INTRODUCTION: Development of expertise in sports is an outcome of a complex process that emerges as dynamic interactions among various sport-specific constraints [1, 2]. The present study investigates the unique pathway to skill acquisition for world-class freeskiers based on the following specific objectives: 1) How world class athletes create the idea for a new big air trick and how they design practice towards mastering the new skill, and 2), How the practice designs align with key skill acquisition principles. METHODS: A qualitative research approach was conducted using semi-structured interviews of 8 world-class freeskiing athletes (6 men and 2 women) and two coaches from the Norwegian National Freeski team. The data was analyzed using the six phases of thematic analysis. RESULTS/DISCUSSION: Athletes and coaches describe the process of mastering new and complex skills to be highly self-organized and individualized, involving co-creation dynamics between athletes and coaches. Athletes describe two main pathways of skill acquisition: replicating a trick done by other athletes and creating entirely new tricks. All athletes and coaches acknowledged that developing new tricks is more challenging, but also as the most prestigious and creative process. Motivations for learning new tricks varies between short-term goals of competitive success to the desire for innovation and creating unique tricks, independent of competition scores. The learning process described by athletes and coaches aligns with an ecological perspective, emphasizing individual differences and a focus on the interaction between the athlete, the environment, and the task. The athletes self-organized training design reflects key skill acquisition principles, even though athletes are not explicitly aware of these principles. Athletes and coaches describe practice activities that progressively enhance specificity and task representativeness, continually challenge their current capabilities through the training principle of overload and incorporate variability to support skill retention and minimize monotony. CONCLUSION: The world class freeskiers describe a systematic and self-organized approach to design and practice to accomplish new and complex skills. While not explicitly aware of the underlying training principles, they inherently and extensively apply training principles such as specificity, overload, individuality, and variability in practice. The elite freeskiers` pathway to world class performance is characterized by a high level of ownership to their individual skill development, facilitated through a self-organized approach. We argue that increasing athletes and coaches` competence around the ecological dynamics of skill acquisition can further improve the quality of practice and reduce risks of injury. Freeskiers` unique and self-organized method of skill acquisition may have broader implications for a more comprehensive understanding of different pathways to world-class performance in other sports.
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