Giant slalom occupies a middle ground between downhill and special slalom. Its usual parameters are track length 1000-1500 meters, average speed 60-70 km/h, duration of one descent is about 100 seconds. The steepness of the arcs is approximately one and a half to two times less than slalom ones, the duration of sliding in each turn is much longer, the total load also exceeds the slalom one. The gate, 6-8 meters wide, is marked by paired poles connected by one flag (when knocked down, they sometimes get tangled in the legs and can cause a lot of trouble). Given this, collisions with poles on the giant slalom course are undesirable. Unlike special slalom, they are almost never deliberately knocked down, allowing oneself only to deflect the shaft with a sliding touch inner shoulder. All this leaves an imprint on the technique and tactics of giant slalom.
The turning technique is dominated by the desire for flat-cut sliding with maximum load external ski and cutting an edge into hard snow or sliding along the counterslopes of a broken track. Here, more often than in slalom, it is possible to carry out a purely carved turn with flat-cut sliding in conjunction with arcs (Fig. 89).
Rice. 89. Carved turn with maximum load of the outer ski throughout the entire arc and energetic push-off from it
Just as relying on the top ski in a slanting descent is considered a mistake, relying on the inside ski in a turn is also undesirable, since the inside leg is more bent and, therefore, can carry less load and fatigues faster. However, it should be taken into account that prolonged loading of the inner edge of the outer ski is sometimes associated with a weakening of the adhesion of the skis to the snow; to strengthen it, the knee is shifted inside the turn, creating a lateral deflection, which is why the thigh and shin are not in the same plane. As a result, the functionality of the lateral ligaments is reduced knee joint and the number of knee injuries is increasing.
If the situation on the track allows, skating push-offs with a wide amplitude of the lateral step are advantageous, which is only possible in a deep squat on inner leg. Therefore, the athlete must have a sense of proportion in all his actions and give preference to the most profitable ones (Fig. 90). In giant slalom, they play an important role strength training and endurance, giving you the opportunity to be active from the start to the finish.
Rice. 90. Clean sliding is achieved by reducing the curvature of turns: 1 - ordinary turns with lateral slipping; 2 - excessive straightening of the main phase leads to inhibition in conjugations; 3 - theoretically possible path along straight sections; 4 - long arcs with flat-cut sliding; 5 - cut turns with lateral steps in mates
Skiing ability is not about sitting passively in a low stance with extremely flexed joints, which transfer less pressure to the lead ski and are able to withstand less load. Flexion of the joints is inevitable, but it also determines additional load on muscles and ligaments. Too much bent leg it is difficult to push off quickly and powerfully. Therefore, in order not to find yourself in the unpleasant situation of “wedging” in the scissor position, you need timely and strong squeezing forward and upward, otherwise you can get stuck on the inside ski in the rear stance.
Young skiers, poorly prepared physically and technically, often find themselves in a similar situation and fly off the piste while sitting on the inside ski. However, this should not be an argument against “transferring” from the outer ski to the inner ski, the purpose of which is to transfer the body to a higher trajectory, as well as to ensure stability of speed in the process of pushing off and sliding the outer ski on a steeper “oblique descent”. And the closer the end of the turn is to the traverse, the more tangible the advantage of this technique, which was repeatedly used by the 1984 Olympic champions Debbie Armstrong (Fig. 91) and Max Julin (Fig. 92).
Rice. 91. Olympic champion 1984 Debbie Armstrong
Rice. 92. 1984 Olympic champion Max Julen
When improving the technique of skating push-off, you need to sensitively grasp its duration, especially the beginning and end. If the athlete “opens up” early in the scissors, then braking will result; if he stays on the outer ski longer than necessary, it will turn out to be too large an angle, and lateral vibration and slippage may occur. The sense of timing and sharpness of repulsion is developed through repeated repetitions. For greater activity and maneuverability in a giant, it is more advantageous to make turns on half-bent legs, which retain the ability to withstand heavy loads longer.
Sometimes the transfer of body weight from the outer ski to the inner ski lasts the entire second half of the turn. Thus, by the end of it, the outer ski bears almost no load, which indicates a lack of emphasis in repulsion (Fig. 93). In Fig. 89 and 93 show typical turns in a giant slalom using a skating step. Each of them has its own characteristics, depending on the steepness of the slope, curvature and speed of movement, as well as on the condition of the snow. A skating step with a wide angle of ski divergence is more often used on steep arcs by athletes with strong legs. This technique requires exceptional aggressiveness and redoubled attention when pulling up the tip of the outside ski, so as not to catch it on the pole below the standing flag. The arc along which the outer ski glides can be of constant curvature, decreasing or increasing towards the end, resembling an undercut. The last technique is usually used in cases where there is a threat of the support “slipping away”, as well as when a higher approach to the next turn is necessary.
The duration of the main sliding phase in giant slalom turns forces you to pay special attention to the skier’s stance. In Fig. 94 shows five skier poses in sequence. He makes a left turn on a relatively flat section of the slope with an inflection in the middle of the arc, which required him to additionally bend his legs (Fig. 2). When entering a steep section, the athlete increased his forward lean, his stance is distinguished by the free position of his arms, moving them forward with a light, pendulum movement of the sticks, usually ending with a short-term injection (in this case, without it). The overall pattern of the upper body is almost the same in all poses and gives the impression of a closed stance. But this is a feature of the modern technique of turning in giant slalom - without pronounced lateral flexion in the lumbopelvic region, on an almost straightened outside leg, during cut sliding. This is something common that is now common to all the strongest skiers in the world. When pushing off (Fig. 3), he transfers his body weight simultaneously with the step from the outside to the left ski extended forward. Pulling up the outer ski begins with lifting the toe off; for this, it ends with a push through the heel, but without squatting. As a result, in FIG. 3 and 4 he finds himself in a better position, completely in control of his body and skis. Continuing to slide for some moment on the outer edge of the left ski, he gradually turns it onto the inner edge - thus, in conjunction with the arcs (Fig. 4 and 5), he carries out a full cycle of flat-cut sliding.
Rice. 93. Carved turn with a wide retraction of the outer ski and a soft transfer to the inner one 
Rice. 94. Typical execution of turns in giant slalom 
Rice. 95. Christa Kinshofer is different good style and the grace of passing the routes
To conclude the conversation about the giant slalom technique, let’s analyze the filmogram of the combination of two ordinary turns performed by athlete Christina Kinshofer (Germany) (Fig. 95). Finishing the first carved turn on the bent outer ski (Fig. 1), it moves into the second (2) with a flat-cut slide, begins a carved turn to the left, maintaining a forward tilt in the main phase (4). At the end of the arc, while maintaining the main stance, pressure through the heel increases the deflection of the heel of the outer ski and, completing the “transfer” to the left ski, pulls the right one towards it from the toe. In fig. 5 clearly shows that the toe of the right ski is already in the air, while the heel is still “cutting” the arc. As for the positions of the body and arms with sticks, they correspond to the general diagram and are similar to the one we saw in Fig. 94: the transition from one turn to another occurs without a stick injection, the stance is open - the body is mainly in front of the movement, the gate is passed without touching the poles. We see similar racks in Fig. 110, a and 110.6 y Olympic champions 1984.
As for the tactics of passing giant slalom courses, with the transition to shortened courses and determination of results based on the sum of two attempts, it became much closer to slalom. The dense placement of the gates, the increased risk when passing twice, the almost double duration of competitions held on one day - all this gives significant physical and, most importantly, mental stress. In this regard, the volitional training of an athlete takes on special importance.
The descent tactics are significantly affected by the steepness of the slope, since on long arcs of giant slalom it is very easy to “overdrive” the speed and not fit into the optimal trajectory. We call optimal a trajectory such that sliding along it gives best result at this level technical skill, sports uniform, which a slalomist has today. Thus, this term is collective in nature, taking into account the stability of the descent.
The stability of the trigger during two attempts is an important factor. It is largely determined by the reliability of technical and psychological preparation the athlete and his ability to feel the optimal speed.
Optimal speed, optimal trajectory, optimal risk, optimal technical and volitional readiness are the components of a skier’s sports form.
“Pianta su!” or alpine skiing through the eyes of coach Greg Gurshman
3.1. Courses and their setting (by discipline)
Course setting is an important component of a coach's job. By the way this or that route is set up, you can always judge professional level stage manager. Conducting coaching seminars and attending youth competitions, I quite often come across very poor course design. What causes this? In my opinion, the illiterate, illogical and frankly weak setting of the courses is due to the fact that the FIS rules nowhere specifically say how to set the courses correctly. Instead, FIS offers only “dry” standards and very vague recommendations. At the same time, a course set in accordance with FIS requirements and based on how the coach interprets the recommendations can be completely illogical and barely passable. The paradox is that if the staging standards are not violated and the safety requirements are met, then neither the technical delegate nor the judges can refuse to accept the course as “legal” for the competition. Therefore, quite often, especially at low-level competitions, you can see simply disgustingly designed routes. As a rule, more technical athletes and, of course, spectators suffer from this. For example, the author witnessed how, several years ago, at a demonstration presentation ski Rossignol In the USA, a slalom course was set up, along which, in addition to several young athletes, Alberto Tomba, who was then at the peak of his career, was supposed to pass. The course was set up by a local club coach who had no experience setting up courses for World Cup-level athletes. As a result, Tomba, who was trying to pass along the track, was thrown out three times because he gained such speed at the exit of the combinations that he simply flew past the next gate that was placed too close. Tomba, of course, did not want to deliberately and obviously slow down, and after the third attempt he simply abandoned this idea. It should be noted that the course was set up in accordance with FIS standards, but did not comply with the unspoken rules for setting up slalom courses at the World Cup. An inexperienced coach set the next goal after a combination at a distance of 9-10 meters, while athletes at the World Cup were accustomed to setting goals with a distance of 13-15 meters. I believe that the conclusion from the above situation is quite clear - the rules and standards remain as such, and common sense and the ability to set a course that matches the level of the athletes is simply necessary for any coach. It is this skill that will be discussed in this section. I am not inclined, like some colleagues, to elevate the setting of routes to some kind of almost art form. In my opinion, competent route setting can be learned relatively easily, provided you understand the general practical principles of route setting.
Before describing them, I would like to dwell on the FIS recommendations for setting up courses in all disciplines. Without claiming absolute accuracy of the translation, I can say that in my understanding, the FIS recommendations boil down to the following:
When setting up the route, safety rules must be observed, in particular, possible fall zones must be taken into account;
The course must be laid out so that it can be passed smoothly without stopping or deliberately slowing down;
When setting up the route, the slope topography should be optimally used;
The course must be set up so that the athlete does not need to resort to acrobatic tricks to complete it.
As a humorous aside, I would like to note that, watching the passage of slalom courses performed by Bode Miller, one might think that the last of the FIS recommendations is almost always not followed by experienced course directors at the World Cup. In my opinion, this once again emphasizes the fact that the recommendations are very relative and can be applied by trainers in different ways. For example, one of the trainers can place a “snake” right before a steep bend and then be sure that he is making optimal use of the slope’s topography. Someone can set up a course on a relatively narrow slope in such a way that the topography of the slope is optimally used, but setting up a course for the second attempt will be extremely complicated by the fact that it is almost impossible to avoid crossing the holes formed during the first attempt. Some coach may set up the course for the second attempt, "obeying" the safety requirements so that almost all the safety barriers have to be moved or swapped, causing the start to be delayed by an hour. I have repeatedly seen not very competent coaches consciously trying to put a “plug” on one of the difficult sections of the route in the hope that one of the opponents will fall into it. At the same time, such a coach may well give clear instructions to his players to slow down in this place. All this speaks to the incompetence of the coach as a route director.
So, how to set the route correctly and competently? I will give here a few purely practical rules that guide experienced trainers regardless of what discipline the course is set for. First of all, the coach must understand that the track is not pegs stuck together in disarray, but a collection of rhythmic corridors. A corridor is understood as a sequence of gates placed with the same horizontal opening R and at the same distance d from each other, as shown in Fig. 3.1.1.
This figure shows an example of a giant slalom corridor. In the same way, corridors are placed in speed disciplines and slalom. The corridors in the downhill may not be clearly visible, but the principle of setting up the route as a combination of corridors is also preserved. The corridor sets the rhythm of the track in this section. As a rule, the horizontal spread of the route gates can change in accordance with the steepness of the slope. For a number of years, on steep sections, gates were set with a maximum spread, and on flat sections - with a minimum. With the advent of skis of modern geometry and the development of technology, the setting of the tracks changed towards a larger spread of gates along the entire track. In technical disciplines at competitions high level The gate spread almost does not change or changes very slightly when moving from a steep section to a flat one. This is due to the fact that in areas of moderate steepness athletes can most effectively use modern skis and equipment. It is on flat and middle sections that athletes connect the arcs cleanly and develop the greatest speed. Therefore, it is quite logical, just like on steep sections, to control the speed of skiers and force them to demonstrate technique, rather than preparing their skis. In this regard, a competent director of modern slalom and giant slalom courses will strive to set the course, maintaining the same distance and very slightly changing the gate set-up. Such a route, when passed, will set a smooth rhythm of descent and will help identify athletes who have the best technical and physical preparation, and not just those who have a certain weight and fast skis. In addition, on such a route there will never be obvious “plugs” or gates that require some kind of “secret” passage.
The second one is very important point when setting the route, the optimal use of the slope and its relief is taken into account. To ensure that the route matches the configuration and topography of the slope, combinations of gates are used. How and what combinations of goals are set in each discipline will be discussed below. Here I will dwell on an elementary rule, which, to my surprise, is often not observed by coaches when setting up routes. The point is that when setting the route you should never forget to look down. More than once I have seen coaches, both at competitions and in training, confidently and quickly setting a course, all the time looking up the slope at the already set gates, and inevitably “running into” the edge of the slope or barrier. As a rule, such confident colleagues do not climb up the slope to rearrange the last 4-5 gates, but simply install a passing gate, a “banana” in a giant or a hairpin or a “banana” in a slalom. The result is an illogical route with a “ragged” rhythm that is difficult to adapt to. The route, set by the coach, who was always looking up, was visible to me at first glance. It is replete with numerous changes in rhythm and directions of movement not caused by the configuration of the slope. On such a route, rhythmic corridors may not be visible or they may simply not exist. Links of 3-4 gates, in my opinion, are not corridors. Speaking about such routes, I cannot agree with the statement “.. any route is good, since it is the same for everyone.” A track with a “ragged”, barely perceptible rhythm can be to the advantage of weaker, less prepared athletes. On a steep and moderate slope, stable passage of a corridor, set with an adequate horizontal spread, is the most technically difficult task. It is in these sections that the race is won or lost. Links of 3-4 gates placed instead of a corridor are much easier to pass. Thus, any passing gate or “hairpin” usually gives the athlete a chance to restore his balance and get on the right trajectory. As a result good time may be shown to be a relatively weak athlete, while technically strong athlete will show a result that does not correspond to its level. The consequence of this may be errors in the selection of athletes, which will be discussed in section 4.4. For junior coaches who have any doubts about setting up courses, I would recommend simply paying attention to how courses are set up at the World Cup. Despite some differences, all World Cup courses are set rhythmically and in accordance with common sense. I believe that junior coaches simply need to follow the same principles of course setting that their more experienced colleagues working at the international level adhere to.
The next important aspect of setting up courses is to ensure the maximum possible safety for the athlete in the event of leaving the course or falling. To do this, when setting up any course - both training and competition - the so-called fall zones. I believe the name speaks for itself. The fall zone is the place where the athlete is most likely to be “carried” when falling. Naturally, the higher the speed, the wider and longer the possible fall zone. Therefore, in slalom it is a strip about three meters wide, and in downhill it is about 15-20 meters wide. When setting up the course, the coach must be able to visually determine the fall zones. I will try to explain how to do this using the example of a giant slalom gate (Fig. 3.1.2).
To determine the possible fall zone for a given gate, you need to conditionally draw an ascending line from the internal flag of the gate, as shown in the figure with a dotted line. Next, from the turning flag, also mentally draw a line at an angle of 45 degrees to the ascending line. This will be the most likely direction of the fall. Then, following this line, you need to look at what is within the band, the middle of which is this line of the direction of the fall. As noted above, the bandwidth depends on the discipline. In giant and super-giant slalom, the lane width should be 6-10 meters. If set up correctly, the route should be set up in such a way that no additional obstacles or major rearrangements of existing ones are required. The ability to correctly assess fall zones allows the coach to set safe routes even in difficult conditions - for example, on a narrow slope or on a slope that is not closed for training.
Let's take a closer look at setting up the routes in each of the disciplines.
Setting up slalom courses
Before we talk about setting up slalom courses, it is necessary to dwell on the FIS standards for this discipline. The minimum permissible difference in height between the start and finish in slalom is 140 m, and the maximum is 220 m for men and 120-200 for women. At the Cup and World Championships, the height difference should be greater: 180-220 m for men and 140-200 for women.
Thus, even slalom courses designed in accordance with FIS standards can have very significant differences. Thus, the minimum number of gates in FIS slalom is 32, and the maximum is 75±3. This allows FIS slalom competitions to be held in the most different conditions. At the World Cup, for men, the minimum number of gates is 55, and the maximum is 75. For women, the minimum number is 45, and the maximum is 65. It should be noted that only gates that change the direction of movement are taken into account in the calculation, that is, passing gates are not taken into account.
Naturally, the number of gates must correspond to the parameters of the slope. In this regard, there is also a very useful FIS rule. It consists in the fact that the number of gates on the slalom course should be 33-38% of the elevation difference between the start and finish. So, for example, on a track with a drop of 120 m, you can install no less than 40 and no more than 46 gates. This allows the director to more correctly choose the distance between the goals. From a practical point of view, I can say that if a coach maintains a distance between the goals of at least 10 meters, then he will always hit the required 38%.
When setting up World Cup courses with a distance of 13 m, the coach will approach the border of 33%. It should be noted that all this is quite often not taken into account at junior competitions that are not FIS competitions. At FIS competitions, the length of the course, the elevation difference, and other parameters are measured in advance. In principle, the course director does not need to know them. His task is only to set the route correctly. To do this, first of all, you need to clearly know the rules for setting up slalom courses. They are as follows:
The width of the slalom gate should be 4-6 meters;
The maximum distance between goals is 13 meters (this distance was reduced from 15 meters in the spring of 2005);
The minimum distance between gates is 0.75 meters.
Let me explain how these rules are applied in practice. It should be noted that the distance between the goals and the horizontal spread are chosen by the coach based on his or her professional intuition. There are no rules about this.
Let's consider the application of FIS standards when staging so-called vertical combinations in slalom. There are two types of vertical gate combinations: “hairpin” and “snake”. By “hairpin” we mean a combination of two vertical gates (see Fig. 3.1.3).
In this drawing, I schematically depicted blue and red gates using white and dark flags. Flags have not been used on real slalom courses for many years. So, the “hairpin”, as a rule, is placed in the fall line of the slope. All poles forming a “hairpin” should, if possible, be on the same line. Thus, the skier has the opportunity to straighten the trajectory as much as possible when passing the “hairpin”. When installing hairpins, a maximum gate width of 6 meters is usually used. This is one of the “rules of good manners” when setting up slalom courses. At a high level, “hairpins” placed even with a goal width of 5 meters can cause problems for athletes going to the high speed. At low-level junior competitions, vertical gates 5 meters wide are acceptable. However, experienced coaches never deviate from the minimum possible distance between the gates - 0.75 m. This distance is optimal, since it allows you to effectively block both poles with one movement, without the risk of the inner ski getting caught on the bottom of the adjacent poles. Both values - 6 m and 0.75 m - are not clearly stated in the FIS rules. In other words, by placing a “hairpin” with a goal width of 4 and 5 m and a distance between them of 2 m, the coach would not violate the FIS rules. However, such a setup would not make any sense, since such a “hairpin” would be difficult to pass, and it would not significantly change the direction of the route. In any case, I encourage all coaches to set “pins”, clearly measuring distances with skis. Even experienced World Cup coaches do not perform slalom combinations by eye. Stagers using slalom skis 155-160 cm long can easily measure the distance between the ski poles. Ideally, it should be slightly less than 4 ski lengths (6 m) between goal posts of the same color, and approximately half a ski length (0.75 m) between gates.
Another important point in staging hairpins is that they are positioned according to the context of the track. In this regard, a very clear and unambiguously interpreted FIS rule applies. It consists in the fact that hairpins should always be passed with “approach from above”. Let me explain what I mean with the help of a drawing.
In Fig. 3.1.4 a shows the correct positioning and the corresponding passage of the “hairpin”. Figure 3.1.4 b reflects the “illegal”, incorrect version of setting the “hairpins”.
Communicating with Russian colleagues, I was surprised that many people still place the “pins” incorrectly, despite the fact that this FIS rule came into force more than 15 years ago. The application of this rule allows you to have only a single, simple and logical option for passing slalom courses. The times of straight puzzle tracks are far gone. It should be noted that the hairpin always shifts the direction of the route. This must definitely be taken into account when staging.
Another standard gate combination is the "snake". A “snake” is understood as a combination of three or more vertical gates installed sequentially on the same line (see Fig. 3.1.5).
This figure shows a standard “snake” of three gates. These are the “snakes” that are installed on most tracks of any level. In extremely rare cases, a “snake” of four gates can be placed on an extremely flat area. The “snake”, like the “hairpin”, should be placed in the fall line of the slope. Oblique “snakes” and enfilades have not been used in modern slalom for a very long time, simply because they disrupt the rhythm too much. When setting up a “snake”, the same rules apply as when setting up “hairpins”: the width of the gate is 6 m, the distance between them is 0.75 m. The entrance to the “snake” should also only be from the top. In this case, exiting the usual “snake”, consisting of three gates, always returns the athlete to the corridor, directed in the same way as the corridor preceding the “snake”. This should not be forgotten when setting up the route.
Modern slalom also uses a combination of horizontal and vertical gates. This combination is called a passing gate or banana. The second name is used by trainers in almost all languages.
The banana combination is shown in Fig. 3.1.6.
When setting up “bananas,” the coach must use only his own intuition, since neither the relative position of the goals nor the distance between them are specified in any rules. Typically, the banana is used to radically change the direction of the track. Placing bananas may be necessary to follow the slope configuration or to avoid potholes or ruts left behind by the first attempt. However, I would not recommend placing “bananas” that do not serve a specific purpose. It should be noted that, unlike “snakes” and “hairpins,” “banana” is not a mandatory combination. In principle, on an ordinary, relatively straight slope, you can completely do without placing “bananas”. In any case, placing more than two “bananas” on the track goes beyond the rules of “good manners”.
Speaking about gate combinations, it should be noted that according to FIS rules there must be at least 4 vertical combinations on the track: one “snake” and three “hairpins”. This is quite enough for junior tracks. On longer FIS courses there may be more combinations. Usually a minimum of two “snakes” and three or four “studs” are installed.
A very good rule of thumb is to place a combination after every 5-7 gates. Thus, a well-designed slalom course is a set of 5-7 gate corridors interconnected by combinations. An example of a fragment of such a route is shown in Fig. 3.1.7.
It should be noted that “hairpins” and especially “snakes” are always recommended to be installed on flat areas. This is dictated not by rules, but by basic common sense. Considering that the combinations are installed in the line of fall of the slope, their installation on steep sections can make it impossible to pass the route without deliberate braking. This is especially important when choosing a place for “snakes”, since when passing them, the athlete points his skis almost down the slope for almost 14 m. That is why at high-level competitions held on steep slopes, you can often see a “snake” placed a few gates before the finish. If necessary, “hairpins” are also placed on steeper sections, but a sufficient distance to the next gate is always provided.
Regarding the distance between the gates, I would say that in children's and junior competitions it is recommended to keep a distance of 9.5-10 m. In intermediate level FIS competitions, the distance is chosen in the range of 11-12 m. In European and World Cup competitions, the maximum distance is usually chosen 13 m regardless of the slope.
When setting up slalom courses, do not forget about the connection between the horizontal spread and the distance. This connection is very simple and logical - a larger distance allows the use of a wider gate spread.
Setting up giant slalom courses
Speaking about setting up giant slalom courses, we can immediately note that it is not fundamentally different from setting up slalom courses. A well-designed giant slalom course is a leveled, symmetrical corridor.
The FIS standards for giant slalom are as follows: the difference in height between the start and finish is a minimum of 140 m and a maximum of 350 m. At the Cup and World Championships it is larger: 250-450 m for men and 250-400 m for women.
I think it is quite understandable that such a large range allows for a wide variety of giant slalom courses to be set up within the framework of the FIS rules. The number of gates in a giant slalom is also determined by the difference in elevation between the start and finish. However, in giant slalom, it is also not the number of gates that is counted, but the number of changes in direction. In giant slalom it should be in the range of 11%-15% of the elevation difference (the number is rounded to the nearest whole number). Thus, a banana combination consisting of two gates counts as one change of direction, and passing gates do not count towards the count.
The rules for setting up giant slalom courses are as follows:
The width of the gate should be in the range of 6-8 m;
The minimum distance between the gates is 15 m;
The maximum distance is not specified.
Based on these rules, passage gates, “bananas” in the giant, are installed. The rule of “good form” is to shift the bottom flag of the vertical gate to the side by approximately the width of the flag from the path of passage, as shown in Fig. 3.1.8.
For safety reasons, vertical gates are installed with a width of 8 m. The distance between horizontal and vertical gates, according to FIS rules, must be more than 15 m. At children's competitions, it can be reduced to 10 m. Setting up passing gates in giant slalom is also not mandatory. They are usually placed in places where the direction of the slope changes or where it is necessary to provide skiers with the opportunity to increase speed. However, it is not recommended to place more than three bananas on the giant slalom course.
As with setting up slalom courses, in giant slalom you should maintain a constant distance between the gates along the entire course. The distance is selected by the stage coach based on the steepness of the slope and the level of the athletes. At the World Cup the distance can be 30-35 meters. At junior competitions this distance is shorter, in the range of 25-30 meters. An example of a giant's track is shown in Fig. 3.1.9.
Setting up super-G courses
Speaking about super-G courses, it should be noted that when setting them up, the coach has the greatest freedom. For regular FIS super-G competitions, a height difference in the range of 350-600 m is sufficient. At the World Cup, the height difference for men is 500-650 m, and for women 400-600 m. The maximum number of gates should not exceed 10% of the vertical difference, and the minimum is 35% for men and 30% for women. In this case, only gates that change direction of movement are counted. Thus, the passing gates, as in giant slalom, do not count towards the number of gates.
On the same slope there can be a super-G, which resembles a regular open giant course, and a super-G, which is more like a downhill course. At a high level, super-G courses are placed closer to the downhill than the giant. Junior and children's super-G tracks, as a rule, are closer to giant slalom. In any case, the super-G course is, if possible, a symmetrical corridor. To allow this corridor to follow the slope configuration, a walk-through gate is used. Unlike giant slalom, the passing gates in super giant are set using two horizontal gates, as shown in Fig. 3.1.10.
The distance between the gates in the super-G should not be less than 30 m. The width of the gate is 8-10 m. These are the only restrictions that the coach must follow. Otherwise, the director of the super-G course is guided by his experience and intuition. Of course, coaches who do not set up super-G courses in training are unlikely to be able to cope with setting up the course at competitions. In principle, learning how to set up super-G courses is not very difficult, especially if there are no problems with setting up giant courses. The main thing to always remember is that the distance between the gates should remain constant, and the spread only changes slightly, depending on the steepness or width of the slope.
Trainers who set up a corridor without focusing too much on the topography of the slope often set up very good super-G courses. The number of passing gates in it is not limited, so with their help the coach can always easily follow the configuration of the slope. Impact zones in a super-G certainly play a very important role important role. However, at intermediate and high-level competitions, the coach may not worry about this too much if the entire course is surrounded by protective nets. At children's and junior competitions, despite the lower speeds, all possible fall zones must be taken into account when staging. I recommend that all coaches practice setting up super-G courses during training. If several trainers work together, then everyone should have a chance to run the super-G course at least a couple of times a season.
Setting up routes downhill
Setting up descent routes is a truly unique skill that most coaches simply do not have the opportunity to practice. Only coaches who work with downhill athletes at the national team level receive relatively regular practice. At the coaching meeting before the downhill, as a rule, you don’t see the masses of raised hands of junior coaches wanting to set up the course. Usually one of the coaches who has previously worked with the downhill team helps out. Meanwhile, in most cases, setting up a descent route is not incredibly difficult. All the director needs to do is set up a corridor that follows the slope configuration as much as possible. Of course, the coach must control the speed of the athletes when approaching flights or steep sections. This is done by increasing the gate spread. Also in the descent, pass-through gates are widely used, installed in the same way as in the super-giant. Passage gates in the descent can go one after another. In other words, an athlete can go from one passing gate to another. Sometimes passage gates are also installed, consisting of three horizontal gates. In the case when the next gate is poorly visible due to the bend, “extended” higher gates are used.
There are even fewer restrictions in downhill racing: the gate width is more than 10 m, the distance is not specified. On the classic World Cup circuits, the goal placement remains virtually unchanged. The gates are placed annually according to coordinates using a satellite navigation system. In some cases, when speeds increase too much due to “fast” snow, the opening of some gates can be increased. Of course, in the last 20 years there has been a trend towards more technically complex downhill routes, replete with a lot of turns. At the same time, speeds continue to increase. For example, the result of the winner in the downhill at the World Championships in Bormio in 2005 was more than 10 seconds better than the time shown by the winner on the same track at the World Championships in 1985.
On regular FIS downhill courses, the coach can use his or her imagination when setting up the course. In some cases, it is quite possible to set up various interesting descent routes on the same slope. This will allow athletes to once again practice choosing a trajectory. In any case, at the junior level, coaches should not avoid participating in setting up descent routes. As soon as you have a certain confidence and experience in setting up super-G courses, you can move on to the descent. A truly qualified coach must be able to set courses equally well in all disciplines.
Psychological aspect of setting routes
For some reason, almost nothing is said about the psychological aspect of setting routes. In fact, this aspect plays a very important role. A coach can be an excellent course setter, but at the same time not entirely confident in himself and his abilities. Such a coach, when setting up the competition course, will listen to the opinions of other coaches giving poles, or to the opinions of the jury members. More than once I have seen inexperienced coaches who dictate the competition route to those around them. Nothing good comes out of this, as a rule. When setting up the course, the coach should not pay attention to either his colleagues or members of the jury. The coach must have a definite plan in mind for what and how he or she will deliver, taking into account the level of the athletes, and not at all the desires of other coaches. In other words, the track director needs to be psychologically prepared for a certain pressure. In this regard, I will give an example from personal experience.
Working with a downhill team in the USA, I was promoted to the North American Cup downhill course designer in scenic Jackson Hole. I quite calmly set up the route in literally an hour and a half. At one point the route had a rather interesting flight. A special springboard was dug in such a way that the athletes would fly across the road along which snowcats usually ascend. To make this section more interesting and at the same time reduce the length of the possible flight, I set the route so that the approach to the jump was not in a straight line, but with a slight change in direction. The required direction of approach was not obvious, but I did not attach much importance to this, being confident that coaches and athletes would easily figure out how to approach this jump. Naturally, while watching, I instructed my players, clearly showing them the place where they needed to be during the takeoff.
It seemed to me that many trainers also saw and heard my instructions. However, in practice everything turned out to be wrong. Apparently, some of my colleagues decided to immediately set the stage for a more aggressive passage. As a result, in the first practice jump run, all four openers flew into the net. Only one made it, just slowing down before the flight. Then the start of the participants began. After the first five athletes of the Canadian team also flew into the net from flying over the road, the start was suspended, and the judges and the technical delegate of the competition officially contacted me by radio with a demand to rearrange the gates, since the track was impassable. There was a murmur throughout the coaching camp. The pressure I was under is difficult to put into words. The start of almost 200 participants was under threat! Nevertheless, I very firmly stated that the track was excellent and, moreover, quite safe if the trajectory was read correctly. I also accused fellow coaches and judges of incompetence. By some miracle, thanks to my confident tone, I managed to convince the judges to give the start to the next participant, who was one of my charges. I said that he would now show everyone how to correctly pass this section of the route. Holding my breath, I watched as my student approached the ill-fated jump. The guy did not let me down, he took the jump correctly and landed softly, immediately going into the turning arc at least 30 meters from the net into which the previous five athletes flew. After this, the correction of the trajectory was transferred by the coaches to their wards at the start and the training race took place with virtually no serious falls. During the three days of competition on my “impassable” track, no one received even a minor injury.
In conclusion, I want to say that a certain self-confidence, combined with psychological stability, is necessary for a coach who sets up a course, even at junior competitions. Otherwise, setting up the route is not worth taking on. I hope that the ones given here practical recommendations will be useful when setting up routes.
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The jury must check the readiness of the slalom course for competition immediately after it is set up by the course director. When checking, special attention should be paid to:
the slalom poles were firmly secured;
the gate colors alternated correctly;
if necessary, the position of the shafts on the snow was marked;
tags with gate numbers in the correct sequence were attached to the outer poles;
the shafts marking the gate were suitably raised above the slope;
the two slalom courses were located at a sufficient distance from each other so as not to confuse the participants;
spare shafts were correctly placed so as not to confuse participants;
the start and finish complied with the requirements of articles 27. and 31. (art. 613, 615 of the FIS rules, respectively).
78. (804.) Slalom with only turning poles
All provisions of these rules apply, except for the following:
78.1. Slalom with one turning pole is allowed in all competitions, with the exception of the Russian Championship.
78.2. Single pole slalom is staged without outer poles, with the exception of the first and last gates and holding gates and combinations (hairpins and snakes).
78.3. Where there are no outside poles, both feet and ski tips must pass the turning pole on one side, following the natural slalom course line, crossing an imaginary line from one turning pole to the other. If a participant loses ski without making a mistake, for example, not when passing a gate on horseback, then the end of the remaining ski and both legs must meet these requirements.
If a competitor incorrectly crosses the imaginary line from turn flag to turn flag and does not follow the natural path, he must retrace his steps and go around the missed turn flag. Where there are external poles (first and last gates, holding gates and combinations (pins and snakes)) Article 53.5.1 applies. (661.4.1)
Slalom with one turning pole(Article 78 (804))
first gate
natural trajectory
delay gate
vertical combination
final gate
imaginary line
goal line
78.4. Inspection and review of routes
see article 30 of these rules (article 614.3 of the FIS rules).
79. (805.) Start
79.1. (805.1.) Intervals between starts
In slalom competitions, competitors start at unequal intervals. The head of the timing and scoring team or his special assistant informs the starter, in agreement with the jury, when the next participant starts. It is allowed to give the start to the next participant if the participant who started in front of him is still on the track and has not finished by the time of the start.
79.2. (805.2.) Starting order
79.2.1. On the first track, participants start in order of starting numbers.
79.2.2. Starting order on the second course (see article 36.11. (621.11. FIS Rules)).
79.3. (805.3.) Starting commands
After the starter receives permission for the next participant to start, he warns the participant with the words: “Attention!, Ready!, Attention!, Achtung!” and a few seconds after that he pronounces the starting command: “March! Go! Partez! Los!” The competitor must start within 10 seconds after the starting command.
79.3.1. The participant must arrive at the start no later than 1 minute after the official call. When calling other participants to the start, the failure of previous participants to appear at the start may be taken into account. The start judge, however, can excuse the delay if, in his opinion, it was caused by unforeseen circumstances. In doubtful cases, the start judge may allow the competitor to start conditionally. In this case, the late competitor will be given a start in accordance with the normal starting order. The start judge makes related decisions.
79.4. (805.4.) Correct start and false start
Each competitor must start in accordance with Article 79.3. of these Rules (805.3 FIS Rules), otherwise he is subject to sanctions.
80. (806.) Conducting slalom
80.1. Two tracks
In slalom competitions there must always be two runs on two different courses.
Both routes must be completed by the participants one after another in the order established by the jury. The distribution of participants over two tracks with the simultaneous start of competitions on both tracks is prohibited. If possible, both races should take place on the same day.
80.2. Limitation of the number of participants on the second track
The jury has the right to reduce the number of participants on the second track to half the number of participants in the starting protocol of the first race. This decision must be made no later than one hour before the start of the first race.
81. (807.) Safety helmet
All competitors and openers in OSF competitions are required to wear a protective helmet that meets the FIS competition equipment specifications.
82. (900.) Giant slalom
83. (901.1.) Technical parameters
83.1. Height difference
83.1.1. Trails for men
from 250 to 450m.
83.1.2. Trails for women:
from 250 to 400m.
83.1.3. Courses for U14 and U16 athletes:
from 200 to 350m.
The giant slalom for U16 must be run in two runs, and for U14 this opportunity must be provided.
83.1.4. If there are no routes with a height difference necessary for the competition, the organizers can reduce it, but not more than 35% of those given in paragraphs. 83.1.1.-83.1.3.
83.2. (901.2.) Gates
83.2.1. The giant slalom gate consists of 4 slalom poles (Article 63.2.1.2 (680.2.1.2 FIS Rules)) and 2 flags.
83.2.2. The gates should be alternately red and blue. Flag panels must be at least 75 cm wide and 50 cm high. They are fixed between the shafts like this so that the bottom edge of the flag is at least 1 m from the snow surface, and so that they can be torn or detached from the staff.
83.2.3. The width of the goal must be between 4 and 8 m; the distance between the two nearest poles of two consecutive goals must be at least 10 m. In U14 and U16 competitions, the distance between the turning poles is no more than 27 m.
83.2.4 . The giant slalom course should be set up as follows:
The number of turns should be equal to 11-15% of the height difference in meters, rounded to the nearest whole number.
For athletes aged U14 - U16 - 13-18% of the height difference.
For interregional competitions 11% - 15% of the elevation difference.
84. (902.) Trails
84.1. General characteristics tracks
The terrain on which the competition is held should be as undulating and hilly as possible. The width of the track should be about 40m.
The inspector who inspects the route for the purpose of its approval decides whether the width of the route is sufficient and, if necessary, may order widening work. He may approve a route less than 40m wide, depending on the contour and requirements of the terrain, if the sections of the route before and after the narrow section allow this.
84.2. Preparation of the route
The giant slalom course is prepared in the same way as the downhill course. Sections of the course where gates are installed and competitors change direction must be prepared in the same way as a slalom course.
85. (903.) Setting up the route
85.1. Route formation
When forming a route, the following basic principles must be taken into account:
85.1.1. The first course is set up on the eve of the competition day. Both routes can be placed on the same surface. The second route must be re-installed.
85.1.2. The principle of making good use of terrain when setting up a giant slalom course is even more important than when setting up a slalom course, since the use of gate combinations is less effective due to how prescribed distance between gates, as well as their width. Therefore, it is recommended to make the best possible use of the terrain features, installing mainly single gates. Shapes can be installed in limited quantities and mainly on uninteresting sections of the route.
85.1.3. A giant slalom course must contain turns of large, medium and small radius. The competitor must be able to navigate his way between the gates. If possible, the entire width of the slope should be used.
85.1.4. The director of the course for children must especially carefully take into account the physical characteristics child's body participants.
86. (904.) Giant slalom with one flag
All provisions of these rules are valid, except for the following:
86.1. Giant slalom with one flag is allowed in all competitions except the Russian Championship.
86.2. A single flag giant slalom is staged with no outer flags except the first, last and holding gates.
86.3. Where there is no outside flag, the turn flag must be passed with both feet and both ski tips on one side, following the natural line of the giant slalom course, crossing an imaginary line from one turn pole to the other. If an athlete loses a ski without committing a fault, such as riding a flag, this rule applies to the toe of the remaining ski and feet. If we are talking about gates with two flags (first, last and delaying), the rule of article 53.5.1 applies. (661.4.1.)
86.4. All rules and instructions regarding the width of the track apply, as would be the case with an imaginary outside flag.
86.5. Inspection and review of tracks see article 30 of these rules (article 614.3 of the FIS rules).
87. (905) Start
87.1. On the first course, competitors start in the order of their start numbers (see articles 36.3. and 37. (621.3 and 622 FIS rules)).
87.2. Starting order on the second course (see article 36.11. (621.11. FIS Rules)).
88. Conducting giant slalom competitions
88.1. Giant slalom competitions must always be held on two courses (men's and women's). The second track can be on the same slope, but the gates must be rearranged. If possible, both races should be held on the same day.
88.2. The jury has the right to reduce the number of participants on the second track to half the number of participants in the starting protocol of the first race. This decision must be made no later than one hour before the start of the first race.
Children are required to wear safety helmets that meet the competition equipment requirements.
88.3. U16 giant slalom competitions must consist of two races, for U14 this opportunity should be provided.
89. (907) Safety helmet
All participants and openers in official sports competitions are required to wear a safety helmet that meets the FIS competition equipment specifications.
90. (1000) Supergiant
91. (1001) Technical Parameters
91.1. Height difference
91.1.1. Trails for men
from 350 to 650 m.
91.1.2. Trails for women
from 350 to 600 m.
91.1.3. Courses for U14 and U16 athletes:
from 250 to 450m.
91.1.4. In the absence of routes with the height difference necessary for holding the competition, the organizers can reduce it, but by no more than 35% of those given in paragraphs. 91.1.1.-91.1.3.
91.2. Route length
The length of the course is measured with a measuring tape, wheel or GPS and is printed on the start and results reports.
91.3. Gates
91.3.1. The super-G gate consists of 4 slalom poles (Article 63.2.1.2 (680.2.1.2 FIS rules)) and 2 flags.
91.3.2. The gates should be alternately red and blue. The flags should be approximately 75 cm wide and approximately 50 cm high. They are attached between the poles so that the lower edge of the flag is about 1 m from the snow, and also so that they can come off from at least one pole.
91.3.3. The width of the gate should be in the range from 6 to 8 m - the distance between the two nearest internal poles of an open gate, and from 8 to 12 m - for a closed gate. The flags must be such that at least, on one pole the flag could have come off.
91.3.4. The super-G course should be set up as follows:
7% of the height difference corresponds to the minimum number of turns.
The distance between two turning poles of two consecutive gates must be at least 25 m (exception - see article 93.1.1. (1003.1.1 FIS Rules)).
For U14 and U16 athletes: the minimum number of direction changes (turns) is 8% - 12% of the height difference in meters.
92. (1002) Route
92.1. General characteristics of the route
The terrain on which the competition is held should be as undulating and hilly as possible. The width of the track should be about 30m.
The inspector who inspects the route for the purpose of its approval decides whether the width of the route is sufficient and, if necessary, can order widening work. He may also approve a route less than 30m wide, depending on the contour and requirements of the terrain, if the sections of the route before and after the narrow section allow this.
92.2. Preparation of the route
The super-G course is prepared in the same way as the downhill course. Sections of the course where gates are installed and competitors change direction must be prepared in the same way as a slalom course.
92.3. Free descents along the road surface.
Before setting up the course, participants, if circumstances permit, must be given the opportunity to freely ski down the closed competition slope.
92.4. Certification of super-G courses for juniors
All courses where U16 - U14 Super-G competitions are held must be certified. If a course certified for FIS giant slalom is to be used, a safety inspection by an OSF technical expert is required.
93. (1003) Setting up the route
93.1. Route formation
When designing a super-G course, the following basic principles must be taken into account.
In this note I would like to give some tips on how to navigate the slalom course. Of course, there are more general arguments, theory, and exercises. But there are also specific tips that can help right away. I will give you those that really helped, or at least “set the right vector” where to strive. This season (2017) there were few such specific tips, only three. Two were received not from the outside, but as advice to oneself :). I heard the third piece of advice from Alexander Mityakov.
Of course, such advice is very subjective. What “worked” for the current me is not the fact that it would have been conveyed to the “past” me, and even more so for the “outside observer” :)
The Internet says that everything should be simple. You need to make a carved turn on the edges and, by changing the edge angle, adjust the trajectory. It sounds to me like “The Volga flows into the Caspian Sea”, everything seems clear, but there’s no point.
Let's move on to the advice. I caught him during the “Giant Week”. We trained the Moscow giant, the distance between the gates was 24 meters, the spread was small, the skis were R27 m, the speed was decent, the poles flashed quickly. Edge cases, which is good, did not work. If you go too straight, then at the third gate (out of a total of eight) you no longer fit in, you end up drifting, and your speed is irretrievably lost. Of course you pass the route, but it sucks. If, on the contrary, you move too far from the track, this leads to a turn that is too sharp, which the skis cannot handle in these conditions. Again the arc is lost.
In the end, the optimal trajectory was found, along which the skis moved in an arc to the maximum. And it was here that it was discovered that the other way around was possible. 
You can know well the “favorite” arc along which the skis will go with your usual ratio of edge angle and pressure on the ski. Next, you simply need to build a trajectory so that this arc is working, starts from approaching the pole and ends in front of the pole. Then you need to hold on, naturally (finally) releasing the pressure, so that at the beginning of the next “favorite” arc you can load it again.
I haven’t had this experience in slalom yet, but I’m looking forward to the next “giant’s week” :)
Dive forward (on a double peg) at the exit of a hairpin (or snake)
I heard the advice from Alexander Mityakov. At the exit from the hairpin you need to dive onto a double pole. From the inside I feel like I’m almost head-butting, but the main thing, of course, is to sharply load the tips of the skis, with a reserve. Then the skis come out of the hairpin with a sharp turn very well. Even if the exit from the hairpin is gentle (which is quite rare now), it is still not harmful to have a reserve in the upper approach to the next pin. There is nothing unclear here. In the hairpin, the skis go almost straight down, with minimal lift. Speed is picking up. At the exit you need to turn without going to the double last pole of the figure. A forward dive quickly loads the front half of the ski by unloading the back half. If the ski went across, it would lead to the heels falling off, and there would be a turn in the air around the toes. But the ski goes straight down, so there can be no slipping of the heels. And the edged toe bends more than usual and takes you into the turn. It works great. I drove it a season before automaticity. Alexander, thank you!
Increasing the “burnt” maximum speed
There is no advice yet, but there are observations. In general, I noticed from others that technique and time on the route are like quantity and quality. The technique increases gradually, and the performance in competitions or “training races” relative to others does not change much.
And then suddenly there comes a jump of a second or a half on a 20-second track. It seems that quantity has turned into quality. But then the owner of this new quality can drive clumsily and not at all technically, but the time will still remain “new” :) That is, it looks more like he just started driving faster, got used to the fact that the poles “flash” with such frequency :) About Unfortunately, I have nothing to say about myself yet, I’m waiting for this leap for three seasons...
In general, I don’t know how to raise the speed barrier when technology clearly already allows it. But there are a couple of observations.
First— the barrier does not increase on the track. It is very easy to check. We often walk the track for a while (more details here:). Of course, when the stopwatch “knocks”, you go first to maximum speed, and in subsequent passages you try to “jump over your head.” So, this does not affect the time it takes to complete the route :)
Second observation. Off the track, those colleagues who are significantly faster on the track also go noticeably faster. This means you can work on increasing your speed in free skating (read more about the relationship between track and free skating here:). Of course, we are not talking about straight descent; the speed needs to be increased in arcs, and the arcs must be “closed” as much as possible. In general, you need to increase acceleration first of all, and speed as a consequence :)
Then the threshold for the “lived” maximum speed may increase. Or maybe not, I don’t know yet :) Alexander Mityakov believes that you just need to look further, but it didn’t help me.
