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Alpine Skiing
There are five alpine ski events and if you're not familiar with any of them, it may appear confusing. Here is a look at which events make up the alpine portion of the games.
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(Jan. 5, 2002)------TOM: "WELL WHAT'S FUN ABOUT ALPINE SKI RACING IS THE PRECISION."
To the untrained eye, the five different alpine events--the Slalom, the Giant Slalom, the Super G, the Downhill and the Combined--can look very similar. But I assure you, they are NOT.
It's easy to distinguish them, based on the number of gates on the course and the speeds involved.
Let's start out with the "technical" events--The Slalom and Giant Slalom, or "GS."
Tom Kelly/VP, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Assoc.: "WELL THE SLALOM AND THE GIANT SLALOM ARE VERY SIMILAR IN THAT THE SKIERS ARE GOING AROUND A FAIR NUMBER OF GATES. BUT IN THE GS THERE'S LESS GATES, MORE OF A WIDE OPEN COURSE AND HIGHER SPEEDS. SO IF YOU QUANITFY IT SPEEDWISE, MAYBE IN THE GS, 35, 40 MPH MIGHT BE A TOP SPEED."
The slalom hosts speeds of about 25 to 30 mph involving the most gates, gates which are usually slapped out of the way by the skiers.
Tom Kelly/VP, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Assoc: "IN THE SLALOM THE GATES COME A LOT MORE QUICKLY, SPEEDS ARE A LITTLE BIT LOWER, REQUIRES A LOT MORE QUICK, QUICK, QUICK TURNING ACTION THAN THE GS, WHICH IS A SMOOTHER, BROADER TURN THAN THE QUICK, QUICK, QUICK TURN OF THE SLALOM."
Next are the "speed" events--The Downhill and the Super G.
Fewer gates, but much greater speeds than the technical events.
Tom Kelly/VP, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Assoc: "THINK ABOUT THE DOWNHILL. IF YOU'RE A RECREATIONAL SKIER AND YOU'RE GOING REALLY FAST ONE DAY YOU MIGHT BE GOING 25, 30 MPH. THESE GUYS ARE GOING 65, 75 MPH, NO REAL PROTECTION ON THEM, JUST A THIN METAL EDGE HOLDING THEM ON THE SNOW. THAT KIND OF ATHLETICISM TO MAINTAIN THAT OVER A MINTUE 40 COURSE, ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL."
The idea in the speed events is just that--SPEED.
In the Super G, skiers navigate through more gates than the Downhill, but not nearly as many as in the technical events.
The Downhill hosts the fewest gates and highest speeds. So you won't see a whole lot of turning.
Then there is the "Combined" and it's just that--Basically one run of the downhill and one run of the slalom course.
Tom Kelly/VP, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Assoc: "THIS COURSE HERE AT SNOWBASIN WILL BE AN EXCELLENT TEST FOR SKIERS IN THE COMBINED. THEY HAVE TO DO THE HIGH SPEED DOWNHILL AND THEN COME BACK A FEW HOURS LATER AND DO THE TECHNICAL TURNS REQUIRED IN THE SLALOM."
Also check out what type of skis the athletes use. In the speed events, longer skis are used to produce more speed.
In the technical events where more turning is required, the skis have become shorter.
Tom Kelly/VP, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Assoc: "IT USED TO BE THAT SKIS KIND OF CAME UP TO HERE, BUT NOW YOU LOOK AT THESE GUYS AND THE SKIS COME UP TO HERE. AND ONE LITTLE MISTAKE, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH LENGTH IN THAT SKI TO PROTECT YOU. ONE LITTLE MISTAKE AND YOU'RE OFF COURSE. SO THE PRECISION IN THE EVENT IS FAR GREATER THAN IT'S EVER BEEN BEFORE."
Allowing the GS and slalom athletes to make quick carves around and over the gates.
No matter which alpine event you watch, understand that these athletes are both mentally and physically
up to the challenge that ANY of these five disciplines require.
Tom Kelly/VP, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Assoc: "IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THAT MUCH BECAUSE YOU'RE ONLY OUT THERE FOR A MINUTE OR SO. BUT WHAT THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY IN THAT ONE MINUTE IS REALLY QUITE SIGNIFICANT."
The first of the five begins on Sunday February 10th, and it's the fastest one, the Downhill.
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