General
The detailed rules for ski racing are complex and not easy to follow especially for novice competitors. Team Captains should know the rules and would find it helpful to read the Federation International du Ski – International Competition Rules. These rules can be found at www.GBski.com, for any issues contact admin@gbski.com.

Team Captains
Team Captains MUST attend the Team Captains brief, held each evening in the hotel, in order to receive a briefing from the Race Officials, participate in the race draw and provide the race order for their team(s). They are responsible for ensuring that their team(s) are properly briefed regarding the simplified rules set out below and to ensure that their team(s) know the timings for the race (e.g. course inspection, race start time etc.).

Team Selection
Teams, in racer starting order, MUST be submitted after the FIRST day of training, at the Captains meeting PRIOR to the draw. There are no circumstances in which the teams can be changed after this, in the event of an injured rider in training the team will have to race with 1 less.

Team Sizes
Giant Slalom and Slalom – Minimum of 6 in a team, with the 4 fastest times counting. Parallel Slalom – Likely to be 6 in a team however final numbers per team will be confirmed at meeting, as it may be suitable to have 5 in a team to ensure an even split of racers, and allow each competitor to race in a team.

Juniors
Any racers born in 2001 will automatically be entered into the Junior Division.

Bibs
Bib numbers are allocated to competitors as a result of the draw which takes place at the Team Captain’s meeting. They must be worn by all competitors during the race (and when inspecting the course) and must not be exchanged with another competitor. Bibs will be given to competitors by their Team Captains, in the finish or start area or as decided at the Team Captain’s meeting.

Personal Equipment
Competitors must be correctly attired at the start by wearing full clothing (shorts, short sleeves, sunglasses, IPOD/Walkman, rucksacks etc. will not be allowed). Ski goggles are recommended and, if spectacles have to be worn, goggles MUST be worn on top. Competitors MUST wear a helmet designed for ski racing and skis fitted with brakes (ankle straps are NOT acceptable).

Start Order
A manual draw of the teams will be held at the Team Captain’s meeting. The start order will then be produced from the running order shown on the race entry form. This order must not be changed after the Team Captain’s brief without the express permission of the Race Officials.

The running order for the second run will normally be the same as the first but may be changed by the Race Officials. The Parallel Slalom start order will be dictated by the format usually two Pools all racing once against each other. The overall second in each Pool will race for 3rd and 4th places and the winners of each pool will race for 1st and 2nd places. In the event of equal points in the pool stages, the result of the race between the two teams will decide. If the result of the pool race was a draw, a ski off will be conducted. If more than two teams have equal points, a round robin
will be conducted.

Course Inspections
The time of course inspections will be announced together with the mode of inspection. The mode of inspection must be adhered to by competitors, infringements will attract an official warning and repeated breaches may result in disqualification. Course inspection is strongly recommended!
Shadowing any part of the course is not permitted and, if in any doubt, ask one of the Race Officials.

The Start
Competitors must arrive at the start in plenty of time and will be called forward by bib number. Competitors arriving at the start too late to start in their race order will normally be allowed a provisional run and the Race Officials will decide whether the run will count on completion of the race. When the competitor is positioned in the start gate, the Start Referee will call 10 seconds, then 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and Go. The competitor must start within the 10 second period between the 5 seconds announcement and 5 seconds after the Go, or be disqualified. This sequence applies to the Giant Slalom only, for the Slalom the Start Referee will ask the competitor “Ready” then order “Go”. The competitor must start within 10 seconds of this order. Although the above describes how the start should be conducted, competitors must be briefed to follow the instructions of the Starter. For the Parallel Slalom, the No.1 competitors in each team will start after a “3, 2, 1 – Go” and each subsequent competitor with the dropping of a flag at the finish on their side of the course.

Gates
For the Parallel Slalom (PS) two virtually identical courses will be set and gates will consist of a single pole, red for one course and blue for the other. Teams will be drawn to compete on each course.

Passing of Gates
Gates are formed by at least two poles with an imaginary line between them. The competitor passes the gate correctly when both ski tips AND both feet have passed over the imaginary line. If a competitor loses a ski without fault (e.g. without straddling a gate) s/he may continue on one ski. If a gate is not passed correctly, a competitor may go back up the hill to pass the gate correctly (in either direction). Groups of gates have a Gate Judge and, if in doubt, the competitor should ask whether the gate was passed correctly. The Gate Judge will reply with “Go on” or “Go back up” or words to that effect. If a competitor misses a gate s/he no longer has the right to continue down the course and must either go back to the missed gate or ski out of the course. In the GS and SL, a competitor abandoning the course must descend via the side of the course AND NOT SKI THROUGH THE FINISH. For the Parallel Slalom, abandoning the course should not be an option as 1 point is awarded to a team that finishes second but was not disqualified.

Assistance to Competitors
Competitors must not be assisted by anyone whilst negotiating the course. In Alpine racing, a competitor is normally subject to immediate disqualification should this occur. For the Independent Schools Championships the Race Officials will be flexible, particularly if the assistance is from one of the ESF gatekeepers or course maintainers. The Finish The finish must be crossed on both skis, on one ski or with no skis in the case of a fall within the finish area (i.e. between the last gate and the finish line) and where the momentum carries the competitor through the finish. Assisted momentum e.g. crawling, rolling, walking, running may result in disqualification. For safety reasons, competitors must clear the finish area as soon as they have completed their run.

Re-runs
A provisional re-run will normally be awarded to competitors who are obstructed (e.g. by another competitor, official, broken pole, equipment etc). The procedure to be followed is:

  1. Leave the course immediately
  2. Ski down the side of the course and NOT through the finish
  3. Report to a Race Official and request a re-run
  4. If granted, report immediately to the Start Referee
  5. IF A COMPETITOR IS OBSTRUCTED BUT CONTINUES WITH THE RUN, A RE-RUN WILL NOT BE GIVEN AS THE COMPETITOR IS DEEMED TO HAVE ACCEPTED THE OBSTRUCTION

On completion of the run the Race Officials will decide whether the re-run was valid or not.

The Results
The provisional results are published on completion of each run and posted at the finish. Competitors have 15 mins to appeal and, although this would normally be accompanied by a fee, this will be waived for the Independent Schools Championships. Also for these Championships only, competitors abandoning the course or suffering disqualification on the first run, will be allowed to race in the second run for experience (but the time will not count). Competitors must at all times obey the orders of the Race Officials whose primary concern and responsibility is for the safety of all participants. The Race Officials will at all times give the benefit of the doubt to racers when deciding penalties as described above.