Those little differences...

[Martin Drayton]

I have not raced in Europe for a few years and have got used to, and set my boards up for US Hybrid rather than European Special.
Are the cone spacings different? As an observer it looks as though Hybrid is a wider spacing needing a board of around a 21" wheelbase and Special is tighter needing either a standard TS set-up or maybe 19-20" wheelbase.
What is the official spacing for Special? I plan to do some racing in mainland Europe and would like to find out before I see the course!!
Thanks,
Martin.

[Jani Soderhall]

Martin,

It's hard enough having a set distance in straight slalom. Why would there be any exact standard in special slalom?

Maybe an American should answer your question, for example after Hannover, ideally someone who was in Brixlegg or at another event last year.

The general tendency (since the spread of the Radikal truck in Europe) is to go tighter and tighter. It's possible of course, and fun at training sessions, but has unfortunate consequences in races. Take Paris for example where everyone insisted on 1.80 m in straight (instead of the 2.00 m we've done previously here). How many Pro riders made a clean run? Was it two maybe?
And how come cone counts over 10 happened - in Pro? >25% of the cones hit?
It's funny because I used to an advocate of tighter courses, but seeing what happened in Paris I'm going to revise my thoughts on the topic.

Hope to see you at a race soon!

/Jani

[Rick Floyd]

I'm going to look at this from a ski/snowboard racer's perspective. In those sports of course, when you miss or straddle a gate (the equivalent of hitting a cone), you are out of the race. So that keeps us from setting incredibly tight courses that nobody, or nearly nobody, can make. I'm not saying that skate slalom should be one cone hit and you are DQ, but I'm thinking that a race is a race - what does it matter if the course is a little bit looser? You still have to be the fastest through whatever course is set. I love setting ski type SL courses to practice on sometimes - tight, but with more cross-hill, hairpins and flushes. You really can make it as challenging as you like. I have also always felt there should be a "cone hit limit" in skate slalom. Something like 6 cones hit and you are DQ, or in dual you take some sort of max time penalty. Just my .02!

[Martin Drayton]

Thanks, interesting observation Jani. OK, to put it differently, as an example how tight were the tightest cones at Paris in the Special (not the tight)?

Thanks for your input too Rick, as a former World Cup Snowboard SL/GS./SBX racer myself I know where you are coming from. I think what we are seeing is those that practice super tight want it to be the norm to tilt the playing field in their favour.
That way there is less risk of an upset by someone fast but less skilled on an open course....or so they believe!

[Rick Floyd]

Martin - I knew I recognized your name from somewhere, just couldn't place it. I've always wondered what if we made it one cone hit and you are out in skating too. Sacrilege I know, but it would up the ante on technique and make for more consistent course sets. Of course, the first time it happened to me I'd probably be WAY pissed off!

[Earl Cephas]

You'd have to come up with a different type of "gate"; one that could take a rub, but would only pop with a flush hit. You don't "miss" a gate in skiing by catching it with your toe (or even bashing it with your forearm).

[Rick Floyd]

Well, yes and no. I see your point, but in skiiing you are much more angulated at the turn and of course we can't bash cones with our forearm, but you are still DQ if both your feet do not pass around the base of the gate. What I am suggesting is clean skate slalom runs or you are out - i.e. any cone knocked out of the circle and you are out. You could still "toe" them and move them slightly, just like now, as long as they don't move completely out of the circle. The original idea here was just a way to keep from setting ridiculous courses the majority of people can't run clean even at the highest level - and make the race really about who is fastest. Take all this with a grain of salt. I'm not suggesting this be submitted for a rule change at this point, just thinking out loud...like I said, my .02 just to make discussion on Jani's point about clean runs.

[Jani Soderhall]

Just in from Hannover:

...the straight was kind of a bowling festival !

Hmm, either we have to enforce higher penalties or we have to increase the cone distances... I have no idea how it was in Hannover yet, I just thought this sounded like part of the Paris event.

/Jani

[Martin Drayton]

Just in from Hannover:

...the straight was kind of a bowling festival !

Hmm, either we have to enforce higher penalties or we have to increase the cone distances... I have no idea how it was in Hannover yet, I just thought this sounded like part of the Paris event.

/Jani

Perhaps a naive question, and I think there used to be, but does the ISSA have set perameters as guidance for courses? Are these allied with, as they are in Skiing/Alpine Snowboarding, to the angle of the slope. Obviously the latter is a big factor, as 6ft straight is different on the flat, a slope like Paris or Bicknell Hll in LA!