World's Best Aerial Skiers To Compete in High-Flying Summer Competition in Utah

This weekend, on Saturday, August 24th, a crowd of talented ski aerialists will descend on the Utah Olympic Park (UOP) for the 2024 U.S. Freestyle Ultimate Airwave event, which is free to attend and runs between 12 pm and 5 pm.

No, they won’t ride snow—it’s still August, after all. Instead, the competitors will speed down the UOP water ramps, which feature the artificial stuff. After soaring and twisting through the air, they’ll land softly in a swimming pool.

The event will feature the majority of the Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team aerials athletes alongside international competitors from Argentina, Australia, Switzerland and Canada. A few Olympic medalists, including Ashley Caldwell, Chris Lillis and Justin Schoenefeld, are on the roster.

The U.S. Freestyle Ultimate Airwave competition is part of the FIS Grand Prix World Tour schedule, and was first held last year.

After the competition, attendees can stick around for the Flying Ace Allstars show, an exhibition that will see U.S. athletes throwing world-class aerial maneuvers. Unlike the Freestyle Ultimate Airwave event, tickets are required for the Flying Ace Allstars show. Tickets cost $20 per person.

The UOP is a Designated Official U.S. Olympic Training Site maintained by the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, which sprang up after the 2002 Utah Winter Olympics. According to its website, the non-profit “celebrates the spirit of the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games to inspire active, healthy lifestyles and increase community uses of Utah’s Olympic venues.”

Last summer, professional skier Veronica Paulsen, stopped by the UOP’s ramps to hone in her double backflips. “I saw huge improvements in my double backflip and I can't wait to throw them on snow again soon!” she wrote in the caption of a social media post detailing her trip.

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