Alpine Skiing

Alpine skiing is one of the blue riband sports of the Winter Olympic Games. It involves all skiing events which occur on a downhill course and do not involve ramps or awkward bumps (freestyle).

The Olympic alpine competition consists of ten events: five for women and five for men. The rules are the same for all but the courses differ. Alpine racing is about as basic as it can get – a beat the clock format in which a skier goes down the mountain from Point A to Point B and the fastest time wins. There is no judging involved and races are timed in hundredths of a second.

Australia and alpine skiing

For Vancouver 2010, two male Australian alpine skiers are hoping to qualify for the Games. Jono Brauer and Craig Branch, who both have competed at the Olympics previously, will be looking to emulate Zali Steggall who created history at the Nagano Games in 1998 when she won Australia’s first individual Winter Olympic medal, a bronze in the slalom. Steggall finished her career after Salt Lake 2002 as a four-time Olympian.

Australia has been represented by 55 alpine skiers at the Olympics with the first being at the 1952 Oslo Winter Games.

Competition Format / Events

Alpine skiing embraces two 'technical' events - the slalom and the giant slalom - and two 'speed' events - the downhill and super-G. The combined event is as the name suggests. 

The format for the men’s and ladies’ alpine skiing competitions is identical; however, they are held as two separate events on two different runs. The men’s course is on the Dave Murray Downhill. The ladies’ course is on Franz’s Run.

Downhill - is the classic speed test and is the longest and least winding alpine course, marked by red flags. Each skier makes a single run down a single course and the fastest time determines the winner.

Slalom and Giant Slalom – a skier makes two runs down two different courses on the same slope. Both runs take place on the same day. The times are added together and the fastest total time determines the winner.

The slalom demands the sharpest turns of all alpine events and is on the shorted course. A skier must pass through a set number of gates which mark the course or is disqualified from the event. The giant slalom is a longer, faster version of the slalom and does not involve a set minimum of bends.

Super-G - is a play on of super giant slalom, and is a hybrid of the downhill and giant slalom and must have a certain number of changes of direction for skiers. The gates which a skier must pass between are marked by alternating red and blue flags. Each skier makes one run down a single course and the fastest time determines the winner.

Super Combined - as the name suggests, involves a single downhill run and one super giant slalom, both contested on the same day. The times are added together and the fastest total time determines the winner.