OUT OF THE GATE
Proposed ski changes
by the FIS sparks
fiery debate
The ski changes mandated by the FIS for the 2012-13
season have kicked off a hornet’s nest of opinion, much
of it flying around in columns, blogs and social networking. Some of the messages are hardly subtle — “Fire
FIS,” “FIS sucks” — and others, such as “keep the arc
in FIS skiing,” put it bluntly on the line. Plenty of folks are
Will drastically altering radii prevent injuries — or reverse racing’s progression? BY HANK MCKEE
Could Warner Nickerson’s nasty clean,
crisp arcs become a thing of the past?
unhappy about the new ski regulations, with particular focus on the rules for GS skis calling for a longer ski and
longer radius.
What few will argue about is the need for enhanced
safety for the elite of ski racing, something for which the
athletes have been calling. But at last count, 191 World
Cup athletes (including 41 of the top 50 men and 32 of
the top 40 women) had signed a document protesting the
ski changes.
“Ski racing is all about the glory of bending up a ski and
snapping off a nasty clean, crisp arc,” says racer Warner Nickerson. “It’s that liberating feeling of excitement,
power, and freedom that makes this sport so special. In
my opinion, the fun of arcing far outweighs the potential
health benefits of sliding.”
Nickerson is far from alone among racing athletes in
complaining about changes in ski dimensions. The chairman of the FIS Athletes’ Commission, Kilian Albrecht prepared a statement arguing that the decision was made
in haste and without input from the people who know the
sport best.
“We can only make the sport safer if FIS and their federations will include the athletes in their decision making
and actively listen to them,” Albrecht wrote. “The athlete
is the one who can feel and understand the forces and
dangers of the skis, courses, the course setting, etc., the
best and therefore the only valid source.”
The ski changes — longer lengths, shorter radii and lower standing height — came about after a six-year study
of World Cup injuries and a full season (2010-2011) of
the testing of prototype skis by professional skiers. But
the ruling came about abruptly in July when FIS officials
were told by manufacturers the time restraints of building
new molds and re-tooling factories would push any action
back a full season if the initial decision-making timeframe
