Oberhofen, Switzerland – As part of International Ski Federation’s (FIS) long-term Injury Surveillance System launched in January 2006, a research project is in progress under the direction of the University of Salzburg in Austria. This research builds on a qualitative interview survey with 63 World Cup experts last season that identified five main injury risk factors for Alpine ski racing. The current project is focused on three of the five: course setting/speed, snow conditions and equipment (combination of ski, binding, plate and boot).nTo assess course setting and snow conditions, specific biomechanical measurements have been conducted thus far at ten Audi FIS Ski World Cup events. Forerunners equipped with sensors and GPS devices have evaluated course setting’s impact on speed, energy and forces affecting the athletes. Additionally, the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) in Davos, Switzerland, has measured snow conditions along the race courses to assess their impact on speed and the various forces impacting the racers.
Simultaneously, an equipment project involving development of special ski prototypes is underway through the support of the ski manufacturers. FIS, the ski industry and the University of Salzburg defined the specifications last summer and a number of prototype skis have been built for downhill and giant slalom. Recently retired World Cup racers have started testing these prototypes this season.
“The goal of producing these prototypes was, first of all, to gain more safety. The ski industry is ready to invest in the safety of the athletes,” notes Dr. Michael Schineis, Chairman of the Ski Racing Suppliers Association (SRS). “A key problem seems to be the combination of aggressive snow and aggressive skiing. To make the skis less aggressive, the new prototypes are experimental in terms of radius, length, standing height and ski plates.”
“This is a very interesting project, adds Peter Struger of Austria, one of the former racers testing the prototypes along with Liechtenstein’s Marco Büchel and Thomas Graggaber and Christoph Gruber, both retired Austrian World Cup ski racers. “Due to the geometrical changes, these prototype skis were clearly different to ski on and require changes to the ski technique. But they are definitely skiable. Although there still needs to be more testing, I am very optimistic about the direction this is taking.”
“This project represents a three-year engagement with the goal of creating a scientifically researched and practically founded basis for any next steps towards enhanced injury prevention in top level Alpine Skiing,” explains Dr. Erich Müller from the University of Salzburg. “Beginning with the expert interviews last season, the real-time measurements in race conditions and prototype testing are providing ample data, which will help set the direction for the FIS decision makers when it comes to rules and regulations.”
Atle Skaardal, FIS Chief Race Director for ladies’ Alpine Skiing, acknowledges that ski racing has inherent risks, but that safety can nonetheless be improved. “We are doing our utmost to create the safest possible frames for our sport and the current projects are a strong demonstration of hard work in many different key areas,” Skaardal says. “They are all designed to provide clear information for adapting new rules and procedures in order to avoid as many injuries as possible in the future.”