SLALOM

ski race that follows a winding course between gates (pairs of poles topped with flags), devised by British sportsman Sir Arnold Lunn in the early 1920s. It is one of the Alpine events, so called because it originated in the Alps of Europe. A world championship in the slalom was first held in 1931. Slalom was added to the Olympic Winter program in 1948. The course is carefully designed to test the skill, timing, and judgment of competitors. The gates are placed in varying combinations, and it demands great skill to achieve the best line of approach and exit with the different combinations. A skier who misses a gate is disqualified. The gates are at least 75 cm (30 inches) wide and 4 metres (13 feet) apart. When first developed, slalom gates were made from bamboo, which could snap back and hit competitors. To solve this problem, new plastic gates have been devised that have springs to regulate the motion of the gates, causing them to gently tilt. For Olympic and world championship events, the men's course must have a vertical descent of 180 to 220 metres (590 to 722 feet) and the women's must have a drop of 130 to 180 metres (426 to 590 feet); for other events and less-skilled contestants, the course may be shorter and less difficult. Men's events use 55 to 75 gates; women's use 45 to 60. The giant slalom has characteristics of both the slalom and downhill, the latter a longer, faster race. Giant slalom gates are wider and set farther apart, and its course is longer than in the slalom. The event was first included in the world championships in 1950 and in the Olympics in 1952. The supergiant slalom, or super-G, race is primarily a speed event, with many of the features of downhill skiing. The course is steeper and straighter than the other slalom events and features longer, more sweeping turns taken at a higher speed. Just as in downhill, the winner is decided in a single run. The super-G was included in the world championships in 1987 and in the Olympics in 1988. In top international events, slalom competitors usually take two runs without practice on two different courses. The winner is the one with the lowest combined time.