Kanthaugen Freestyle Arena ( no, Kanthaugen Freestyleanlegg) is a

freestyle skiing Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, Mogul Skiing, moguls, Ski Cross, cross, Half-pipe skiing, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics. It can consist of a ...

stadium located in the hillside area of Kanthaugen in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. Opened in 1992, it was built for the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

. The venue consists of three hills—one each for aerials, moguls and

ski ballet Ski ballet is a form of ballet performed on skis. It is very similar to figure skating, combining spins, jumps, and flips in a two-minute routine choreographed to music. It was part of the professional freestyle skiing tours of the 1970s and 1980 ...

. The moguls hill has a capacity for 12,000 spectators while the other two have a 15,000-person capacity. The arena is designated as Norway's national venue for freestyle skiing. It hosted the

FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup The FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup is an annual freestyle skiing competition arranged by the International Ski Federation since 1980. Currently six disciplines are included in world cup: moguls, aerials, ski cross, halfpipe, slopestyle and big ai ...

in 1993 and 1995, and is scheduled to host freestyle skiing and

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

at the

2016 Winter Youth Olympics The 2016 Winter Youth Olympics ( no, Olympiske vinterleker for ungdom 2016; nn, Olympiske vinterleikane for ungdom 2016), officially known as the II Winter Youth Olympic Games, took place in and around Lillehammer, Norway, between 12 February an ...

. The arena is owned by

Lillehammer Olympiapark Lillehammer Olympiapark AS, trading as Olympiaparken, is a company established following the 1994 Winter Olympics to operate the Olympic venues in Lillehammer, Norway. Owned by Lillehammer Municipality, it operates five sports venues: Birke ...

and is located adjacent to the ski jumping hill

Lysgårdsbakken Lysgårdsbakken, officially known as Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena ( no, Lysgårdsbakkene hoppanlegg), is a ski jumping hill in Lillehammer, Norway. It consists of a large hill, with a K-point of 123 and a hill size of 138, and a small hill ...

Construction

Kanthaugen has traditionally served as a recreational area for Lillehammer, and has in particular been used for alpine skiing. In 1946, Norway's then-largest ski lift was installed between

Stampesletta Stampesletta is a multi-use stadium complex in Lillehammer, Norway. Owned and operated by Lillehammer Municipality, it consists of a track and field venue, an artificial turf football field, three natural grass football fields, a gravel field a ...

and Kanthaugen. It remained in use until the late 1970s. At the time of the closing, a local businessman proposed that it be renovated and that a tobogganing slide be built from Kanthaugen to Stampesletta. The plans were met by local opposition and were not carried through. Venue planning started after Lillehammer was awarded the Olympics in 1988. In the bid, Kanthaugen had been envisaged as the site of the sliding center. In 1989, the

Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee The Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee or LOOC was the company responsible for organizing the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. The company was founded on 15 November 1988, after Lillehammer's successful bid to host the games, an ...

(LOOC) proposed that the ski jumping hill and ski stadium instead be located there. Placing venues at Kanthaugen was controversial, as it would result in permanent encroachments in the one of the town's main recreational areas.Fåberg Historielag (1999): 231 Ultimately, only the freestyle arena and ski jump were placed at Kanthaugen, with the ski stadium placed further away from town.Fåberg Historielag (1993): 67 Kanthaugen Freestyle Arena was along with Lysgårdsbakken designed by

Økaw Arkitekter ØKAW Arkitekter is an architecture firm based in Oslo, Norway and established in 1969. As of 2017, partners are Tom Wike, Øystein Midtbø, Rolf Erik Wahlstrøm, Trine Hauge, Hanne Sørbø, Elisabeth Edin Ruge, Tone Andreassen, Nicca Gade Christe ...

. The area development plan was passed in August 1991. The responsibility for construction originally rested on

Lillehammer Municipality Lillehammer Municipality is the local government for Lillehammer, Norway. The administration is located in the town of Lillehammer. The municipality is governed by a 47-member municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a ...

, but LOOC took over responsibility in November 1991.LOOC (III): 23 The decision to include aerials in the Olympic program was made in October 1992. Tore Løkke was selected as the main contractor. Construction cost 20.3 million

Norwegian krone The krone (, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English. It is nominally subdivided into 100 ''� ...

(NOK), of which NOK 3.3 million was paid for by the municipality and NOK 17 million was paid for by LOOC. The venue was completed in the fall of 1992 and was the first freestyle skiing arena in the world to feature a common spectator area for all three event hills. The temporary structures used during the Olympics were completed in December 1993. A

jibbing A terrain park or snow park is an outdoor recreation area containing terrain that allows skiers, snowboarders and snowbikers to perform tricks. Terrain parks have their roots in skateparks and many of the features are common to both. From their ...

park was installed in 2008.

Facilities

The venue consists of three hills, each tailor-made for aerials, moguls and ski ballet, respectively. Above the Olympic hills is a long tobogganing hill which uses the competitive area as a finish. At the base of the hill is the spectator area, which featured temporary

bleacher Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports fields and other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step gaining access to a row ...

s during the Olympics. The spectator capacity for aerials and ski ballet is 15,000, while it is 12,000 for moguls. Also at the foot of the hill is a jury tower overlooking the aerials hill. The venue is equipped with

snowmaking Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...

equipment, a

T-bar lift A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...

and

floodlights A floodlight is a broad-beamed, gas discharge lamp#High-intensity discharge lamps, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is Night game, being held during low-li ...

. The arena is located next to the ski jumping hill Lysgårdsbakken, with which it shares some broadcasting and telecommunications facilities. During the Olympics, of temporary buildings, including tents, were erected at the venue. Kanthaugen is one kilometer (half a mile) east of Lillehammer's town center and owned and operated by Lillehammer Olympiapark, a subsidiary of Lillehammer Municipality.

Events

Canada dominated the men's events during the 1994 Winter Olympics, with

Jean-Luc Brassard Jean-Luc Brassard (born August 24, 1972) is a Canadian freestyle skier, winning the gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics. Brassard has been credited with popularizing the wearing of bright knee pads to show off absorption and leg position fo ...

winning the men's aerials ahead of Russian

Sergey Shupletsov Sergey Borisovich Shupletsov (russian: Сергей Борисович Шуплецов; April 25, 1970 in Chusovoy – July 14, 1995 in La Clusaz) was a Russian freestyle skier and Olympic medalist. He received a silver medal at the 1 ...

. In the men's moguls, Switzerlands's

Andreas Schönbächler Andreas Schönbächler (born 24 April 1966) is a Swiss freestyle skier and Olympic champion. He won a gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olymp ...

won ahead of Canada's

Philippe LaRoche Philippe LaRoche (born December 12, 1966) is a Canadian freestyle skier and Olympic medalist. He received a silver medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, in aerials.Lloyd Langlois Lloyd Langlois (born November 11, 1962) is a Canadian freestyle skier and Olympic medalist. He received a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, in aerials.Stine Lise Hattestad winning the women's moguls ahead of American Liz McIntyre. In the women's aerials,

Lina Cheryazova Lina Anatolyevna Cheryazova (russian: Лина Анатольевна Черязова, 1 November 1968 – 23 March 2019) was an Uzbek freestyle skier who competed in aerials. She won a bronze medal at the 1990 European Championship and a gold ...

won, claiming Uzbekistan's only medal at the Olympiad,LOOC (IV): 65 ahead of Sweden's

Marie Lindgren Marie Lindgren (born 26 March 1970) is a Swedish freestyle skier and Olympic medalist. She received a silver medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, in aerials.Hilde Synnøve Lid Hilde Synnøve Lid (born 18 March 1971) is a Norwegian freestyle skier and Olympic medalist. She won a bronze medal in women's aerials at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.2016 Winter Youth Olympics The 2016 Winter Youth Olympics ( no, Olympiske vinterleker for ungdom 2016; nn, Olympiske vinterleikane for ungdom 2016), officially known as the II Winter Youth Olympic Games, took place in and around Lillehammer, Norway, between 12 February an ...

, with Kanthaugen to host freestyle skiing and

half-pipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ramp ...

. The venue is designated a Norway's national freestyle skiing venue and is the main training ground for the national team. The area around the venue is a popular recreational area for Lillehammer. Since 1995, Lillehammer Olympiapark has rented out

toboggan A toboggan is a simple sled traditionally used by children. It is also a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada. In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people (often children) down a hill o ...

s for use in the hill, including use of the ski lift.

References

;Bibliography * * * * ;Notes {{good article Venues of the 1994 Winter Olympics Venues of the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics Olympic freestyle skiing venues Ski areas and resorts in Norway Sports venues in Lillehammer 1992 establishments in Norway Freestyle skiing in Norway