger!) until he perfects the, what... triple cork… quadruple cork? Not for me it doesn’t. Granted, it’s an intriguing spectacle to watch on Youtube for a couple of minutes, but how exactly has it ‘raised the bar’ for me and other intermediates out there?

Having said that, if Red Bull wanted to build a private fun park for me and my mates I’m sure I’d be the first man on that chopper… all in the sake of progress of course.

the more established pro sports are finding other plateaus which make them hard to predict what's next in terms of their actual sport development

take rugby where the athletes are becoming bigger, like human battering rams and the skill of the game is sadly on the wane and being replaced by territory advantage, much like american football....or football where the most notable events in recent times are one of the greatest players head butting another player or the most exciting part of the season is actually seeing who has the most money in the transfer window. a simplified view but you get the point hopefully....it's all about winning and the green ($)

snowboarding is young in comparison and the limits of what's possible in landing moves has obviously not been reached, but where else is there to go for these young athletes other than going one better?

as they get older their need for something more fulfilling will take over, then they can go for a freeride with that old sage of the mountains ed andrews (if they're physically still able to)

I'd take a lazy afternoon sessioning a makeshift kicker (read: a shoddy pile of snow plumped down with the back of your board) over watching an event, any day.

Can you name a freesport where progress is not elitist and narrows down the playing field to those who are truly committed and willing to risk death in order to be at the forefront of the sport? Comps have always, and will always, be about spin to win and go big or go home.

Bmxing competitions are all about who can do the biggest spins and most inverted tricks. In rollerblading it is all about triple backflips and flatspins on vert and the biggest spins into and out of grinds and skateboarding well.... whole other level compared to five years ago. In short, all sports are the same.

Also, when have competitions ever 'worked' for anyone on an emotional level?

Competitions have only ever been about two things: Recognition and money. Athletes use these events as a means to an end. Get some sponsors. Get some cash. Plain and simple. The true icons of bmxing, skateboarding and snowboarding have always been the ones in groundbreaking videos that show the viewer something completely unique, not Shawn White murking the world's best in his tender teen years.

There has to be parameters in which to award points and push progression - amplitude, rotations, corks - otherwise you can't hold contests, plus the non-snowboarding public need some kind of calibration to understand the skill level.

Films will always be where artistic free-spirits thrive - rather than the competitively minded - and inspire because they're from a completely different, left brained, sphere: comparing the two is like lumping the X Factor and Radiohead into the same category - or the Tour de France with a Fixed film. Polar opposites of one creative medium.

Agreed: a double cork 10 may seem dull if a person finds it difficult to comprehend, but when you compare tricks from the Air and Style five years ago to today, the standard now is insane. Especially when you realise the guy who took gold was a completely surprising, outsider wildcard, who's riding has improved exponentially in the last year, and who beat all the top five favourites.

P.s. what's with all the swearing?