Cones for practice or not?

[Martin Drayton]

On the subject of having cones or not for practice runs...
To me the whole point of having practice runs is to wam up, dial your line in and suss out which wheels to use, i.e. how much grip do I need.
With marks on the ground,
a) you CANNOT tell how accurate you are being.
b) you CANNOT look a few cones ahead because you are trying to look for marks on the ground which are much harder to see than cones.
c) Isn't it good for fellow racers and spectators to see who looks fast and is someone to watch/watch out for? Anyone can look good wiggling down the hill around marks no-one else can really see from the side.
d) As long as people are careful there shouldn't really be a collision issue...
It has been mooted that an alternative would be 30 minutes without, 30 with.
What do people think?...Willing to be swayed...

[Steve Collins]

CONES

[Hans Koraeus]

Here is another way to do it that we will try in the Swedish Championships Aug 28.

Skip practice!

...and start timed qualification runs right away. A so called "Qualification Jam" during a fixed time. For example 2 hours. Take as many runs as you can. There will be a call for everyone towards the end to make their last run.

The advantages:
1. More timed runs for majority of skaters making the discipline more worthwhile for people traveling to competitions. Not just a 2 run thing and then bye-bye.
2. You have time to figure out the course with timed runs and compare with your opponents.
3. You have time to try other boards, wheels or whatever you want to test.
4. You can't say you had some unlucky runs. The wind can't blow against you all the time.
5. More exciting for racers. You will be more aware of your position and what you need to do to advance.
6. You then only need to do a head to head with the 8 best. People have had their runs and enough chance to make the top 8.

[HUYNH BACH SAC Frédéric]

It seems to be a good way to compete... more runs, less stress !