Whereas the X Games, where the 17-year-old first sprang to prominence in 2016, previously used a points system, now they will be ranked in order by judges.

Sildaru said the new format complicates things, forcing her to change her approach a couple of days before the event starts.

"The judges put together a ranking after each event, based on their overall impressions. Each skier is thus in front of or behind the others in subsequent events. The skiers themselves don't quite understand how it works. They will have to try to recall what each skier did and whether their previous run was better or not," Sildaru told news portal Delfi (link in Estonian).

This could put competitors in a quandary, said Sildaru.

"If they're in second or third place, an athlete doesn't know what the gap is between them and the first-placed skier," she added.

The Estonian, from Tallinn, has been dominant in the event and the sport in recent years, and won gold in the freeski slopestyle event at the Youth Winter Olympics in Lausanne, Switzerland, last weekend.

Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!