SOCHI, Russia, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Snowboarders competing on the halfpipe want the pipe re-cut, due to conditions that are causing an unusual amount of falls.
The halfpipe is reported to have significant bumps on the transitions and excessive sugary snow on the bottom. The competitors are hoping that pipe cutter John Melville can salvage the pipe before their events. Gold medalist Torah Bright cut her training session early after a crash and said, "It's just really harsh conditions out there."
A lot of fingers are pointing at different reasons for the bad conditions on the half-pipe. Melville says that it was a television broadcaster-prompted delay, and he couldn't treat the pipe properly because the outlets did not want the noise of the cutters in the background.
American rider Danny Davis said the halfpipe was "garbage" because the IOC did not use Snowpark Technologies, the industry leader in pipe-cutting. The big issue that no one can really control is the warm weather, which is causing unfavorable conditions in the snow and ice.
The halfpipe cutting team stayed up until 9 a.m. Monday morning trying to fix it and will try to improve the conditions further before the men's finals in less than 24 hours.
[Yahoo]
