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How does a half-pipe allow snowboarders to gain air for tricks?
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snowboarding
Snowboarder Torah Bright of Australia competing at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
In a half-pipe, snowboarders gain air by utilizing the structure's U-shaped design and the momentum generated by the slope's pitch.
Athletes begin by dropping into the pipe at high speeds. As they ride up the curved wall, the shape of the pipe acts as a slingshot, launching them into the air. By maintaining their trajectory across the flat bottom of the pipe and transitioning up the opposite wall, they are able to repeatedly launch themselves to perform various aerial maneuvers, such as spins and flips, before landing back on the transition.1
The pipe's design, which features walls ranging from 11 to 22 feet high and a consistent downward pitch, allows riders to preserve the necessary speed to execute these tricks throughout their run.1