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   "SKIING IS A SLIDING SPORT":
 Conventional Skiing Wisdoms (CSW's) 

by Bill Jones, Ski Instructor
Certified Professional Ski Instructor (Registration #110478), Level III
How to reserve private ski lessons with Bill Jones

 CSW #24: "Running gates or racing is no fun; I'm not competitive."

Try running a few gates or a simple race course before you decide not to. Observation shows that most folks believe this Conventional Skiing Wisdom--until they have tried out a race course. And then almost all want to run it again. Running gates and/or racing adds variety to what might be otherwise a day of  "yo-yo" skiing the main trails down and lifts up.

Beyond fun, running gates is an excellent way to practice technique. Go through the same gates over and over again, note what happens in your turns, try little adjustments and note any differences. The gates require turning in the same places and so help eliminate some variables so you can focus more on the ones remaining, and better understand how to make your skis work for you.

Too, ski racing for most is not the most exciting sport to watch. But just as in other spectator sports, watching is more fun if you understand what the athletes are doing and why. And a great way to gain that insight is to do the events yourself.

main CSW contents
prior CSW #23: "Skiing makes my thighs hurt (or calves, or etc.)"
next CSW  #25: "Bend low to ski like the racers sometimes do"

"SKIING IS A SLIDING SPORT"--a skiing web manual:    Skiing Web Manual Contents   Why Read This Skiing Web Manual That First Skiing Lesson  A Little Skiing History  Motion in Skiing  CONVENTIONAL SKIING WISDOMS  Skier Excuses   Fear in Skiing  Conditioning for Skiing   Equipment and Technique  SkiingEquipment  How Skis Work   How to Develop Balance on Skis  A Skiing Turn Simplified  Tactics for Terrains and Snow Textures and Racing  Skiing Tips and Tales--a potpourri    Exercises for Developing Skiing Skills  Children and Skiing  Age and Skiing  Gender & Skiing  Culture & Skiing  Skiing Ethics and Survival  Slope Safety    Skiing Environment  Glossary  Acknowledgements SkiMyBest Website Contents  

This "CS #24: 'Running gates...'" page last modified November 17, 2021. Did you come here from a link on another website? For latest version of this page, copy to your browser: http://www.SkiMyBest.com/skiCSW24.htm. Copyright © 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022. William R Jones.