Controversy explodes over “horrible, incompetent” snowboard judging during Winter Olympics drawing ex-World Surf League CEO, current President of U.S. Ski & Snowboard Sophie Goldschmidt back into uncomfortable extreme sport fire!

"Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in" etc.

Our World Surf League was, not long ago, ruled by a British sporting executive with a tennis background and zero experience in surf nor skate nor snow. Sophie Goldschmidt was tasked, maybe, with professionalizing the whole business and was successful in erecting the now-famous Wall of Positive Noise as well as hiring the equally now-famous “Backward Fin” Beth Greve.

Goldschmidt was only at the helm for a year? A little more? before quietly casting off and leaving our game in the hands of an ex-Oprah Winfrey executive with a penchant for sparkling white Vans and paddleboards.

Now, it has been argued that one doesn’t need to deeply feel this surfing, to know it in any real way, in order to understand the business side but I’d counter argue that the stumbling, fumbling, bumbling since the Association of Surfing Professionals was re-branded as the World Surf League and stocked with well-educated know-nothings proves otherwise.

Well, as it so happens, Goldschmidt is now President and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboarding, the official national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding in the United States, and, as it were, controversy has erupted over the horrible, incompetent judging during these almost wrapped Beijing Games.

In men’s Slopestyle, for example, Mark McMorris was robbed of a gold medal when the judges blatantly missed winner Max Parrot not grabbing his board and in men’s halfpipe Japan’s Ayumu Hirano performed the most difficult run in snowboarding history and was massively underscored, having to reprise the same run, going even bigger, to convince the judges and stem furious gasps.

Snowboarding, unlike surfing, has no Wall of Positive Noise and Todd Richards, in the booth for NBC, was apoplectic, directly calling out the judges, insisting on multiple replays to show how wrong they got it, generally losing his mind.

It was a great and complete shame for snowboarding, called correctly by Richards who comes from the very core, and snowboarders from all countries lit up social media with the Olympic snowboarders weighing in too.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard is, obviously, not responsible for the judging errors but will certainly feel pressure from its snowboarding constituents to make profound changes or, better, free them from “ski” and allow them to form their own union. Goldschmidt, not core, will be very much in the center dealing with livid extreme sporters firing sling and arrows, calling for blood, just like she was in her surfing days.

I don’t think she enjoyed it then.

I don’t think she will enjoy it now.

“Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in” etc.