Alpine Skiing


Alpine Skiing

Alpine skiing also called downhill skiing is an exciting and recreational winter sport that challenges the jock's downhill racing ability, balance and coordination. This sport involves sliding down snow-covered hills with long, thin skis attached to each foot.

One of the main difficulty faced during alpine skiing is to maintain control while gliding down the slopes. In order not to have problems, skiers to learn various methods to control their speed and direction while alpine skiing. Because always there are some slopes are steeper than the others and more steeper slopes, more is the required control.

Special Olympics also offers Alpine skiing events for beginner and lower ability level athletes to train and compete in basic Alpine skiing skills to participate all of skiers in general. Elite and competitive skiers participate every year in the World Cup Series, Olympic Games and in the biennial World Championships. This event are open for both men and women and as in all Special Olympics sports, athletes are classified in competition divisions according to ability level, age and gender.

Warnings

Skiing without taking appropriate safely measures, can cause to skier serious injuries; Most ski injuries are ligament sprains, soft tissue bruising and joint injuries are the next most common injuries , the types of injuries that usually happen are:
  • Knee Injuries
  • Head Injuries
  • Shoulder Injuries: (Shoulder dislocations, Clavicle (collar bone) fractures, AC joint injuries, Fractured humerus)
  • Thumb injuries

Alpine Skiing Facts

  • Alpine skiing was introduced for the first time in 1977 as an Official Special Olympics Sport at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, USA.
  • In the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan 2005 competed more than 300 athletes.
  • As of the 2005 Special Olympics Athlete Participation Report, around 18,610 Special Olympics athletes compete in Alpine skiing.


Back to:
  Types of Skiing
  Ski instruction
  Ski Schools
Sponsored by:
  Newspapers
  Yoga