 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Aah is ickle Bodie Wodie scared of the big bad skis?? 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I'm sure he'll be fine but I understand that Head, his ski sponsor, have come out and said that they will not make the new skis so he might have none to ski on.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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How is this different from say Formula 1 taking steps as technology improves to slow the cars down in the name of safety?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Levitt wrote: |
| How is this different from say Formula 1 taking steps as technology improves to slow the cars down in the name of safety? |
Take a look at what BM actually said.
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| "This is another step back in time. Next year you will see people walking into a ski shop and buy better skis than we can race on in the World Cup. That's a really bad situation." |
I've not noticed that I can drop into my local Mercedes dealer and buy something more punchy than a F1 car.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The latest blog from Ted Ligety regarding next years regulations;
As anyone who’s read this blog or follows ski racing knows; I am very against the FIS imposed 195cm 35m ski rules for next year. Try as myself and others have to fight FIS’s decree, FIS has stuck to their phony science and held their ground in not being dissuaded by the mass populous of ski racers, parents and knowledge of ski engineering experts (which FIS is not). Since the battle has shown to be futile, I (and Head) have focused on developing skis for next year on which I can win. This week I have been testing the second generation of Head 35m skis, in Hinterreit, and (…drumroll…) I am faster! Significantly faster! HA! Ironic!? (Perhaps even more ironic is the word on the hill is the company behind the rule changes; Atomic, is struggling to make the new skis work).
This poses an interesting scenario, now that I’m faster and theoretically should or would want to race on these FIS deemed “safer” skis, would FIS allow me to use these skis? (They are currently illegal since the they are too narrow). One would think since FIS has been quoted (see quote below*) as saying their decision to change the equipment regulations was at least partially to protect themselves of liability, thus they should allow athletes to use next year’s “safer” equipment if the racer saw fit. Otherwise, are they not liable if they do not allow a racer to ski on the “safest” equipment available and that racer were to get injured. As of now, FIS has stated that next year’s skis are not legal for racing this year. Rules are the rules and at some level I accept that but (me not being a lawyer) does that not open FIS up to liability?
(*Quote from FIS official Bernhard Russi referring to why the ski rules were put in place and FIS’s liability. “We could have said, ‘No, we don’t do anything,’ but then we would have gone against safety,” said Bernhard Russi, a former downhill great from Switzerland who is chairman of the FIS Alpine Committee. “If the scientific people and the experts say, ‘If you want to go in the direction of safety, then you have to do that,’ and if then FIS says, ‘No, we don’t do that,’ then we have a problem. We probably even have a legal problem.”)
Despite being faster on the new skis I still believe that FIS has no place to creating equipment regulations. These rule changes may benefit me but by benefiting me, someone else is losing out. That is unfortunate and unfair. Regulations should not be in place that could in a sense pick winners and losers. It opens the door for the system to be corrupted which ski racing has been. I’m guessing the news of myself and some other racers being faster on the new equipment will displease FIS, and goes to further discredits FIS’s study.
As to how the new skis felt; they for sure do not turn as easy, they lock onto the edge hard, are slightly smoother through small bumps, take more muscling and twisting of the ski (manual pressure as opposed to body position), recoveries are slower, there is less energy out of the turn and are far more tiring to ski on. (It will be difficult for young FIS athletes to safely ski on these skis since they don’t have the size and strength of WC athletes and the difficulty in turning/arcing 35m skis will drain the fun out of racing). It will be interesting to see where the injury numbers go, especially since there haven’t been any injuries in men’s World Cup GS this year.
Ed note: Ted's blog can be found at www.tedligety.com
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