How Moguls Are Judged

M. Keefe Gorman works as a wealth management advisor at Merrill Lynch, where he is the managing director of a wealth management team. Prior to working for Merrill Lynch, Keefe Gorman spent more than a decade competing on the US Pro Mogul Tour and the US Pro Ski Tour.

Professional moguls, a discipline of freestyle skiing that involves a short run down a steep, bumpy hill, includes a judging panel of seven individuals who evaluate a run in terms of turns and air time. A competitor’s total run time is also taken into account when compiling a final score. Half of a run’s score (up to 15 points) is based on turns, which are carefully monitored by five of the seven judges. Turns can be judged in a number of ways, including the competitor’s ability to stay in their initial fall line and maintain proper moguls form while initiating turns. Carving, absorption, and extension are all taken into account as well.

Each moguls run requires the athlete to perform two jumps. Form and degree of difficulty are taken into account when scoring these jumps, resulting in a maximum 7.5 points when the two remaining judges’ air scores are averaged. Speed, the final scoring component, is scored based on a predetermined pace time, or the average time it takes to complete a course. If a rider matches the pace time exactly, they will score 5.625 of a possible 7.5 points. A perfect score in all three categories will result in a final run score of 30 points.