INTRODUCTION: In competitive alpine skiing, the risk of injury is increased compared to other Olympic sports. Injuries in giant slalom were found to be primarily linked to the mechanics of turning. Expert stakeholders such as coaches see course-setting as primary measure to reduce injury risk 1 and field biomechanical research has shown that course setting manipulations are suitable to alter factors such as speed, forces and turn radii for male skiers 2. METHODS: In this study 3 male and 2 female skiers participated to assess the effect of gate offset in flat terrain. For that purpose, an open rhythmic course was set with an average gate distance of 27.0 m and 6.6 m offset on a slope with an average incline of 13°. Athletes skied three runs in that original course (course 1), two runs in a course where gate offset was increased by 1.0 m (course 2) and another two runs in a course with an increased offset of 1.5 m (course 3). The course set intervention section lasted for 5 turns. Terrain and course set were measured using differential GNSS. Athletes carried an inertial navigation system from which speed, ground reaction force, turn radius and impulse per turn were calculated. RESULTS: Athletes entered the 5 - gate long gate offset manipulation section with 70 km/h and exited that section with 80 km/h in course 1. Course 2, where offset was increased by 1.0 m caused an average speed reduction per turn of 0.7 km/h compared to course 1. In course 3 where the offset was increased by 1.5 m average speed reduction was 1.0 km/h per turn. Hence, each additional gate with increased offset caused an additional speed reduction. The Increased gate offset did not lead to any increase in maximal ground reaction force or decrease in minimal turn radii, while impulse, subjectively perceived physical load and turn time increased with increasing gate offset. These effects were similar for women and men. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: In flat terrain the consequence of increased gate offset are reduction in speed, increase in physical load and turn time both for women and men. Hence, course setters need to consider the trade-off between speed control and physical fatigue when setting courses in flat terrain.
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