Ski competition events have become highly popular in the domain of the winter sports .Every year, numerous competitions are held for various disciplines of the sport.
Skiing evolved as one of the popular modern sport during the nineteenth century. However, the first skiing competition is considered to be held in the seventeenth century. The first skiing race was competed in the middle of the nineteenth century in Norway. In the countries with cold climate, numerous ski clubs and ski organizations were established to cater to the need of skiing . At present, there are also many ski schools in the world, where the techniques of skiing are taught to the interested people.
One of the international governing bodies, the International Ski Federation or the FIS was established at Chamonix, France in 1942. Since then, the organization has been arranging numerous ski competition events every year. Not only the FIS, there are many other national and international organizations of ski, which play important role in organizing different ski events. Ski competition events are also an integral part of the Winter Olympic Games . Apart from that, there are also many competitions, which are contested at the domestic and national level. For different variations of skiing, separate competitions are also organized. Some of the ski competition events , which are held among the skiers, are –
Giant Slalom
Giant slalom is an advanced form of slalom and both the games are related to alpine skiing . Giant slalom also involves skiing between set of gates but the gates are spaced at a greater distance than that in slalom Giant slalom and slalom are the technical events in alpine skiing . Super G and downhill are also parts of alpine skiing but vary from giant slalom and slalom on the basis of speed.
Giant slalom has more number of gates that the skiers have to cross. The number of gates vary from 56-70 for males and from 46-58 for females. There are many competitions and events held for giant slalom . The most extravagant event of giant slalom is definitely the World Cup Championships which are open for males and females where prizes are awarded in form of gold, silver and bronze medals. There are national level events also in giant slalom . Apart from these two prestigious events , there are various events and championships related to this game. There are championships for children and kids also along with adults. Some of the events are FIS Juniores, Pinocchio Trophy, Journalists Italian Championships, FIS-Men Giant Slalom and Slalom, FIS Carving Cup Final etc. These giant slalom events have huge cash prizes and attract skiers from all around the world.
Winter Olympic Games
Winter Olympic Games are similar to the Olympic Games in structure as these games are also held every four years. This multi-sports event held during the winter time features winter sports that are played on ice and snow. Among the most widely played winter games are ice skating and skiing. The participation of teams in Winter Olympic Games is much lesser than the Summer Olympic Games. The reason for the same is that few countries in the world have access to training facilities related to the winter games .
The last venue for hosting the Winter Olympic Games was Turin in Italy in 2006. Vancouver in Canada (British Columbia) has been declared as the next venue for hosting the Winter Olympic Games in 2010. The first move towards hosting the Winter Olympics began in 1908 but faced great challenges and hardships. Olympic Games were barred in 1916 with the outbreak of the First World War but resumed in 1920 with the introduction of skating and ice hockey. 1924 can be considered as the first year of hosting the Winter Olympic Games at Chamonix, France and included events like Nordic skiing, speed skating, figure skating, ice-hockey and bobsledding. The structure of the Winter Olympic Games remains the same with contestants fighting for three medals-gold, silver and bronze. Military patrol was a game that was discontinued in Winter Olympics after 1960. There are certain demonstration sports held in Winter Olympic Games where various events are held for which there are no prizes awarded to the contestants. Some of the demonstration events include bandy, skijoring, speed-skiing, winter pentathlon etc.
Slalom
Slalom skiing is an alpine skiing discipline and falls in the category of technical events in alpine skiing Slalom skiing requires lot of balance and control as skiers have to glide through the poles known as gates in this sport form. The term slalom owes its origin to the Morgedal dialect of the Norwegian language and the word was coined from “slalam”. In the olden times slalom was more difficult and had various levels at which the game was played. In the modern context, the game has been simplified. In slalom , skiers have to move between poles spaced closely in short and quick turns. Telemark skiing is another form of skiing where flexibility is the keyword and slalom just comes next to telemark skiing.
Slalom has various skiing events to its name. Since slalom is a part of alpine skiing , there are World Cup Championships for both men and women. This World Cup event is held every two years in various places of the world. Apart from the World Cup Championships there are National Team events also where slalom is played. These national team events also come after every two years. Medals are awarded to the winners in the World Cup Championships . Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded respectively to the winner, runner-up and second runner-up. Slalom skiing events have gained popularity all over the world in recent times.
Downhill
Downhill skiing is a discipline of alpine skiing and was originally developed by Sir Arnold Lunn for British National Ski Championships in 1921. There are many similarities between alpine skiing and downhill skiing The general feeling of downhill skiing is to glide down the snow-covered steep mountain slopes effortlessly. Downhill skiing does not have any gates or poles as obstacles like in slalom -another discipline of alpine skiing .
The term downhill is symbolic of a free fall from the top of a steep slope. But the only difference with the game of downhill skiing is that there is immense control on the gliding down of skiers on steep snow-covered mountain slopes. There are various trophies and championships associated with downhill skiing . Events related to alpine skiing are also related to downhill skiing . The most eventful and glorious event related to downhill skiing is definitely the World Cup Championship . Contestants from all over the world compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. Apart from the world cup there are several other championships and sports events . These events are organized by local clubs or organizations and have handsome amount of cash prize. These events are mainly held during the winter time when the mountain terrains are covered with thick layers of snow. Though downhill skiing is a risky game, it is gaining popularity rapidly in the European and American nations.
Winter X Games
Winter X Games are an integral part of X Games that are an annual multi-sports event mainly concentrating on action sports. Winter X Games are primarily held in the winter months of January or February. Aspen in Colorado serves as the hosting place for the Winter X Games . These games have participation from all over the world especially from regions where winter sports are common and loved by masses.
Contestants in the Winter X Games perform in various categories and events and strive to bring in gold, silver or bronze medals for their respective countries. Winter sports are mainly concentrated on games in ice or snow. One of the most important events of Winter X Games is skiing which again has several categories like skier X, slope style, super pipe and monoskier X. Among these skier X and super pipe are open for both males and females. Another vital event is snow-boarding which is again categorized into slope style, snowboarder X and super pipe. The last event is called snowmobiling which has two branches in the form of snocross and freestyle. Winter X Games are an annual event which are broadcasted on television and feature nighttime events. These events have attracted a large number of viewers across the globe and also in areas where winter sports are not so popular. There are various event packages available for the Winter X Games that is inclusive of lodging facilities, airfare, car rentals and any other requirements of the customers.