Recreational activity and sport using snow skis
Skiing
is the use of
skis
to glide on
snow
. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive
winter sport
. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the
International Olympic Committee
(IOC), and the
International Ski and Snowboard Federation
(FIS).
History
Skiing has a history of almost five millennia.
[1]
Although modern skiing has evolved from beginnings in
Scandinavia
, it may have been practiced more than 100 centuries ago in what is now
China
, according to an interpretation of ancient paintings.
[2]
[3]
However, this continues to be debated.
[4]
[5]
The word "ski" comes from the
Old Norse
word "skið" which means to "split piece of wood or firewood".
[6]
Asymmetrical skis were used in northern Finland and Sweden until at least the late 19th century. On one foot, the skier wore a long straight non-arching ski for sliding, and a shorter ski was worn on the other foot for kicking. The underside of the short ski was either plain or covered with animal skin to aid this use, while the long ski supporting the weight of the skier was treated with animal fat in a similar manner to modern
ski waxing
.
Early skiers used one long pole or spear. The first description of a skier with two
ski poles
dates to 1741.
[7]
Troops in continental Europe were equipped with skis by 1747.
[8]
Skiing was primarily used for transport until the mid-19th century but, since then, it has also become a recreation and sport.
[9]
Military ski races were held in Norway during the 18th century,
[10]
and
ski warfare
was studied in the late 18th century.
[11]
As equipment evolved and
ski lifts
were developed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, two main genres of skiing emerged?
Alpine (downhill) skiing
and
Nordic skiing
. The main difference between the two is the type of
ski binding
(the way in which the
ski boots
are attached to the skis).
Types
Alpine
Also called "downhill skiing", Alpine skiing typically takes place on a
piste
at a
ski resort
. It is characterized by fixed-heel bindings that attach at both the toe and the heel of the skier's boot.
Ski lifts
, including
chairlifts
, bring skiers up the slope.
Backcountry skiing
can be accessed by
helicopter
,
snowcat
,
hiking
and
snowmobile
. Facilities at resorts can include
night skiing
,
apres-ski
, and
glade skiing
under the supervision of the
ski patrol
and the
ski school
. Alpine skiing branched off from the older Nordic type of skiing around the 1920s when the advent of
ski lifts
meant that it was no longer necessary to climb back uphill. Alpine equipment has specialized to the point where it can now only be used with the help of lifts. Alpine Touring setups use specialized bindings which are switchable between locked and free-heel modes.
Climbing skins
are temporarily attached to the bottom of alpine skis to give them traction on snow. This permits Nordic style uphill and back-country travel on alpine skis. For downhill travel, the heels are locked and the skins are removed.
Nordic
The Nordic disciplines include
cross-country skiing
and
ski jumping
, which both use bindings that attach at the toes of the skier's boots but not at the heels. Cross-country skiing may be practiced on groomed trails or in undeveloped
backcountry
areas. Ski jumping is practiced in certain areas that are reserved exclusively for ski jumping.
Telemark
Telemark skiing is a ski turning technique and FIS-sanctioned discipline, which is named after the Telemark region of Norway. It uses equipment similar to Nordic skiing, where the ski bindings are attached only at the toes of the ski boots, allowing the skier's heel to be raised throughout the turn. However, the skis themselves are often the same width as Alpine skis.
Competition
The following disciplines are sanctioned by the FIS. Many have their own world cups and are included in the
Winter Olympic Games
.
- Cross-country
? Encompasses a variety of formats for
cross-country skiing
races over courses of varying lengths. Races occur on
homologated
, groomed courses designed to support classic (in-track) and free-style events, where skate skiing may be employed. The main competitions are the
FIS Cross-Country World Cup
and the
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
(held only in odd-numbered years), and various cross-country skiing events have been incorporated into the Winter Olympics since its inception in
1924
. The discipline also incorporates: cross-country
ski marathon
events, sanctioned by the
Worldloppet Ski Federation
; cross-country
ski-orienteering
events, sanctioned by the
International Orienteering Federation
; and
biathlon
, a combination of cross-country skiing and
rifle
shooting
.
Paralympic cross-country skiing
and
paralympic biathlon
are both included in the
Winter Paralympic Games
.
- Ski jumping
? Contested at the
FIS Ski Jumping World Cup
, the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (odd-numbered years only), the
FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix
, and the
FIS Ski Flying World Championships
. Ski jumping has also been a regular Olympic discipline at every Winter Games since 1924.
- Freeriding skiing ? This category of skiing includes any practice of the sport on non-groomed terrain.
- Nordic combined
? A combination of cross-country skiing and ski jumping, this discipline is contested at the
FIS Nordic Combined World Cup
, the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (odd-numbered years only), and at the Winter Olympics.
- Alpine skiing
? Includes
downhill
,
slalom
,
giant slalom
,
super giant slalom
(super-G), and
para-alpine
events. There are also
combined
events where the competitors must complete one run of each event, for example; the Super Combined event consists of one run of super-G and one run of slalom skiing. The dual slalom event, where racers ski head-to-head, was invented in 1941 and has been a competitive event since 1960.
[12]
Alpine skiing is contested at the
FIS Alpine Ski World Cup
, the
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
(held only in odd-numbered years), and the Winter Olympics.
Para-alpine skiing
is contested at the
World Para Alpine Skiing Championships
(odd-numbered years) and the Winter Paralympics.
- Speed skiing
? Dating from 1898, with official records beginning in 1932 with an 89-mile-per-hour (143 km/h) run by Leo Gasperi, this became an FIS discipline in the 1960s. It is contested at the FIS Speed Ski World Cup, and was demonstrated at the
1992 Winter Olympics
in
Albertville
.
[13]
- Freestyle skiing
? Includes
mogul skiing
,
aerials
,
ski cross
,
half-pipe
, and
slopestyle
. The main freestyle competitions are the
FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup
and the
FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships
(held in odd-numbered years). The discipline was first demonstrated at the
1988 Winter Olympics
and was added to the Olympic programme in 1992. It became an Olympic sport in the
2014 Sochi Olympic games
when the
Slope-style
and
Half pipe
events were introduced.
[14]
- Snowboarding
? Disciplines include slopestyle,
cross
, half-pipe,
alpine
, parallel slalom, and parallel giant slalom. The main competitions are the annual
FIS Snowboard World Cup
and the
FIS Snowboard World Championships
(held in odd-numbered years). Snowboarding debuted as an Olympic discipline in
1998
(as part of the Alpine skiing programme) and was contested as a separate discipline at the
2018 Winter Olympics
.
- Skiboarding
? Using a
snowboard
in conjunction with standard
ski boots
, this discipline is essentially a combination of skiing and snowboarding. Various skiboarding competitions have been tried over recent years, including the Skiboard Triple Challenge, United Skiboard Series, European Skiboard Cup, Skiboard World Cup, and the US Skiboard Open.
- Telemark
? Named after the Telemark region of Norway, this discipline combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing. A relatively new competitive sport, Telemark racing is contested at the FIS Telemark World Cup and the FIS Telemark World Championships.
- Grass skiing
? Originally developed as an alpine skiing training method, skiing on grass has become established as a skiing discipline in its own right. It is contested at the FIS Grass Skiing World Cup and the FIS Grass Ski World Championships.
Equipment
Equipment used in skiing includes:
Technique
Technique has evolved along with ski technology and
ski geometry
. Early techniques included the
telemark
turn, the
stem
, the
stem Christie
,
snowplough
, and
parallel turn
.
New parabolic designs like the
Elan SCX
have enabled the more modern
carve turn
.
On other surfaces
Originally and primarily an outdoor
winter sport
on snow, skiing is also practiced on synthetic
"dry" ski slopes
, on
sand
,
indoors
and with
ski simulators
. With appropriate equipment,
grass skiing
and
roller skiing
are other alternatives which are not performed on snow.
Gallery
See also
References
- ^
Formenti; et al. (2005).
"Human locomotion on snow: determinants of economy and speed of skiing across the ages"
.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
.
272
(1572): 1561?1569.
doi
:
10.1098/rspb.2005.3121
.
PMC
1559840
.
PMID
16048771
.
- ^
"Ancient paintings suggest China invented skiing"
.
China View
. Xinhua News Agency. 25 January 2006. Archived from
the original
on 29 March 2015
. Retrieved
27 January
2015
.
- ^
Marquand, Edward (15 March 2006).
"Before Scandinavia: These could be the first skiers"
.
The Christian Science Monitor
.
Archived
from the original on 9 October 2019
. Retrieved
8 March
2015
.
- ^
Krichko, Kade (19 April 2017).
"China's Stone Age Skiers and History's Harsh Lessons"
.
The New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on 28 May 2020
. Retrieved
9 May
2020
.
- ^
Larsen, Nils (12 June 2017).
"Origin Story: Where did skiing begin?"
.
International Skiing History Association
.
Archived
from the original on 2 May 2020
. Retrieved
9 May
2020
.
- ^
Caprona, Yann de:
Norsk etymologisk ordbok
. Oslo: Kagge forlag, 2014.
ISBN
9788248910541
.
- ^
Hergstrom, P (1748).
Beschreibung von dem unter schwedischer Krone gehorigen Lappland
. Leipzig: von Rother.
- ^
"Newcastle Courant"
. Retrieved
29 September
2019
.
? via The British Newspaper Archive
(subscription required)
- ^
Saur, Lasse (1999):
Norske ski - til glede og besvær.
Research report, Høgskolen i Finnmark.
- ^
Bergsland, Einar (1946): Pa ski. Oslo: Aschehoug.
- ^
E. John B. Allen (30 January 2014).
"How concern for the national health and military preparedness led France to build the infrastructure for Chamonix, 1924"
.
International Skiing History Association
.
Archived
from the original on 25 July 2014
. Retrieved
17 July
2014
.
- ^
Lizza, Chris I. (1997).
"The first dual slalom duel"
.
Skiing Heritage Journal
.
10
(3). International Skiing History Association: 42.
ISSN
1082-2895
.
- ^
Lipsyte, Robert (2009). Vizard, Frank (ed.).
Why a Curveball Curves: The Incredible Science of Sports
. Popular mechanics. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 224.
ISBN
9781588167941
.
- ^
"Freestyle Skiing - Winter Olympic Sport"
.
International Olympic Committee
. 26 November 2019.
Archived
from the original on 9 January 2020
. Retrieved
5 December
2019
.
External links
- Media related to
Skiing
at Wikimedia Commons
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