A Celebration on Ice and Snow, Beijing 2022: Alpine Skiing

Alpine skiing is named after the mountain range from which it originated. It has specific requirements for mountain terrain, meteorological conditions and snow quality. As a snow sport that tests athletes’ mastery of speed and skills, Alpine skiing has been nicknamed “the pearl on the crown of the Olympic Winter Games”.

In a competition, skiers are required to ski downhill along a set route, pass gates and make turns along the way. Whoever finishes in the shortest time wins. For the mixed team parallel, each team consists of male and female athletes, and 16 teams compete in a series of knockouts.

Alpine skiing includes both speed events and technical events. Downhill and super-G are both speed events. Downhill skiers reach very high speeds, usually over 100 kilometres per hour, and the course is the longest with the largest vertical drop, and thus is the most challenging. All the courses are prepared. Super-G courses feature more gates and a smaller vertical drop, and the speeds are slightly slower than in downhill. Giant slalom and slalom are technical events.

Competition equipment for Alpine skiing includes skis, ski boots, ski poles, helmets and goggles. Equipment specifications must comply with relevant regulations of the International Ski Federation (FIS). Since the competition takes place at high altitudes and on complex mountainous terrain, Alpine skiing is highly demanding of weather conditions. Extreme weather conditions such as heavy snow, fog, strong wind or sudden warming can cause competition to be temporarily suspended, rescheduled or even cancelled completely.

Copyright: the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022– A Celebration on Ice and Snow, translated by Xing Yutang