Competitive Skiing. Everything You Should Know

Competitive skiing is one of the most ancient disciplines in skiing sport. It is the most popular in the Scandinavian countries and Russia. However, it does not mean that this kind of sport is not popular in other European states. Thus, the given article is going to present a comprehensive guide on competitive skiing and its main peculiarities.

Main Rules

The whole distance should be marked with flags of the same color. When it comes to distances of 30 or 50 kilos, they usually consist of several laps. In addition to that, 30-km races should be equipped with two service points.

Particular attention is also paid to the difference in elevation between the highest and the lowest areas. For women, it should be no more than 100 meters for 5-km races and 150 meters for 10-km races. As for men, it should be a maximum of 200 meters for 10-km races and 250 meters for 15-km and longer races.

If there is thick snow, organizers should lay out both the main rail track and stick track. When it comes to relay races, the number of tracks available should be equal to the number of teams competing. Approximately in 200 meters, all these separate tracks create the main one.

For every single competition, there should be a route scheme that indicates all the differences in elevation and the length of ascents.

When it comes to Olympic events, women compete in 5, 10, 20-km races and 4×5-km races. As for men, they participate in 15, 30, 50-km races, and 4×10-km relay races.

Athletes participate in individual starts with 30-second intervals between separate athletes. Thus, skiers are divided into 4 groups according to their previous results. In this case, Group 1 including the most skillful skiers starts skiing in the end of all.

Starting from the 1976 Olympics, there applied a direct order of starting groups meaning Group 4 starts first. Up to this year, there had been the reverse order. As has been mentioned, Group 1 is said to be the most skillful, but it is not always true. The fact is that the distribution of athletes according to the groups can be made in accordance with the tactical preferences of the managers.

As for the order of athletes within groups, they are decided by a coin toss. Mass starts refer to relay races and mass start events. With this, athletes may not leave their ski-tracks unless they are going to perform an overtake. Only after an athlete makes a command “Ski-track”, the skier in front should step aside.

During a competition, an athlete may change one ski or sticks. However, all the skis should be marked prior to the beginning of an event for the officials to control the process of changing. The finishing time is registered either manually or automatically. With this, the final result is presented in full seconds. As for relay races, athletes should pass the baton within a limited area.

Equipment

Skis

Competitive skis are light and narrow; in general, they are only 6 cm wide. Hickory is said to be the most suitable material for skis lower surface. Finnish birch and Himalayan ash are suitable for the other parts. To prevent skis from crossing, they are made of separate layers that are glued together. Their edges are equipped with plastic or hardwood. Nowadays, however, modern skis are made of plastic or even metal.

Under binding, there should be an arch, the size of which depends on an athlete’s weight. It is done because pressure makes ski touch the ground with the whole gliding surface. Rollerskis can be used instead of traditional skis when professional athletes are going to train on solid ground. These items are perfect because they allow skiers to repeat the same movements even without snow.

Binding

These bindings should provide the heel with complete freedom. Elementary bindings consisting of simple bands for tiptoes were substituted by the most comfortable and the most efficient bindings that are being used at present. In this case, a special loop strains the toes to a ski. Thanks to beaklike soles of the shoes, athletes experience greater freedom of movement while taking off and sliding. It was this binding in particular that helped skiers achieve significant results.

Sticks

The sticks should be light enough; they should be shoulder-long meaning their actual length depends on an athlete’s height. It is done because too long or too short sticks can negatively influence skiing technique and corresponding results. Nowadays, these items are made of bamboo, aluminum, and steel.

Ski Wax

This thing should provide athletes with a good gliding effect and create necessary friction while taking off thanks to the conjunction between pieces of snow and a wax layer. Without wax, skis would move backward during every taking off. There are different kinds of wax that are suitable for different kinds of snow; the main difference is in their consistency and firmness level.

Thus, firm wax is suitable for dry and short-grained types of snow. The rougher and wetter snow is, the softer wax should be. As a rule, a single wax kit consists of 7-9 variations. They are cans with black, green, blue, purple, red, and yellow waxes, as well as starch paste in tubes. A greater amount of paraffin oil is included in firm waxes, while soft ones consist mainly of fats, oils, varnishes.

Wax is applied to well-padded wooden parts of skis, and it is evenly distributed across its surface with a special item. Specialists use brazing torches or gas burners to pad or clean skis. It happens sometimes that athletes fail to choose a wax properly. Unfortunately, it is a common thing because of changing weather and various conditions of snow throughout the whole distance.

Uniform

Light running boots with low ankles and elastic soles provide athletes with the possibility to move easily and freely. They are in contact with the skis thanks to special pins. In addition, these pins go into special holes in the soles of the boots. Besides, the binding is used to provide better contact. A skier’s uniform consists of a wind-proof jacket and trousers that are made of light elastic material. This uniform should not create any problems for moving. Woolen stockings, leather gloves, and woolen hats are also necessary for all the athletes.

Technique

The main skiing technique is represented by diagonal stride. This technique contributes to normal running that is turned into rhythmic gliding thanks to the skis.

To start moving, an athlete should make a powerful take off from the snow with the help of his supporting leg and a stick. It is always necessary to start taking off when the feet are close to each other. However, the greatest result can be achieved when a ski is in good friction with snow thanks to properly chosen wax.

While the left leg is taking off, the right one turns to be a sliding one. With this, the bodyweight goes from the taking leg to the sliding one. Every professional skier tends to slide on the same leg. Thus, there are only short periods when both skis are in contact with the snow. When it comes to ascending, sliding phases are shorter; they can disappear at all when athletes are trying to overcome a rapid ascent. At this time, athletes seem to jump, rather than to glide.

When it comes to skiing across the straight parts of the distance, skiers tend to make simultaneous taking offs with the help of both sticks. For this, it is necessary to place the sticks in the snow at the same time and the same height.